The ideal macaroon is a light ball of toasted coconut goodness with a slightly chewy center. It took seven tries but I finally got a recipe and technique for the perfect macaroon.
Macaroons are a great option for gifts because they fit into most diets. This macaroon recipe is gluten free, grain free, vegetarian, naturally sweetened, and paleo! If you are following along on my Wahls Diet journey these macaroons also follow her diet. But are they delicious? Yes, I wouldn’t put them in my Christmas cookie tins if they weren’t.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a food processor, mixer or, if you want an arm work out, a whisk to combine the coconut butter, honey, egg whites, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. The mixture will be the texture of warm peanut butter.
Next fold in the sweetened and unsweetened coconut so it is evenly moist. The goal is to mix everything together without compressing to keep the batter light.
Using a scale measure out half ounce increments of dough and use wet fingertips to shape into loose balls. If you don’t have a scale you are aiming for about a tablespoon.
Place each ball onto the parchment paper. Macaroons don’t rise, so you can place them close together. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating the cookie sheet at 8 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet a couple minutes so they set before moving them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
These little bites are a nice treat when you don’t want to turn on your oven. Mix these no bake cookies up in about five minutes or so and then put them in the fridge for about 10. Viola!
Since discovering that several members of our family are gluten sensitive, we have been experimenting more with grain-free and gluten-free recipes. Now that it’s summer and 100+ degrees outside, we turn on the oven less. I love other no-bake cookie recipes and wanted to create something that my seven year old daughter could make by herself, since I’m not comfortable with her reaching into the oven just yet. This recipe is simple and delicious. Perfect for kids to make on their own.
You could even make other flavors by adding in lemon, lime or orange zest and playing with the seasonings. My daughter said that next time she wants to try dipping them in melted dark chocolate. Yum!
Combine coconut, almond flout and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together with a fork to get out any lumps.
Add remaining ingredients, except for milk. Stir together until the ingredients are well combined and start to stick together.
Test a piece of dough by lightly squeezing a pinch of it in your fist. If it holds together well, you’re done. If you need it, add the milk until it will hold it’s shape.
Roll into small balls or scoop with a cookie scoop and place on parchment lined baking sheets.
Refrigerate about 10 minutes to set.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
I wanted to make cookies for my family one night as a special treat, but as I looked at my pantry and my refrigerator it became apparent that I was out of many ingredients. I decided to try and whip something up anyway with things I had on hand and they came out great! The taste was delicious. The texture is crunchy, rather than chewy, but for no eggs or butter I was happy. I will remember these particular almond flour cookies to make for some friends who have dairy, egg, gluten allergies and those eating only honey sweetened desserts. Fast and delicious!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Mix together dry ingredients with a fork. Add remaining ingredients except chocolate chips* and combine thoroughly. Let the dough rest for five minutes.
Fold in chocolate chunks or chips. (I just chop up my favorite dark chocolate candy bar).
Roll into small balls and place on the parchment paper. Use the bottom of a glass to gently press down the cookies. If the glass is sticking too much, wet it with water on the bottom.
Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies will not brown much. Slide parchment onto wire racks to cool. Allow to cool on a wire rack before removing from parchment.
*Feel free to sub carob chips if you don’t eat chocolate.
This deliciously creamy, rich, decadent treat, free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar can be eaten warm or chilled. I suggest freezing leftovers in individual servings. Tuck them into packed lunches and by the time you’re ready to enjoy your meal, it will be thawed just enough for it to have a frozen custard effect.
In a large sauce pan, bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, add tapioca pearls, stir, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
While tapioca soaks, separate eggs. Beat egg whites with maple syrup and beat yolks in a separate bowl. Start measuring other ingredients while you wait for the tapioca to finish soaking.
Add milk and salt to soaked tapioca and whisk in egg yolks. Whisk constantly over medium heat until it thickens and is brought to a boil. It’s important to use a whisk to separate any tapioca clumps. Reduce heat and simmer another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Slowly pour 2 cups hot tapioca into the egg white mixture as you whisk vigorously. Now whisk in egg white mixture with the rest off the tapioca. Whisk 3 more minutes over low heat. Add vanilla. Serve warm or chilled. Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top of each serving if desired.
I am excited to make our own yogurt pops this year with these silicone popsicle molds. My kids loved the organic Stonyfield ones, but at $3/box all summer that adds up.
Throw your frozen fruit choice, homemade yogurt, chia seeds, water kefir and Concentrace all into your Vitamix or blender or food processor and give it a whirl. They are done when filly blended and no frozen fruit chunks are left.
Fill these silicone Popsicle molds and freeze as directed.
These little squares are a treat. The coconut and crispy cashews create a lovely texture. They are moist, chewy and rather sweet. The original recipe that this was adapted from called for 2 cups of sugar! Needless to say, this recipe is significantly reduced, but still on the sweet side, so I wouldn’t make them too often. They are a great treat to bring to potlucks or share with friends over herbal tea.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square dish or line one with parchment paper.
Using a whisk, beat the eggs until they are foamy. This is a critical step. Make sure the eggs are good and foamy. Then, beat in the sweetener salt and vanilla.
