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Coconut Butter Chip Cookies (DF/GF)

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Happy Fall everyone (almost winter)!  My kitchen has been all about pumpkin lately, but decided to go back to an old classic…chocolate chip cookies :).  My birthday was a few weeks ago, therefore I naturally had cake on my brain.

As I get older I feel my birthdays start to run together…does anyone else feel this way?! I actually had to ask myself if I was turning 31 or 32!  I spent this birthday cleaning out garages, storage areas, etc…yes thrilling I know…but it ended with wine and dessert therefore I did just fine.  My birthday may change over the years, but one constant is dessert…I will always make myself a birthday dessert.

I pulled out old recipe books/cards, as well as the hundreds of magazine pages I’ve ripped out and saved over the years, to see if anything sparked my interest.  I came across tons of cakes, brownies, etc., but I kept coming back to the idea of ice cream sandwich cookies.  Why? I do not know…especially considering it is cold out!?  Maybe hormones or sleep deprivation:)? Anyways, I went with it!

I remembered the coconut butter cookies I made a couple years ago and thought they’d be perfect with ice cream!  I looked over the recipe and wanted to see if I could make them even better…so I wasted no time and headed straight into the kitchen.

The final product was SO good!  The cookies are soft, fluffy balls of pure good-ness!  I think Taylor ate half of them that day :).   I will say many of my recipe trials do not go well on the first attempt, but the birthday fairy must have been with me in the kitchen that day.

To complete my birthday dessert, I allowed some ice cream to soften a bit and scooped it onto the cookies to create ice cream sandwiches.  After assembling, I sealed them in plastic wrap and then into a freezer bag.  A few hours later I had the exact birthday dessert I hoped for!

 

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8-10 minutes
Total Time 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Next melt coconut butter by placing the jar of coconut butter in a saucepan.  Fill pan with water until 1/2 to 3/4 of jar is covered by water.  Heat over medium heat to soften the solid butter into a runny consistency, stirring every couple of minutes.  Do not bring the water to more than a light simmer.  This should take about 10 minutes.  Once complete, set aside to cool for ~ 5-10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl combine cooled coconut butter, almond butter, coconut milk, coconut sugar, egg and vanilla.  Combine by whisking wet ingredients together with a spatula.
4. In a second smaller bowl combine flours, coconut, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Stir briefly to combine and add to bowl with wet ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet via spatula.  Add mini chips and briefly fold again.
5. Use a standard…or jumbo:).. cookie scoop to arrange mounds of dough on prepared baking sheet. Bake standard size scoop for approximately 8-10 minutes in preheated oven, and larger scoop (ice cream size) for 10-12 minutes.
6. The cookies are done when the tops crack and the outer layer appears set.  The center will still be soft… You do not want to over-bake these as with any other chocolate chip cookie :)….gooey = great.

 

Notes

  • You can sub the flours above if you do not have them on hand.  All purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or a 1-1 gluten free flour blend will work well.  I use a variety because the buckwheat flour provides a light/tender crumb.  The oat flour adds a tad of sweetness/oat”ti-ness” to the cookies.  Spelt flour is not gluten-free, but has less gluten and easier to digest.
  • You could sub the coconut butter for another nut butter, but I highly recommend using coconut butter.  It may very well be my favorite food :).
  • Coconut sugar can be replaced with 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup light brown sugar if needed.  The coconut sugar gives a different taste to the cookies…one I love, therefore do not recommend subbing.  Coconut sugar is easy to find in almost all stores.
  • The coconut milk can be swapped for any milk of choice. I prefer a milk that is not fat free.
  • The cookies will soften a tad when stored in an air-tight container.
  • I linked many of the items I use above in the ingredient list.

Carrot Cake Macaroons (Gluten and Dairy free)

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Happy Monday!  I hope you are all having a great week. I have not been in the kitchen much recently, but for a very good reason!  I am newly engaged as of Sunday February 17th :), and could not be happier.  I honestly did not know love, even life, could feel this way until I met Taylor.   We started dating 3 years ago in February of 2016 after meeting via a mutual friend. I can without hesitation say they have been the best 3 years of my life.   He is an incredible man not only to me, but everyone in his life.  He has the most pure heart and fills me up with love, positivity and encouragement everyday.  Since I met him I have become a better person, and am so lucky I get to do life with him!

Soo as one can assume I have suddenly entered wedding planning mode…hard core :).  My free time has already been filled with searching the internet/Pinterest for wedding ideas, skimming bridal magazines, researching venues, photographers, etc.  I actually made myself feel car sick the following day (Monday), from constant scrolling on the computer!  It did not take long for me to suddenly feel a little (more like a lot :))  overwhelmed….I had no idea (and still don’t really) all that is involved in wedding planning.   I have a newfound respect for my married friends….and some of your phones will likely be ringing soon :).

