Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to take a look at an early copy of the newly released cookbook, Sugar-Free Mom, by food blogger, Brenda Bennett. After launching a successful food blog of the same name – Sugar-Free Mom – in 2011, it didn’t take long to realize that there was a big audience out there for sugar-free recipes. Brenda creates breakfasts, breads, dinners, desserts, and more, using sugar-substitutes such as stevia or sweeteners with a lower glycemic index such as coconut palm sugar. The results are tasty.
Her recipes are not too difficult to follow and, if you are lucky enough to have a local health food store or a Whole Foods nearby, most ingredients are readily accessible without searching them out online. An added bonus for me, as a mom who cooks gluten-free, Brenda’s recipes are almost all grain-free or gluten-free! If you are able to eat and cook with gluten, there are notes about converting recipes to use more traditional wheat flour, if desired.
If you take a quick look through my recipe archives, you might notice that when I bake, I might not use wheat flour, but I definitely use sugar. I have never had a problem with cooking with sugar, eating sugar, or feeding it occasionally to my children … until this year. A few months ago, about halfway through the pregnancy of my 5th child, I discovered that I had gestational diabetes. After trying to control it with diet and exercise, my doctors quickly realized that I would be needing insulin, day and night, in addition to keeping close tabs on everything I put into my mouth.
To say that trying to get through the holiday season stretching from Thanksgiving to New Year’s without sugar was a challenge would be a huge understatement. Cutting out sweet potatoes, white potatoes, rice, fruit, and, of course, cookies, cakes, and pies, was such a blow. I am always the first person to volunteer to make a cake or a pie (or 5 pies), so to have such strict limitations on my dessert making and dessert consumption was crushing. When I had the opportunity to get an early copy of Sugar-Free Mom, I jumped at the chance to get some new ideas. As I looked over Brenda’s new cookbook, I knew that I wanted to test some recipes that my kids would really appreciate – mainly something sweet and dessert-like.
One of the things that I love about the Sugar-Free Mom cookbook is that it has a wide array of recipes. Do you want dinner? An appetizer? A snack? This cookbook has got you covered. When my kids saw the photo for the grain-free chocolate glazed donuts, they begged me to give those a try. How could I say no? With fewer than 10 ingredients, a few minutes to mix together and fifteen minutes in the oven, this recipe is just my style. For more delicious, sugar-free recipes like this one, you will need to get your hands on Brenda Bennett’s new cookbook (available online at Amazon) … And be sure to check out Sugar-Free Mom online!
Grain-Free Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons stevia
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 2 teaspoons liquid stevia
- Ingredients for Chocolate Glaze
- * 1/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips (I used regular!)
- * 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Whisk dry ingredients together.
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Blend wet ingredients together.
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Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined.
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Pour into greased donut pans (I sprayed my pans with coconut oil spray).
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Bake 15 minutes.
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Melt glaze ingredients in the microwave at half power for 30 seconds.
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Stir until chocolate is melted. Drizzle over warm donuts.
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Makes 9 large donuts or 18 medium sized donuts.