Stir in the shredded coconut and crispy cashews, then sift the coconut flour on top of the mixture. Stir the coconut flour in lightly.
Spread the batter into the pan and bake for about 15 minutes. Cool in the pan for an additional 10-15 minutes before cutting into squares.
*Crispy cashews are made by soaking 4 cups raw cashews overnight in enough filtered water to cover, plus 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Drain and dehydrate at 150 degrees for 12-24 hours or until completely crisp. Preparing any nuts this way will increase nutrients and make them easier to digest.
If you have never tried preparing a raw dish, this is a very delicious starter recipe. It’s simple and only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.
Put 10 apricots, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 3 tbs. coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt in a blender (a high-speed like a Vita-Mix works best). Blend on high until smooth and pour into a pie pan. Chop up 4 remaining apricots in little bits and sprinkle them onto the apricot purée.
In a food processor, make the crumb topping by processing nuts, dates, 2 tbs. coconut oil, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and vanilla until it resembles coarse crumbs (before it turns into a butter). Sprinkle on top of apricots. Now you can either serve it right away or stick it in the dehydrator at 105º for 30 minutes to 3 hours if you’d like it warmed and your house to smell divine. Scoop onto plates or bowls and serve immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge. It stays good for 3 more days.
Classic chocolate chip cookies, with a twist! Made with sprouted wheat flour and other wholesome ingredients, they are satisfying and not stripped of important nutrients. (Just keep in mind that Sucanat is still sugar, so eat sparingly!)
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line cookie pan with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, Sucanat and molasses together thoroughly with an electric mixer.
Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well.
Combine the flour, salt and soda and add all at once to the batter and beat well.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on lined baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. When the edges are browning, they are done. (If you use an airbake pan, or baking stone, this will change the cooking time.)
Cool for 1 minute and then using a spatula, transfer cookies to a clean dish towel and allow to cool.
These freeze well.
I’m excited to share a gluten-free and grain-free adaptation of my grandma’s petit fours Easter cookie recipe. It’s moist yet not crumbly, and it’s low-carb, filling, and delicious. Best of all, it’s suitable for anyone avoiding grains or gluten, and made with just a few accessible ingredients. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix the almond flour, fat and sweetener. In a food processor, mix the almond flour, fat (I used a combination of coconut oil and ghee), and honey or maple syrup.
Mix the egg and extracts. In a separate blender, beat the egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt.
Combine the mixtures. Pour the egg-extract mixture into the processor with the almond flour mixture, and whirl until well incorporated.
Shape petit fours. Shape 1 teaspoon-sized pieces of the dough into round cookies, and add to baking sheet, gently pressing down very slightly to flatten a bit. Space cookies at least an inch apart because they expand. You can make smaller cookies if you wish, or larger. These were about one and half to two inches wide.
Bake petit fours. Stick baking sheet in preheated oven and bake for 7-9 minutes. If you keep for an extra minute, they get darker. For the darker cookies, I kept for 8 minutes, and then ‘broiled’ for a minute to get the top to brown. Since I was trying it for the first time, I wanted to test the texture of both the light and dark ones, and I’m happy to report that each was tasty in its own way. Be very careful and monitor the cookies carefully so they don’t burn.
Leave to set. After baking, leave out on the counter to set for 5-10 minutes. Enjoy warm, with a glass of milk or tea. To store, keep in a sealed container on the counter for up to a week.
This fudgey cookie is easy to make. It’s crisp on the outside with little cracks and has a soft and moist center.
Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. (Or if your oven is temperamental like mine, leave one rack in the middle and bake one sheet at a time. It will not hurt the other batch to sit out while one is baking)
Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Set aside.
In a stand mixer, beat eggs and cream of tartar (if using) until soft peaks form. Slowly add maple syrup or sucanat and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
Pour the melted chocolate and chopped nuts onto the beaten egg whites. Gently fold until the color evens out and there are not more white streaks.
Spoon by teaspoons onto the parchment paper 1-inch apart and bake 10-12 minutes or until the tops are cracked. They will be firm on the outside, but gooey when pressed. Allow to cool on wire racks.
These little treats are so yummy and rich! Honey-sweetened and grain-free, they are healthy and high in protein. They are also very easy to whip up at the last minute.
Melt butter and stir in honey, milk and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Turn off heat and stir in coconut and peanut butter. Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper and place in the freezer until set.
Note: To make these dairy-free, simply use coconut oil and coconut milk instead of butter and milk.
Chia seeds are the richest plant source of omega-3′s. Just one tablespoon contains 2,375mg’s (ALA not EPA/DHA). They are a complete protein as they contain all the essential amino acids in appropriate balance. Chia seeds contain 11g’s of fiber, 4g’s protein, and 27 nutrients.
Food process milk, chia seeds, cacao and sucanat for 3-5 minutes in your Vitamix or food processor until a thick pudding consistency.
If using a food processor, you may need to process longer.
Serve with whipped cream.
Read more about chia seeds here: Health Benefits of Chia Seeds.