Now that I’ve had a week to digest this new and incredibly exciting time in my life, I feel I have come back down to planet earth :).  Taylor has already been amazing at taking the time to sit and talk with me about wedding ideas.  He will without a doubt be my voice of reason throughout this process.   He tells me I help center his mind and bring him back when he gets “out to sea”, but he absolutely does the same for me.  I know he and I being together with our family and friends is really what matters, not all the little details.  No one else knows them…so nobody will know if they do not work out anyways, right :)?!  We are going to enjoy (not stress) planning our wedding, and do our best to make it special in our own way.

One funny side note, and then i’ll get to the cookies!  I had a great idea (so I thought) of how to get Taylor’s opinion on a wedding dress.  I of course want the dress to be a surprise, but also want to know if he has any “hard no’s” on wedding dress style.  I took it upon myself to rip out multiple weddings dresses from magazines, ones I liked/loved and others I disliked/really did not like.  Last night while relaxing on the couch I said…”hey let’s play a quick wedding game”.  He laughed and said “ok…:)”.  I told him I would hold up pictures of wedding dresses, some I loved and others not so much…He was then to give me thumbs up or thumbs down.  Initially I thought this game seemed harmless….but then suddenly began sinking deeper and deeper into my seat as every dress I liked/loved was given a thumbs down!  I had about 20 dresses ripped out, and kid you not we were opposite on every single one!  My idea totally backfired…sooo I am just going to forget last night happened and put dresses on the back-burner for a while.

Anyways… moving on :). After he proposed, he took me to my mom’s house for a pre-planned dinner to celebrate with she and my brother.  We had a great time! My mom is absolutely over the moon, to say the least :).  We were suppose to have dinner with his parents yesterday to continue the celebration, but we lost power :(.   It was incredibly windy in Indiana yesterday, and many people were in the same boat as us.  We missed the first hour and a half of the Oscars too :(…but thankfully had power again in time for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s performance!  It’s amazing how much we rely on power… and appreciate it after it is taken away!

Thankfully I started prepping for Sunday dinner on Saturday when we had power.  I always start with dessert first :),  and wanted to make something Taylor’s dad would enjoy.  He loves coconut macaroons as well as carrot cake, so I thought why not combine the two?!  Carrot cake already has coconut in it, making these two easy to merge together.  The pineapple, walnuts, raisins and spices take this macaroon up another level.  The pineapple adds extra moisture along with a brightness, while the cinnamon and nutmeg warm you from the inside out.  I prefer to keep the macaroons in the fridge due to the pineapple in them.  I feel they taste better cold anyway!   Feel free to play around with the recipe also.  You can use any type of nut or dried fruit you’d like.  Dark chocolate would work well too!

Unfortunately his family didn’t get to try any due to having to cancel our plans, but I sent them with Taylor to deliver at work today.  I am anxious to hear how they went over!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25-30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Makes ~12 cookies

Ingredients

• 5 ounces shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened (~ 2 cups)
• 4 oz peeled carrots, shredded (~1 cup)
• One 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained WELL
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, roasted and unsalted ( I used honey roasted for Taylor’s dad)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed coconut milk (or regular)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (preferred)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 XL egg white beaten to stiff peaks
• 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped (such as Bakers Bar or Ghiradelli)
• 1 teaspoon solid coconut oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.  Make sure the baking rack is in the center level of the oven.
2. Pour an 8 oz can of crushed pineapple into a colander or fine mesh strainer.  Push crushed pineapple against the sides with the back of a spoon or spatula to rid some of the excess liquid.  The pineapple will still be moist, but should not be excessively wet or damp.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the shredded coconut, shredded carrots, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg to bowl with pineapple.  Stir to combine.
4. Measure 1/2 cup condensed milk in a liquid measuring cup, then add another 2 tablespoons.  Add vanilla and stir to combine. Add milk mixture to large bowl of dry ingredients.  Combine via stirring and folding in with spatula.
5. Whip the egg white and salt in a separate, medium bowl via a hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form.
6. Transfer the beaten egg white to coconut mixture.  Fold in with spatula until combined.   The mixture will seem damp/wet at this point but should not be soup”y” or crumbly/dry.
7. Use an over-sized cookie scoop to transfer the macaroon mixture to a prepared baking sheet.  Lightly compact the macaroon mixture in the oversize scoop to help create a compact ball shape.
8. Bake for 12-13 minutes, then rotate the tray 180 degrees. Bake for another 12-13 minutes until the coconut is just lightly browned and starts to develop a slight crust.  I baked mine for exactly 25 minutes, but may need a few more or less minutes depending on your oven.
9. Allow macaroons to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
10. Melt white chocolate and coconut oil over a double boiler, or in heat safe dish in the microwave.  If using a microwave, melt the chocolate in 20-30 second intervals on power 8, stirring in between.  Line a cool (no longer warm) baking sheet with a clean sheet of parchment or a Silpat.
11. Once cookies are cool, dip the bottom of the cookie into the melted chocolate mixture.  Allow excess to drip off and place onto your clean/prepared lined baking sheet.  Allow 20-30 minutes for chocolate to firm up.  Enjoy one right away 🙂 or store extra in airtight container in the fridge.  I prefer to store these in the fridge because of the pineapple in them…and I think they taste better cold :).

