Coconut, Almond, Lemon & Blueberry Cake

This delicious cake is full of superfoods and as I’ve reduced the sugar content by 70% from the original recipe, it’s practically healthy! You have to make it!

It’s a versatile cake which is just as nice at room temperature as it is heated and served with some cream. No equipment other than a whisk and large spoon needed along with your bowl and prepared tin. It’s made in a 23cm tin so easily feeds 10-12 people.

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No Added Sugar Lemon Honey Oat Biscuits

These biscuits are for when you want to be good but still want a treat and using honey instead of any processed or refined sugar helps to make these a perfect choice. Honey has a lot of advantages over refined sugar so is a good choice.

Using oats gives them great texture and if you use gluten free oats and gluten free oat flour, you can serve them to coeliacs too.

Just be aware not to use a large lemon. Only use a standard one and only zest half of the lemon and use the juice of one half only. Otherwise they can be overpowering as you don’t have the sugar to combat the tang.

Lemon and Honey just work really well together and I’ve adapted this US recipe to grams and offered a few options for ingredients.

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Gluten Free Almond Bites

We’re big fans of anything almond flavoured at cozebakes HQ and when they are gluten free, it’s a bonus for us with two coeliacs to cater for. The added issue of a preferred low sugar diet can complicate things sometimes but this recipe seemed to have lots of potential.

Initially I doubled the quantities as it seemed a very small amount to spread out in a 20cm square tin. Personally, I’ll be making these again and just dropping scoops of the batter onto a baking tray rather than what the original recipe suggests. Either way, they are really, really delicious. As per usual, I reduced the original sugar quantities and think they are lovely but if you like a good sweet kick, then check my suggestions in the ingredients.

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Cinnamon Oat Cookies

This recipe originates from Shugary Sweets but I wanted to make these lovely cookies a little bit healthier. I also wanted them to be good for your daily cuppa or equally perfect to give as a gift, bring to a Coffee Morning or enjoy with friends. They have a lovely mix of spice and can be served with or without the cinnamon icing.

You can easily convert these cookies to Gluten Free. Simply use GF oats, GF plain flour and GF baking powder.

I baked them for 15 minutes at 170C (conventional oven) but if you like your biscuits on the crunchy side, then leave them in for 16/17 minutes just to give them that bit extra.

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Apple & Cinnamon Crumble Squares

Basically, this recipe is a hug in a traybake! It’s so delicious, so warming and full of comfort. The bonus is that it’s really simple to make too. You can serve it with crème fraiche or whipped cream for a dessert or just slice into squares and share with your friends over a cuppa.

These delicious squares can easily be converted to Gluten Free by replacing the flour and oats to gluten free options. As it’s basically a crumble, it will convert well.

Depending on the size of the bars, you should get about 16 generous slices out of this recipe. You don’t need to turn the oven on until you’ve almost completed the apple filling so you can make the filling first if you need to get ahead.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread

A totally delicious recipe that offers just the right amount of sweetness with the lovely warmth of cinnamon in every bite and a cinnamon flavoured slightly crusty top drizzled in a glaze. If you prefer, you can leave the glaze off..

I’ve adapted this recipe from a US magazine to grams and changed some  ingredients to try and make it a little healthier than in it’s original form. It’s made in quick time with only a spoon to mix, no special equipment needed. Ticks lots of boxes!

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Cheese Scones

These scones are so full of comfort, there should be a prescription for them. They are so tasty and I’ve given you some ideas for adapting them to suit your own personal taste.

This recipe will make 6 good sized scones and they freeze really well too so you can happily double up the recipe. I’ve also added an idea if you’re feeding little people to make them more appealing.

They are quick to put together and make the most delicious snack or serve with some warm soup..

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Meringue Roulade – Gluten Free

A great dessert recipe that’s always a big hit any time of the year and this one uses ground almonds which gives it a really nice texture. It’s so easily adaptable to any flavours you like and also for each season and your imagination is all that will stop you!

A meringue roulade is much quicker than it’s cousin the Pavlova and can be made on the day it’s needed. It takes about 20 minutes to get into the oven, 30/35 to bake and the same to cool and then you can keep it wrapped in the fridge till needed or dress up for serving.  I’ve never known anyone to refuse a slice of roulade when presented, so it’s a great one to have in your baking repertoire. Please don’t be worried about rolling it. It’s far more difficult in your head than in reality!

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Christmas Squares – Gluten Free version included

These squares are a cross between a brownie and a blondie and are pretty addictive! I love that if you use different coloured sweets, you can make this recipe for most of our celebrations. If you want a Gluten Free version, there are sweets that are a few varieties such as the ones from Aldi and the Dairy & Dam in Health Stores are gluten free. Regular Smarties are NOT gluten free.

I’ve popped a few variations of these delicious squares in the recipe below for you to try and as usual, I’ve reduced the sugar as they are quite sweet with the M&M’s and the chocolate chips. They turned out still sweet and very delicious! Quick and easy to make, easy to adapt …. what’s not to love??

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The Perfect Biscuit Recipe!

This biscuit recipe is the bees knees! It is very simple to make and creates the most wonderfully, soft and easy to use dough that cuts out shapes beautifully. It’s so easy to adapt too. I’ve given a few hints at the bottom of the recipe but I’m sure you will have lots of your own ideas.

I’ve used cutters but also used the push down shapes too and everything just works. Love it!! Definitely one to keep and use again and again with lots of different flavours.

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Homemade Custard Cream Biscuits

These are not perfect copies of the original Custard Cream biscuits but they taste amazing! A real treat is they taste even better the next day as the cream and biscuit blend beautifully together. They are pretty straightforward to make and will go down very well with everyone.

I know that we all try to eat more healthily and to reduce refined sugar in our diets and especially when baking and/or cooking for younger people but at least when you bake your own treats, there are no hidden ingredients and you know exactly what you’re serving up. It’s about having one or two and putting them away till the next time. Everything in moderation!

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