macaroons -- vegan, gluten free, sugar free etc

I like the simplicity of these cookies. I think they are versatile -- would lend themselves to various sweeteners -- maple macaroons anyone? -- as well as various flavours. I have some Orange and Lemon organic flavour (basically it's essential oil) that I'm looking forward to taking for a spin.  Anyway, I kept it plain and uncomplicated this time, and they were very quick and very easy to make. They are not as puffy and soft as the usual macaroons -- maybe I'll soak the coconut next time. I like 'em!

ingredients:

1/2 cup water + 2 tsp egg replacer
1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/4 cup ground chia seeds

3 cups shredded coconut



directions:

1. combine the ingredients and stir really well
2. roll into balls and flatten, place on a lined baking sheet
3. makes 24-28 cookies
4. bake at 345 for 16 minutes

Chocolate Cookies -- what's not to love

My husband gave these the two thumbs up, and by the rate at which they disappeared, I think these are probably in his top 10 cookie fave list. Then again, they are chocolate. What I like about them is that they are without sweetener other than dates. And they are chock full of things that keep your blood sugar stable even with the datey goodness.

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil (organic and unrefined)
1 cup pitted honey dates
1/4 cup water
2 eggs

1/2 cup raw cacao
1 tbsp ground vanilla bean
1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds
1 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda


directions:

1. combine the hot water and dates, then puree with an immersion blender. Add the coconut oil and puree again. Finally, add the eggs, and process with the immersion blender until smooth.

2. stir in the raw cacao, vanilla bean, and sea salt. If you are nuts like me, you can add a little black pepper.

3. mix in the shredded coconut, ground flax, ground sesame seeds, and baking soda

4. finally stir in the almond flour.
5. scoop into an airtight container and chill
6. roll into balls when chilled
7. flatten and bake at 345 for 12 minutes
8. cool on a wire rack
9. store in an airtight container when cool

After mixing up the cookie dough, I realized I had no time to bake them, so I put the dough into an airtight container and stored it in the freezer. When I was ready to bake them, I took the dough out and let it soften a little. It's easier to roll into balls when it's cold. Anyway, this dough stores well in the freezer, and makes good cookies.

Enjoy!!!

Lemon Date Muffins -- the usual gf, sf, yummy, you get the drill

I like the brightness of the lemon with the sweetness of the date. I find these muffins to be a nice little good morning breakfast shout out. If I weren't using juice from a bottle, I'd definitely add a little zest of the lemon to get things even more exciting. But as they stand: terrific!

1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup lemon juice

4 eggs

1/2 (- 3/4) tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground vanilla
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
black pepper

1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda


1 cup chopped honey dates (pitted)


directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345
2. combine the warm water and coconut oil
3. add the lemon juice and beaten eggs
4. stir in the sea salt, vanilla, and cinnamon
5. add the flax meal, hemp seeds, shredded coconut, and almond flour. Add the baking soda
6. stir in the chopped dates
7. scoop the mixture into 24 prepared muffin cups and bake at 345 for 30 minutes
8. bake until they spring back when lightly poked
9. cool in the cups for 5 minutes or more before removing to a wire rack.
10. store in the fridge in an airtight container when completely cool.

Chocolate Monkey Muffins -- Baby Monkeys Everywhere

Congratulations to our friends who have just had their 2nd baby. These are for them because we know they are hungry and can't cook right now. We dropped some off while they were still warm. Welcome to the world, baby N.

xo

ingredients:

3 really really ripe bananas

3/4  cup peanut butter

1 1/4 cups hot water

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1/4 cup raw cacao

1 cup shredded coconut

4 eggs

1 1/2  cups almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the honey, peanut butter, and hot water

2. add the chia seeds, vanilla, sea salt, and ceylon cinnamon

3. add the eggs

4. add the almond flour and the baking soda

5. scoop batter into prepared muffin cups

6. bake at 345 for 25-28 minutes

7. store in an airtight container when fully cooled

Chocolate Cake for my son's birthday

Light and delicate in texture, moist, rich, insanely chocolaty. This cake is everything a chocolate cake should be. It is also gluten-free, grain free, high in protein, (and if you take away all the ganache and glaze, pretty good for you), and of course truly delicious.

ingredients:

1/4 cup agave

1/2 cup bittersweet callebaut chocolate morsels (or any other very high quality bitter sweet chocolate morsel you prefer) (100g)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup organic butter

1 cup boiling water

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

 2 tbsp ground chia seeds

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

pinch chili pepper finely ground

a little black pepper finely ground

3 dark roast or espresso beans, finely ground

1/2 cup raw cacao

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs

2 cups almond flour 

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. pour boiling water over room temperature butter and chocolate morsels to melt them