Grain-Free Dark Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (with Raspberry Coconut Butter filling)

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We’ve made it half way through February!  This month has flown by, and spring is almost here :).  I heard birds chirping outside my window the other morning and it instantly lifted my spirits.  I know January and February can be a tough time of year in the Midwest due to weather, but if you think about it there are so many fun things during these months to beat our winter blues.  We have football, the holidays, award show season, and best of all Valentine’s Day!  I am definitely a romantic and all about LOVE :), therefore fully enjoy this day.  I have spent a handful of V-days single and others in a relationship.  I will say I actually enjoyed a lot of my single Valentine’s Day experiences because I was able to focus on myself for a day.  Life frequently feels too busy and we often neglect or own needs…but its always important to check in with ourselves and see how we are doing.

Being in a relationship on Valentine’s Day is also lots of fun!  I will say though…I have had my fair share horrible V-Day experiences.  I appreciate my boyfriend and our relationship even more today due to some of my past disasters :/.  You can’t appreciate good without the bad right :)?!

Like I mentioned above, you do not have to be in a relationship to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  To me the day is about love for anyone and anything in your life.  For you this may be your kids, parents, sibling(s), dog, cat, girlfriends, etc.  Most importantly remember to give yourself some love on this special day.  Take some time to acknowledge how great you are and do something for yourself!  Take a hot bath with fancy soap, enjoy some good wine, take a workout class, get a pedicure, spend time reading a good book, go for a walk, journal and reflect, engage in a hobby you love or one you’ve meant to try, or maybe bake for yourself :)? I do it all the time!

The colder months keep me baking more than usual.  I was recipe testing last week and had a strong urge to create a grain-free sugar cookie.  With Valentine’s Day approaching I naturally felt the need to incorporate chocolate, and ended up with these soft, pillow-like chocolate sugar cookies! In the past I have not been overly successful in my gluten-free sugar cookie attempts. I have tried making them with a gluten-free 1:1 flour, but often have trouble getting the dough to come together well.  It frequently crumbles or cracks upon rolling no matter how long I chill it, or how much butter I use.   Last week I broke the cycle and came up with a recipe I just love :).

The cookies are good on their own, but I wanted to take them up a notch and incorporate some pink/red valentines day flare.  My boyfriend’s mom makes amazing jams, and luckily had a jar in my pantry.  I also had some coconut butter, which I am just crazy for.  I have used it in some of my past recipes and cannot get enough of it.  The raspberry jam and coconut butter are heavenly together.  Coconut butter will firm up on its own when it cools as it returns to it’s solid state.  This makes for a great filling because it keeps the cookie together well.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day week full of lots of LOVE :), and make sure to sneak in some time for baking!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10-12 minutes
Decorating Time 20-30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Makes 6 sandwich cookies, 12 individual cookies, 2/3 cup filling

Ingredients

Cookies

• 8 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter, softened at room temperature (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (preferred)
• 1 cup lightly packed almond meal, blanched
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (dutch or regular work in this recipe)*
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

•1/3 cup raspberry jam (or jam of choice)
•1/3 cup coconut butter, melted and cooled *
•1 tablespoon coconut flour

Chocolate Dip

• 4 oz dark chocolate or chocolate of choice (preferably Bakers Bar or other melting wafer/bar). Chocolate chips do not melt well
• 1 teaspoon solid/soft coconut oil

White Chocolate Drizzle

• 2 oz white chocolate (again preferably not chocolate chips)
• 1/2 teaspoon solid coconut oil

