Dessert, Recipe
{Should I admit that I really, really wanted to title this post “Every Day I’m Trufflin’”…yeah, probably not…}
While I’m not your typical chocolate-obsessed girl, there is something about Valentine’s day that screams chocolate.
Ok, truth? I just wanted something to put sprinkles on.
I think truffles fit the bill nicely, don’t you?
Delicious, sweet, spicy balls of sprinkles.
Yes, I said spicy.
Everything sweet needs a little kick, dontcha think? Don’t worry, it’s not an in-your-face kinda thing. It just sneaks up on you at the end as you’re licking your lips clean of that last taste of truffley-goodness.
I don’t think these really need anymore introduction. Except maybe to tell you that these chocolate truffles are dairy free and vegan {depending on your sprinkles}.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 cup chocolate {dairy-free: I love Enjoy Life brand}
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup coconut milk {full-fat, canned}
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp chili powder
- pinch of sea salt
- sprinkles
Combine chocolate chips and coconut oil in heat-proof bowl. Melt in microwave or in double boiler. Stir until smooth.
Whisk in coconut milk and spices. {If lumps form, pop it back in the microwave for a few seconds.}
Refrigerate for ~30 minutes or until mixture starts to solidify {but isn’t hard}.
Use a tablespoon to scoop chocolate into balls. Roll between your palms to form smooth balls, then roll in sprinkles {or other toppings such as crushed nuts or powdered sugar}. Be sure your hands are cold so you don’t melt the chocolate- I squeezed an ice cube every few balls to keep things cold.
Refrigerate if not immediately devoured.
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Note: be sure to stir well. I was a little truffle-happy and jumped the gun. My taste-tester {the husband} didn’t know they had a hidden kick until his last bite- when they really kicked. 
So go grab some festively themed red, white, and pink sprinkles and get trufflin’.
How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day? Or are you in the “fabricated holiday” camp?
Dessert
About a year BB {before baby}, I quit my job as a renal dietitian to become a private practice sports dietitian. Best. Decision. Ever. I went the low risk route- I didn’t jump in and rent an office, shell out a ton of dough on new tools or gear, or pour money into advertising and branding. I did whatever I could myself and figured everything else could wait. Quitting a job with a steady salary is risky enough; I didn’t need to blow the savings I’d so carefully sacked away to make this “one day” a reality.
Since I didn’t have an office, I did most of my counseling online. That meant I spent a lot of time at home. Working at home? Dream job, right? Of course.
Until you spend hour after hour sitting at your desk talking to no one but yourself. Even the lively interweb of social media didn’t cut it sometimes. It got lonely and depressing. I could literally go for days without talking to a real live human being face to face {when the husband was out of town}. So I turned to a favorite workplace of freelancers- Starbucks.
Outlets, WiFi, windows, music, coffee, snacks, and most importantly, human interaction all in one place. Given my undying love of all things coffee, it was the perfect set up. Just a couple hours here and there was enough to get me my fix. {Of people that is. My coffee fix was never satisfied. 
}
And thus began my love affair with one of my now-favorite Starbucks treats: the cinnamon chip scone.
I loved them so much. I didn’t so much love the nutritional profile. I mean a treat here and there is no biggie, but with the record I was started to accrue, it could’ve gotten dangerous.
So I made my own version. Still a treat; much healthier; just as delicious. The only problem was I couldn’t find cinnamon chips. Because I was so desperate to recreate my treat, I made my own cinnamon chips. The were delicious. But seriously, who has time to make cinnamon chips when the craving for a scone strikes? Not me.
Enter step-dad to the rescue. He hunted down the chips, sent a few bags my way, and has kept replenishing them. I started slacking in the baking department and suddenly I had an excess inventory of cinnamon chips.
What to do, what to do… Back of the bag to the rescue! Problem. Solved. Coconut Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars.
I subbed coconut oil for the butter and tossed in a handful of coconut flakes. There’s a reason the recipe’s on the bag– delicious.
And since everything’s better with sprinkles:
Highly recommended.
Today on tiny sneakers I’m looking for advice on beach travel with a baby. You can also read my sob story about my bout with mastitis.
Recipe
So my birthday was 2 weeks ago. I’m a foodie dork and celebrated by making myself cinnamon rolls. But not just any cinnamon rolls.
Funfetti cinnamon rolls. Because c’mon, who doesn’t LOVE funfetti?! Can you blame a girl for celebrating with sprinkles?
Well when I first posted these, I promised I’d post the recipe “tomorrow” because the babe was waking up and I had to go. Umm yeah. Pretend that was yesterday, mmkay?
These are based off my original healthy cinnamon rolls recipe. Well not even “based off of”…they pretty much are my vegan cinnamon rolls. I just changed the blend of flours for a bigger whole grain kick and upped the vanilla to get a more “birthday cakey” taste. And added sprinkles of course. I’m fairly certain those aren’t vegan or healthy, but they were definitely necessary. 
So next time you need to celebrate with breakfast, give these a try. Even if you need to make up a holiday to justify the celebration. Oh heck, who needs to justify celebrating? Just do it!
by with a Side of Sneakers
For the Dough
- 1 c almond milk
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast {or 1 packet}
- 1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 c spelt flour (plus up to 1/4 c for kneading)
- 2 t baking powder
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4T pumpkin puree
- 1/4 c rainbow sprinkles
For the Filling
- 3 Tbsp vegan margarine/butter
- 1/4 c brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the Icing
- 1/2 c powdered sugar
- 1 tsp almond milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
Warm almond milk for about 40 seconds in the microwave. Stir in yeast and set aside.
Mix flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and pumpkin.
Add in almond milk and yeast mixture.
Fold in sprinkles.
Spread clean, flat surface with flour. Adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking, knead dough until it forms a nice, slightly elastic-y ball.
Using a rolling pin, spread dough into a rectangle approximately 1/2 inch thick.
Melt margarine or butter. Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Spread the butter liberally across the top of the dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Starting from the skinny end of the dough rectangle, roll the dough tightly towards the other end.
Slice the roll into ~1-1 1/2 inch strips, discarding the ends if necessary.
Grease a 9×9 baking dish and place rolls in pan. Cover and refrigerate.
When you’re ready to bake your cinnamon rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake cinnamon buns for about 25 minutes.
Mix icing ingredients together and spread on warm rolls.
Top with sprinkles!
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What’s your favorite food to celebrate a birthday with?
P.S. Don’t miss the little man’s 4 month update on tiny sneakers!
Holidays
Yeah, this happened yesterday.
Little man turned 4 months old… and I turned 4 months old for the 83rd time. Or something like that. Math is not my strong suit.
But regardless, it was cause for celebration. And what better way to celebrate than with rainbow sprinkles.
A birthday with Funfetti is always a happy one. 
After chowing down on 1 or 10 of these babies, the little guy and I spent the rest of the day relaxing together.
We had lots of sleeping snuggles.
And learned how to Skype so we could talk to Daddy!
Then we decided to see how many things we could make that involved sprinkles.
After a playdate for the little one {ok, ok, for mom!}, we came home for early bedtimes all around. I know, the glamorous life of a new mom.
So all in all, I’d say it was a pretty good day. 
Said 4 month is waking up, so recipe to come tomorrow! Like all good things, it’s worth waiting for.