2. when they are melted, add the agave and coconut sugar, followed by the apple cider vinegar

3. add the chia seeds, vanilla, sea salt, cinnamon, chili pepper, and black pepper

4. add the raw cacao

5. add the eggs and mix well

6. add the almond flour, and combine fully

7. add the baking soda

8. scoop the batter into prepared muffin cups

9. bake for approx 30-35 minutes, until the cakes feel firm and springy to the touch

or

10. pour the batter into prepared pans (buttered and lined with parchment

11. bake for 40-45 minutes, until the cake feels firm and springy to the touch

remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the pan

I assembled the layer cake with a truffle ganache filling between the layers and a chocolate glaze covering the cake in a lovely layer of sheen and deliciousness. Plus, the glaze can hide a multitude of sins ... ;)

Truffle Ganache Filling

Chocolate Glaze

This recipe will make 24 baby cakes, or 3 x 8 inch layers. I guess it would probably make 2 of the 9 or 10 inch layers.

New Year's Day Pancake Lunch -- gluten free, grain free, super yummy pancakes

Welcome 2012.
Let's eat pancakes. What's not to love?

This is how we spent the morning:

And then we came home and had spontaneous pancakes with Sandra and Dave:

ingredients:

1 cup +2 tbps water
2 eggs

1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground vanilla
1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon


2 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecan meal
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp baking soda


directions:

1. combine the ingredients
2. cook the pancakes for 1 or 2 minutes per side depending on size. You'll have to press 'em down when you flip 'em because all the seeds etc make 'em thick.
3. eat the pancakes with butter and syrup and fruit salad


These are seriously super delicious.

simple cookies -- but gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, you know the drill

These are simple cookies. The kind you eat with tea. My son ate 8 of them. Oops.

ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (organic smooth)

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup water

2 eggs

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp ground vanilla

2 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1  tsp sea salt

1/4 cup ground chia

4 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

xylitol for sprinkling on top

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the warm water, coconut sugar, and coconut oil

2. mix in the eggs and apple cider vinegar

3. add the vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt

4. mix in the chia

5. add the baking soda and almond flour, and mix well

6a. scoop by spoonful onto a lined baking sheet, and flatten with a wet fork

6b. sprinkle the tops with a little xylitol if desired then whisper kind words to your three year old

7. bake at 345 for 20 to 25 minutes

8. store in an airtight container when fully cool

makes 2 trays of cookies

As far as I'm concerned, these cannot hold a candle to the peanut butter cookies. But, in my mind, nothing much does. :) My husband thinks they are great with a cup of tea, and is delighted by the fact they are still soft after a week.

Plum Pie with Vanilla Custard -- holy hannah that's good

The other day my son and I came across a basket of Ontario plums -- the dusky blue kind that start out green and go all soft and orange on the inside -- and we decided to make plum pie. We have a book we like to read called 'Each Peach Pear Plum' that ends with everyone eating plum pie -- even the bunnies, even baby bunting, even the wicked witch.

I thought about it for a while, and I decided exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted a sweet, cookie type crust to remind me of the crust of the plum tart my mother used to make when I was a kid. And I knew the plums would be kinda sour, so I wanted to play with that by topping it with a sweet and delicious vanilla custard that would celebrate both the flavour of the plums and their sourness. So, we got the cookie, we got the sour plumminess, bits of chewiness where the edges of the plums got all baked and delicious, we got the creamy, rich vanilla sweetness of the custard, all balancing together into one fabulous dessert where the sum is definitely more than the components. 

It was also easy to make, so don't be shy.

crust:

ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond meal

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup coconut sugar

3 tsp cinnamon (I used 1 tsp each of korintje, saigon, and ceylon)

1 tsp ground vanilla bean

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

directions:

preheat oven to 345

1. prepare a pie plate or springform pan (I like to line my springform pan with parchment and grease it well with coconut oil)

2. combine all ingredients in a bowl except for the coconut oil and vinegar

3. mix well

4. add the coconut oil, and cut it in as it were. I used a fork and sort of mashed it. It worked beautifully.

5. finally, add the apple cider vinegar, and mix very well

6. press the crumbly mixture VERY FIRMLY into the bottom of the pie plate or springform pan. VERY firmly.