Instructions

Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment or a Silpat.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), cream butter and sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla paste/extract. Scrape around bowl with spatula to ensure mixture is well combined.
3. In a separate medium size bowl, sift coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.  Stir in almond flour.  Gradually add dry mixture to the butter mixture in 2 additions. Again finish with a spatula to ensure mixture is well combined.
4. Allow the cookie dough to sit for 10 minutes.  This allows the coconut flour to thicken the mixture some.
5. Using a standard cookie scoop, portion dough onto the prepared baking sheet. I baked 8 cookies per sheet.
5. Bake cookies for 4 minutes.  Take them out at this point and use a flipper/turner to flatten the cookies some. Do not smash them, just a gentle push.  They will not spread well on their own.  Return cookies to the oven and bake another 6 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.*
6. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on baking tray for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Filling

7. Warm coconut butter as directed below under recipe notes.  Remove jar from hot water bath and allow to cool (~10 minutes).
8. If your jam/jelly is runny consistency use as is.  If it is thicker, place in a microwave safe bowl, or in small saucepan and gently warm it to a thinner consistency.  This only takes about 20 seconds in the microwave (recommend power level 8), or few minutes on stove top.  Be careful if using microwave as it will burn/smoke easily.
9. Place coconut butter and jam in a small bowl and combine via spatula. Stir in 1 tablespoon of coconut flour.  Allow filling to rest for 10 minutes.  The mixture will thicken some.

Decorating

10. Spread a couple tablespoons of filling on the bottom of one cookie, making sure to not push it too close to the edge.  Place a second cookie over-top to sandwich the filling.  Push down softly until mixture spreads towards the border, but not all the way.  Repeat until all cookies are complete.  At this point I place the cookies on a plate in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.  This helps the filling solidify and hold them together well for dipping.  Make sure the cookie feels firmly held together before you start dipping. Can return to fridge for another 15 minutes or so if needed.

11. Heat dark chocolate and coconut oil in microwave safe dish in 20-30 second increments on power level 8 until melted, stirring in between cycles. Repeat with white chocolate. Put dark chocolate in a small glass or mug big enough to dip in. Dip one half of the cookie into chocolate.  If it does not reach half way up the cookie, push the cookie up towards the side of the bowl to help raise the chocolate up. Set on a plate to dry. Repeat with remaining cookies. Place cookies in fridge for 5-10 minutes to help chocolate set.

12. Gather some melted white chocolate in a spoon and drizzle over the cookies, as pictured above. You can also use a plastic piping bag (just make sure chocolate is not hot if you do this).  Garnish with toppings of choice.  I used hemp seeds, heart sprinkles from Fancy Sprinkles and rose petals.  I have the petals linked under my baking products page.  Have fun decorating these anyway you like, and feel free to change up the chocolate.  They would be pretty dipped in white chocolate too!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Recipe Notes

*Coconut butter is very firm in the jar.  It resembles a peanut butter that separates with the oil on top.  The difference is it will be solid, rather than runny.  I find it easiest to place a saucepan filled with a few cups of water on medium-low over your stove top.  You do not want to boil the water, rather warm it. Remove the jar lid and any plastic labels from the coconut butter jar, and place it in the pan with water.  I usually put in enough water to reach half way up the jar.  Allow the jar to rest in warm to very warm water for a few minutes.  You slowly will be able to start stirring the mixture shortly after it heats through (it will soften up towards the bottom of the jar first).  It will have a consistency similar to tahini.  Now you can measure and carry on baking!

*You can use cocoa powder, dutch processed cocoa powder or cacao powder.  The baking soda/cocoa, baking powder/dutch cocoa rule does not matter in this recipe.  You can learn more about this rule in my science of baking page if interested.

*When I remove anything I bake from the oven, or open the door, I always turn the oven up 5 degrees after closing the door again.  You can actually lose a lot more heat than you think when opening the door even quickly.  When the oven beeps again telling me it reached 355 I turn it back to 350.  This simply ensures your oven temp is going up after you expose it to the outside environment.  I find my baked goods turn out better and are more accurate with the recommended cooking time.  Just a little tip :).

*If you do not have coconut butter, or care for it, you can replace this with regular butter at room temperature. I have not tried this yet, but would cream together 4 tablespoons room temperature butter, 1 tablespoon coconut flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar sifted and 1/4 cup jam (would not need to thin).

 

Chocolate Ginger Cookies

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Can you believe fall is almost over! Where did it go?!  It is my absolute favorite season, and always seems to fly by.  The cool weather and fall leaves inspire me to bake even more than normal this time of year.  A perfect fall day for me is a morning run to see my best horse friend Jackson :), followed by a warm shower, comfy clothes, an almond milk latte and then a whole afternoon of baking (with the Hallmark channel on of course :).  My boyfriend hunts quite a bit during the fall which allows me to get my Hallmark channel fix :).   I know they’re predictable and corny…but I still love them!

