Recipe Review: Gingerbread Muffins

Yum!  Gingerbread muffins.  Found this recipe online last night from Daily Dish Recipes.  My little girl helped me make them for breakfast and they were delicious.  And now our home smells like gingerbread.  These will definitely go in the Holiday rotation because I can make a big batch of them and freeze them for quick breakfasts.

GLUTEN FREE DIRECTIONS:
I substituted the 2 cups all-purpose flour with 2 cups of Bette Hagman's Gluten Free Mix or:
210 grams superfine brown rice flour
85 grams potato starch (not flour)
27 grams tapioca starch
Plus:
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons pectin
I spooned the batter into a Ziploc bag and piped the batter into the muffin cups about 1/2 to 2/3 full, then smoothed the tops with wet fingers.  The muffins did not rise a ton, so I could have done it 3/4 full like the recipe says, but they were a little heavy so I was happy with the smaller muffins.  Also, my little girl shared 4 of these with me before I had to tell her that was enough, so I didn't mind that they were smaller.

LOW IODINE DIRECTIONS:
Use a LID-safe milk substitute and 2 egg whites instead of  the whole egg.  Make sure to use non-iodized salt.

Homemade Hershey's-Style Chocolate Syrup

I needed some chocolate syrup the other night and didn't want to run to the store.  Furthermore, I wasn't sure I would find something safe for our family food allergies once I got there.  So I hopped online and found a couple of really easy recipes!  I combined this recipe and this recipe.  It didn't turn out very thick, but it has a strong, rich flavor and I've decided I don't need it to be any thicker than it is.

Chocolate Syrup

1 1/2 cups water
2 cups white sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the water, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in a saucepan over low heat; whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and begins to simmer. Remove from heat and stir the vanilla into the sauce. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until serving.  Will thicken upon cooling.

This chocolate syrup is naturally gluten, soy, diary, egg, and nut free!