7. bake for 20 minutes at 345

pie:

ingredients:

1 baked pie crust from above

1.5 L of blue plums (what, damsons are they?), washed, pitted, and diced or coarsely chopped -- yield 4 or 5 cups

pinch sea salt

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 tbsp arrowroot powder

directions:

preheat oven to 345 if it's not still on from baking the crust

1. toss the chopped plums with the sea salt, coconut sugar, and arrowroot powder

2. put the plum mixture on the pie crust evenly, and return it to the oven

3. bake for 40 minutes at 345

custard:

ingredients:

2 cups milk (I use raw whole milk. I recommend at least using organic whole milk (not skim))

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp ground vanilla bean

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp arrowroot powder

directions:

1. combine the ingredients in a double boiler

2. stir while cooking until thickened

3. remove from heat and set aside to serve over slices of pie

Almond Butter and Raisin Cookies -- a great gluten-free, high powered snack

I haven't been posting much lately. Not sure why. I feel more tired than usual, so I'll just blame that. It's the heat. It's making my blood pressure drop. It's too hot to cook.

Truth is, I may have been creating less, but still creating plenty nonetheless. I've been stockpiling posts like some kind of deranged chipmunk preparing for the winter of my discontent. Whatever. I have just been way too lethargic to actually publish them. Lots of good stuff, too. Things I'd be excited about if only it weren't so darn hot and I weren't so darn tired ...

Well, I whipped up these cookies before taking my son to 'camp' so that he'd have a healthy snack to enjoy and share with the other children.

They taste good. They are good for you. They are easy. Hope that helps.


ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon (I used saigon)
1 tsp ground vanilla

1/2 cup flax meal
2 cups pecan meal
1 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup raisins


directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the coconut oil, almond  butter, and hot water
2. add the coconut sugar and apple cider vinegar
3. mix in the flax meal, followed by the eggs
4. add hte sea salt, cinnamon, and ground vanilla
5. add the pecan meal and almond flour
6. add the baking soda
7.  add the raisins

(hmm ... if you are a chocolate lover, chocolate chips would go well with them as they are)

8. drop by the spoonful onto lined baking sheets
9. flatten with a wet fork
10. bake for 20 minutes at 345
11. store in an airtight container when fully cooled.

makes 3-4 dozen depending on size (will fill 2 baking trays)

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Baby Cakes -- Don't blink, because they'll be gone!

I whipped these little cuties up in just a few minutes. They are mostly virtuous, but just a little naughty. Sound like anyone you know? The chocolate is our usual fave, callebaut, which makes no excuses. It is a fabulously balanced tasting dark chocolate chip that I can't recommend highly enough. If you've never had the pleasure and are a chocolate lover, you might like to check it out. Callebaut also makes organic fair-trade chocolate, but I've yet to come across it. When it comes to a cake like this, or even chocolate chip cookies, I would absolutely recommend using the best quality chocolate you can get your hands on. The taste makes all the difference in the world. And real, good quality chocolate is a super-food. Which makes it guilt free, right? ;)

These cakes are full of blood-sugar stabilizing ingredients such as chia seeds and high protein flours. The sweeteners in these cakes are agave and coconut sugar. I chose agave for its uncomplicated and bright sweetness, but just used 2 tbsp of it. The addition of 2 tbsp of coconut sugar gives a darker sweetness with more depth and more complex flavours. That works out to 1/2 tsp of coconut sugar and 1/2 tsp of agave in each cake.

I know that people with blood sugar issues such as hypo-glycemia or diabetes need to be careful when indulging in sweets. However, with the small amount of sugar in dark chocolate and the small amount of agave and coconut sugar added to this recipe, the sweeteners are well offset by the protein rich ingredients and the chia. If you are very sensitive, you could safely halve the quantity of chocolate in the cakes. The cakes are too chocolaty for me the way they are, but my boys -- chocolate lovers both -- were very happy with them.

Also, I ran out of eggs, so instead of 2, I used 1 and 1 tsp egg replacer. OOPS.

ingredients:

2 tbps extra virgin coconut oil

3/4 cup warm water

1 egg

1 tsp egg replacer + 1/4 cup cool water (combined)

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbps clear agave

2 tbsp coconut sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1 tsp ground vanilla bean

2 tbsp ground chia

1 cup almond meal

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp coconut flour

1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate morsels (Callebaut!)

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the coconut oil and the warm water to melt the oil

2. add the agave and coconut sugar

3. add the vinegar

4. make sure the mixture is no longer warm and beat in the egg

5. mix in the egg replacer and water

6. stir in the salt, vanilla, and cinnamon

7. add the chia

8. add the almond flour

9. add the baking soda

10. add the coconut flour

11. add the chocolate morsels

12. scoop into prepared muffin cups, and bake at 345 for 37-40 minutes in the upper half of the oven

makes 12 cakes

Gluten free cakes of this ilk are fragile, and need to cool in their cups for a while before they are taken out onto a cooling rack. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge ... but don't blink ...