I posted my favorite ginger cookies a couple of months ago by Cooks Illustrated.  I will say I think about these cookies often during the fall and winter months.  Recently I began brainstorming ways to make one of my all-time favorite cookies even better…so naturally I thought of chocolate!

I made my own take on chocolate ginger cookies, and OMG I am so happy with these!  The first trial did not go so well though.  My mom tasted my first go around and instantly gave me the “….these are great babe…” look, as she then proceeded to barely pick at the rest of the cookie.  In her defense, they were bad and she tried to be nice :).  I tested the initial version with melted chocolate, but unfortunately did not work out as planned.   The next version came out just as I hoped they would; soft, full of chocolate flavor, but still with enough spice to separate it from your standard chocolate cookie!

I decorated these with pistachio and rose petals because I love the pop of color.  If you prefer a different color or flavor feel free to change things around!  These would be great with chocolate shavings, other chopped nuts, white chocolate drizzle, etc. You can absolutely roll these in sugar before baking and skip the chocolate drizzle and garnish all together.  The cookies will continue to firm up on the baking try after pulling them from the oven, therefore remove them on the slightly underdone side.  Just a minute or two can make a big difference in soft versus hard.  I did notice they softened up even more when stored in an airtight container for a day or so.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8-10 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (not dutch process)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter, unsalted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces chocolate of choice
• chopped garnishes of choice, or 1/3 cup granulated sugar or rolling

Instructions

1. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, spices and salt over a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream softened butter and both sugars together for 1-2 minutes on medium speed.
3. Add molasses and combine again, another 30 seconds.
4. Add eggs one at at time on medium-low speed, scraping down the sides of bowl in between to ensure ingredients combine thoroughly.
5. Add vanilla and combine for another 30 seconds.
6. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions.  Mix each addition until flour is just combined.  After the final addition, mix dough for another 10 seconds and turn off mixer to avoid over mixing.  Finish by running a spatula around the perimeter of bowl, folding inward.  This helps incorporate the poorly mixed dough that tends to settle down in the bottom of stand mixer bowls.
7. Cover dough with plastic wrap and place bowl in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
9. After 30 minutes, remove dough from fridge and scoop out 2 tablespoons, or a standard size cookie scoop, of dough per cookie.  If rolling in sugar do so at this time.  Set cookies onto the prepared baking sheet and place into preheated oven. I bake no more than 8 cookies at at time.
10. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes.  When the cookies are ready they will be just set on the edges, start to crack, and still appear slightly underdone in the center.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to wire cooling rack.
11. Allow cookies to cool completely on cooling rack.  Melt 4 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler or microwave safe dish.  You may add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil for a thinner chocolate drizzle if preferred, I did.  After melting, allow chocolate to cool for a couple of minutes.  Place melted chocolate into a piping bag and cut a very small opening at end of bag.  Be ready to drizzle because it will run out rather quickly considering it is so thin.  You also have the option to ditch the piping bag all together and dip a fork or spoon into the melted chocolate.  Briskly move the fork or spoon back and forth over 1/3 of the cookie to apple glaze.  Follow with your garnishes of choice.

Happy Baking!

Pumpkin Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Paleo)

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This recipe is a mix between a bar and a cookie. These are oil free, aside from the natural oil in tahini.  These cookie bars are soft, moist and just sweet enough.  This recipe can easily be made in a 9 inch square pan, but mine were all in use at the time…hence round shape :).  Now that it’s done it actually reminds me of cookie cake…and who doesn’t love that?!  The tahini has a rather neutral taste, which makes it a great base for the recipe.  I have not tried almond or coconut butter, but feel they would likely work great as well.  This recipe will satisfy your soft, gooey cookie craving with good for you ingredients!

Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 25-30 Minutes
Total Time 45 Minutes
Servings 6 very large pieces, 8 standard pie slices

Ingredients

Cookie Bars

• 3/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze

• 1/4 chocolate of choice chopped
• 1 teaspoon softened coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spray a 9 inch round pan or 8×8 inch square baking pan with cooking spray.  Line square pan with a strip of parchment, (~ 6 in wide) long enough to leave an overhang on each side. If using a round pan, cut out a circle piece of parchment the size of bottom of pan.  I actually trace around the bottom of my pan with pencil onto parchment paper.  Cut circle just a tad smaller, to the inside, of your tracing line.  Line bottom of sprayed pan with parchment.
  3. In a large bowl combine tahini, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar and eggs. Whisk to combine. Add shredded coconut and combine with spatula.
  4. In a second small bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.  Stir with wooden spoon or spatula.
  5. Add dry ingredients to wet in 1 addition.  Combine by folding and stirring ingredients with a spatula.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips.  I used mini chips, but feel free to use your chips of choice.
  7. Transfer batter into your prepared pan of choice.
  8. Place dish into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.  The top should begin to feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan should remove clean, or with a few damp crumbs.
  9. Remove from oven and allow to cool until pan is cool to touch, about 30 minutes.  I found it best to then chill the pan for 1 hour, after resting at room temperature for 30 minutes, before removing from pan to ensure the cookie bars do not break.  I know I am asking a lot to wait this long before digging in!
  10. After chilling, if using 8×8 square pan, lift bars out via the parchment overhang strips.  If using a round pan, place a cooling rack upside down on top of the round pan.  Grip the cooling rack and pan at the same time and flip the pan upside down. The bars should easily release.  Place a large circle plate over the bars to flip them over again to turn them face up.  Slide off plate into cooling rack
  11. Melt chocolate and oil in small saucepan over medium heat, or via microwave safe dish.  Melt in 30 second increments at 60% power.  Once fully melted, stir to combine glaze and drizzle over top of bars via dinner spoon.  This is not suppose to be perfect.  You will likely get a few falling blobs like I did above.  It’s just a bigger piece of chocolate to eat – no harm done 🙂

Recipe Notes

•You cannot replace coconut flour with another flour in this recipe.  Coconut flour is highly absorbent, therefore you do not need nearly as much of it.  If I had to estimate I would say 1 tablespoon of coconut flour is equal to 1/4-1/3 cup of other flours.  I again cannot vouch for other flours. The coconut flour allows this to be paleo as well.

•I have not tried flax eggs in this recipe.

•You could replace coconut sugar with brown sugar or granulated sugar.  Brown sugar will keep the bars soft and moist.  Granulated sugar should also result in a soft bar.  In a standard cookie recipe granulated sugar produces a crisper cookie, but these bars have a lot of moisture and do not foresee them becoming crisp.  A thin crisp top would not be a bad thing though :).

 

Pillow Pumpkin Cookies with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Glaze (Gluten Free)

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Soft, melt in your mouth pumpkin cookies! Do you remember Loft-house style sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles?  These were my favorite when I was younger!  I do not though, love the amount of butter and sugar within them.  I was craving a really soft cookie this weekend and decided to try and create a more forgiving version for your overall health :).  My first trial replaced half of the flour with almond meal, but strongly preferred the end result below with solely oat flour.  The glaze is the same cinnamon cream cheese glaze I use for my pumpkin bundt cakes, but could easily make this dairy free using full fat coconut milk/coconut cream and powdered sugar.  To me, these cookies taste better cold, and should be stored in the fridge if they are frosted.  You can easily store them bare at room temperature and frost as you go.  The glaze is of course optional, but makes the entire cookie if you ask me :).

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings approximately 14 cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 cup gluten free oat flour**
• 4 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons softened, unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup canned organic pumpkin puree

Glaze

• 4 tablespoons softened butter
• 3 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons milk (any milk of choice, I used unsweetened almond milk)

Instructions

Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Combine oat flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  3. Place butter, brown sugar and honey in a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix on medium speed with hand or stand mixer until combined, about 60 seconds.
  4. Add egg and vanilla.  Mix on medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
  5. Add pumpkin puree and mix to combine, another 30 seconds.
  6. Scrape down bowl with a spatula to ensure all wet ingredients are thoroughly combined.
  7. Add dry ingredients in two batches, mixing on low speed until combined.
  8. Scrape down bowl for a final time.  Now allow batter to rest for 10 minutes.  This allows the coconut flour set in.
  9. Use a standard cookie scoop, or two tablespoons, and drop batter onto cookie sheet.  Push the tops of the cookies down to flatten just a little to give yourself a surface to frost.  They will hold their round shape fairly well if not lightly pressed down.
  10. Bake for approximately 15 minutes.

Glaze

  1. Beat butter and cream cheese in a medium bowl via hand mixer or stand mixer.  Add cinnamon and salt and mix again.  Sift powdered sugar directly over the bowl and mix in 1 cup at a time.  Lastly, add milk in 2 batches.  I recommend adding slowly to ensure you get the consistency you desire.  I made this a tad thicker than the glaze I use on my bundt cakes to ensure the icing holds its shape.

Recipe Notes**

•You can make your own oat flour by placing old fashioned oats, no quick or instant, in a food processor. Run processor for about 2-3 minutes until you reach a flour consistency.
•Store cookies frosted in refrigerator.  If prefer to frost as you go, the bare cookies can be stored at room temperature.

 

Dark Chocolate Cherry Coconut Cookies

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Oatmeal cookies are my go to cookie, and will pick them over any other cookie anytime.  They are comforting and remind me of home…and you can make them fairy healthy with a few changes.  I was surfing Pinterest a few years ago for a oat/blueberry cookie and landed on Lady Pups blog.  She has an amazing recipe for blueberry oatmeal cookies.  I have changed the recipe some, but used hers as my foundation.  The blueberry version is so good and still make it frequently.  I made these to take to a friend’s lake house over Labor Day weekend and chose cherries and dark chocolate because I knew we would be opening a few bottles of red wine :).  Feel free to get creative with your combos.  I am going to experiment with rosemary and apricot soon!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling Time 30-60 minutes
Total Time 90 minutes
Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 stick (4 ounces), softened unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar or coconut
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

Instructions

1. Combine both flours, oats, salt, and baking soda in a medium size bowl.
2. Beat butter in bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, or in large bowl with hand mixer until soft and fluffy, about 1 minute.  Add sugar and coconut sugar and combine for another 30 seconds.
3.Next add egg and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add vanilla extract.
4. Take a spatula around the perimeter of bowl and fold all ingredients together to ensure all are well combined.
5. Now stir in your add-ins.  In this case I chose chocolate chips, dried tart cherries and shredded coconut.
6. Chill dough in refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
7. While dough is chilling line a cookie sheet with parchment and preheat oven to 350 degrees
8. Remove dough from fridge.  Use standard size cookie scoop or measure 2 tablespoons of dough and place on parchment lined baking sheet. I usually only bake 6-8 cookies per sheet.  I also always only bake 1 tray at a time.
9. Bake for 10-11 minutes.  If you make your cookies larger than a standard cookie scoop bake for 12-15 minutes.  You do not want to over bake these.  They can go from soft to a hockey puck quickly :).  The very center of the cookie may look slightly shinny in the oven, but the edges should be starting to set. I pull mine out by this point.  Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes.  They will firm up some when cooling, but you should still be left with a soft cookie.

 

Coconut Chocolate Chip Buckwheat Cookies

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Sometimes you just need a cookie!  These cookies are soft and just sweet enough.  I absolutely do not feel I am compromising in the least when enjoying one of these.  These gems are full of good fats, whole grains and something your whole family will enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1/3 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons coconut sugar (aka 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon coconut milk, from can (light or full fat)
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons coconut butter, melted and cooled (see notes below)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips – I used mini chips

Instructions

1. Combine buckwheat flour, oat flour, gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Melt your coconut butter.  See notes below for the best way to melt.*
3. In a second larger bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolk.
4. Next, whisk coconut sugar, coconut milk, coconut oil, vanilla and cooled coconut butter into eggs.
5. Add bowl of dry ingredients to wet in 2 additions.  Combine via wooden spoon and finish with spatula to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
6. Fold in shredded coconut and chocolate chips.
7. Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 minutes.
8. Scoop cookies with standard size cookie scoop, or roughly measure 2 tablespoons of dough.
9. Place in parchment lined baking sheet. I do not bake more than 8 cookies at a time, and only 1 tray at a time.
10. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.  You want to avoid over baking to ensure these cookies stay soft.  I always check mine 1-2 minutes before the anticipated cooking time.

Recipe Notes

•The buckwheat flour softens over time, therefore you will likely feel the cookies are even softer the next day.  Store in a closed, air-tight container.
•Coconut butter will be very firm in the jar.  It resembles a peanut butter that separates with the oil on top.  The difference is it will be solid, rather than runny.  I find it easiest to place a saucepan filled with a few cups of water on low over your stove top.  You do not want to boil the water, rather warm it. Remove any plastic labels from the coconut butter jar and place it in the pan with water.  I usually put in enough water to reach half way up the jar.  Allow the jar to rest in warm to very warm water for a few minutes.  You will be able to stir the mixture shortly after it heats through.  It will have a consistency similar to tahini.  Now you can measure and carry on baking!

Soft and Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies – Cooks Illustrated

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There are some things you just do not mess with.  This recipe is absolutely one of them!  These molasses cookies from Cooks Illustrated are one of my favorite cookies of all time.  I love ginger, and fortunately for me it is fall, so ginger and pumpkin are in!  The only change I made to this recipe was adding a full egg versus just the yolk.  I felt this made them just a little softer and chewier.  I did also omit the black pepper.  I have not tried these gluten-free, or with my typical substitutions such as coconut sugar, coconut oil, etc., because as I said, there are some things you just do not mess with :).

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10-12 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 22 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (2.5 0z), plus 1/2 cup for rolling
• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (11 1/4 oz)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 12 tablespoon butter, unsalted, softened but still cool
• 1/3 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar (2 1/2 0z)
• 1 egg at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup molasses (about 6 oz), light or dark

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 375.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl for rolling cookies.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined, set aside.
3. In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium low and add egg and vanilla. Increase speed back to medium high until ingredients are incorporated, about 20 seconds.  Reduce speed back to medium-low and add molasses. Beat until fully incorporated, about another 20 seconds.
4. Scrape down bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once.  Give dough a final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom of bowl.  Dough will be soft.
5. Scoop 2 tablespoon worth of dough per cookie, or use a standard cookie scoop.  Roll dough between palms of hands to form a ball. Drop ball into bowl with sugar and roll to coat.  If dough sticks to your hands too much when rolling lightly wet hands.  Repeat forming and rolling balls into sugar.  Place on prepared baking sheet.
6.  Bake approximately 10-12 minutes.  When these are done the edges will be just set, but middle will still appear slightly shinny/not cooked through.  Remove cookies at this point as they harden quite a bit when cooling.
7. Cool on baking rack and make yourself a chai tea to enjoy with your cookie!

Recipe Notes
•Make sure to only bake these one sheet at a time.  If you try to use two baking sheets on two different oven racks the bottom rack will not achieve the desired cracks on top.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies 2 ways (Rose and Lavender)

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I came across this amazing oatmeal cookie from Jenn on her blog Mother Thyme.  I absolutely consider this to be the best oatmeal cookie recipe.  It is warm, soft and comforting – everything an oatmeal cookie should be!

I have developed  a strong love for lavender and added it here.  I actually receive more requests for the lavender version than plain through my small private baking business.  For my dietary needs I have made this recipe gluten-free, but the original is not gluten-free. I get a lot of requests for these cookies from friends and family and use regular all-purpose flour.  You simply use a 1 to 1 substitution between the two flours.

Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 10 Minutes
Total Time 25 Minutes
Servings 2 Dozen

Ingredients

COOKIE DOUGH
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, gluten-free if needed
• 2 cups gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated if have (I didn’t)
• 8 ounces butter (2 sticks), unsalted and softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature (extra large are okay also) – I feel most recipes turn out better with extra large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, if have

GLAZE
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons whole milk or any non-dairy milk

VERSION 1 (Rose)

• You may add 1/8 teaspoon rose water extract to the glaze ingredients above. This is very strong.  I have ruined recipes before by adding too much.  I linked the type I use in my baking products page.

• You may sprinkle 2 tablespoons chopped rose petals over the cookies just after dipping in glaze – also linked on baking product page.

VERSION 2 (Lavender)

• I add 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped lavender buds to the dry mixture in the dough recipe (add in with cinnamon, baking powder, etc.). The lavender buds are linked in baking page

Instructions

PREPARING THE COOKIE DOUGH
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place rolled oats in a food processor and pulse lightly until coarse, approximately 10 pulses.  You still want some texture to the oats. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add in pulsed oats. Set aside.
4. Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl for 1-2 minutes until well combined.  You may use stand or hand mixer
5. Add in eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition, then vanilla extract or paste.
6. Add flour mixture in 2 batches until combined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BAKING THE COOKIE DOUGH
7. When ready to bake, allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.  Use a traditional cookie scoop and place on parchment lined baking tray 2 inches apart.  I bake no more than 8 at a time.
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown.  You want these to look slightly underdone in center and just set on the outside border.  These will firm up when they cool on cookie sheet.  This gives you a SOFT, delicious oatmeal cookie.  I have created a few hockey pucks..trust me :).
9. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

ADDING THE GLAZE
10. Sift confectioners sugar into medium to large bowl.  Add milk and stir with spatula to combine.  Set glaze aside until ready to dip.
11. Gently chop your rose petal tips into small pieces.  If you have rose petal tips you will only need to roughly chop them a few times, as they area already fairly small. If yours have a small stem attached hold onto this for stability and finely slice of the top 3/4 portion of the rose.  This will leave you with pretty pink petal pieces.  Discard the base which is made up mostly of brown and dark green leaves.
12.  Once cookies are cool, dip tops of cookies into glaze for 1-2 seconds and let excess drip off.
13. Place back on wire rack and sprinkle rose petals over 1/3 of cookie, or in any pattern you’d like – have fun with it!
14. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes

• To have these cookies turn out flat, you do not want to over ground the oats, just a couple quick pulses in the food processor to break them up a bit. If the oats are finely ground, the cookies will not spread. You want to keep the oats partially in tact as they create texture.
• You can buy dried rose petals here.
• Vanilla bean paste makes a big difference in this recipe.  It provides another layer of warmth and richness to these cookies.  I also linked it on my baking products page.

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