Real Deal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have told several of you about this recipe, and have had many requests to share it, so here it is. This was the first recipe I made from Danielle Walkers cookbook "Against All Grain", and after I made them I had to try her other recipes in the cookbook. I have never had a grain free cookie/dessert that tasted as good as these did. So if you want to try something on your children or friends that think refined sugar is the only way to go, try this. I'll bet they'll be as hooked as my family was, plus you'll actually be able to feel good about them eating them. Enjoy! 

Real-Deal Chocolate Chip Cookies

AUTHOR: Danielle Walker - AgainstAllGrain.com

SERVES: 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup palm shortening or grassfed butter
• ¼ cup coconut palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1½ cups blanched almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup dark chocolate pieces (just chop up a dark chocolate bar)
• ¼ cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, cream the palm shortening, coconut sugar, honey, egg, and vanilla for about 15 seconds until smooth and fluffy.
3. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt and mix again until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed in order to incorporate all of the flour. Pulse once or twice more.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
5. Place golf-ball sized balls of dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a SilPat. Using another sheet of parchment on top of the dough, flatten them slightly with the palm or your hand or a spatula. The cookies don’t spread much so create the size and thickness you want prior to baking them.
6. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges.

Perfect Hardboiled Eggs

If you are anything like me, you have probably tried for years to make perfect hardboiled eggs, and may or may not have had success. I think I have finally found the perfect solution. To be fair, I got an email from someone who I have no idea how I got on their email list (do you ever wonder that) but this information proved to be invaluable. So what is it you ask... drumroll please....

Yep that's it, baking soda. The email said to add half a tablespoon to your water when you add the eggs, but I've found 2 teaspoons is perfect. I have made eggs this way half a dozen times since then, and they always turn out headache free and so easy to peel! So if you enjoy hardboiled eggs, angel eggs or egg salad, don't fear the eggs anymore. :-) Enjoy!

Kind of hard to tell, but there is baking soda in here, and normally I do at least 8 eggs at a time, but this was a second batch that I was testing to see if the baking soda still worked the second time around (it did!). I'm sure you could even do a dozen at a time if your family size dictates that, mine doesn't at this point.

Finished product -  I peel mine right away because I use them for different things and it's easier to do it all then.

Perfect Hardboiled Eggs:

8-12 eggs

2t baking soda

Place your eggs in a pan with enough cold water to cover by at least an inch. Turn heat on high and bring water to boil. Once the water is boiling, set timer for 2 minutes. When timer goes off, remove from heat, cover and set timer for 10 minutes. While you're waiting, fill a bowl with ice and water. When the timer goes off remove eggs from pan and place in ice bath. Eggs can be left in bath for 15-45 minutes. Remove from bath and peel under running water. Store in fridge or make something delicious to eat now. :-)

Amazing Grain Free Waffles

These waffles are so good, my family loves them, and you would never be able to tell they don't have grain in them! This is another recipe from Danielle Walker's cookbook "Against All Grain", and her blig is wonderful too. I add blueberries to mine, but my children haven't learned to appreciate them. Enjoy!

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
• 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/2 cup blueberries (optional)

Preheat your waffle iron

Add all your ingredients but the blueberries to your Vita Mix or high powered blender, and blend on low for 30 seconds, and then high for 1 minute until you have a smooth batter.

The picture isn't great, but hopefully you get the idea. :-)

Pour batter into heated waffle iron (I like to spray a little coconut oil on the waffle iron to prevent sticking) and cook to your desired doneness. Note: You can sprinkle blueberries on before shutting the waffle iron if you prefer. 

Topped with bacon, bananas and whipped cream. This is all dairy cream, but I actually did just make coconut whipped cream last week, and it worked great. You just have to remember to keep a can of full fat coconut milk in the fridge which I don't always do. :-)

Grain Free Bagels

My family loves these bagels for breakfast, lunch and sometimes even dinner, and so I thought I would share the recipe. This is from Elana Amsterdam's book "Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry", I purchased the kindle version from Amazon. One of the things I like about her recipes is the simplicity of the ingredients which consequently makes clean up easy, which is always a plus in my opinion. :-) I also love that I can use my bagel/donut pan from USA Pans if you make baked bagels or donuts a lot and don't have one, I would highly recommend it! Anyway, here is the recipe with a few pictures. Enjoy!

Assemble your ingredients - Costco has just started carrying a lot of ingredients I use daily including almond flour and organic coconut flour which makes this kind of eating lifestyle even easier. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1/4 cup golden flax meal

1T coconut flour

1t baking soda

1/4t sea salt 

5 eggs

2T apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and if you are not using a USA Pan make sure to grease lightly with coconut oil, if you are no need to grease the pan.

Pulse all dry ingredients in food processor

Add eggs and vinegar, pulse until thoroughly combined

Pour mixture into a sandwich bag or quart size zip loc bag and seal top.

Snip off corner and "pipe" into bagel pan, dispose of bag (easy clean up again). Lightly tap pan to create uniform bagels, and place in oven.

Note: also if you want, you can sprinkle poppy seeds or sesame seeds on top before baking, my children don't appreciate the seeds ;-)

Bake for 20-25 minutes until knife or toothpick is inserted in the bagel and comes out clean.

Cool bagels in pan for one hour, then serve. I always toast these for my family as I think it really enhances the flavor and texture, but you can eat them without toasting too. If you are going to store them, allow them to remain uncovered at room temp for 24 hours and then store in the fridge.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

It's been a long time since posting my last recipe, and while this is not dinner, I wanted to share it. The sweet potato bars/muffins are staples in my house, but the other day my oldest asked me for banana muffins. I stumbled upon this recipe which is originally from paleoonabudget.com and was only sweetened with bananas. It turned out great, and I added mini chocolate chips to it, which all my children loved. Enjoy!

I like to make mini muffins for my family, as they are the perfect size for little hands, but it will make 12 regular size muffins as well.

Mmm, mmm!

2 almost over-ripe bananas

1.5 cups almond flour

3 eggs

4T coconut oil

2t pure vanilla 

2t cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/4 c (more or less) mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Mash your bananas in a bowl with a fork

Add in the rest of your ingredients and mix well. 

Grease your muffin tin (unless you have a USA Pan see note below)

These puff up a little bit but not too much so you can fill it pretty close to the top

Bake 15-18 minutes until toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean.

These are great with breakfast or for snacks

Now a word about this pan, I am a huge fan. It's called USA pan and has a special all natural coating that makes it so you don't have to grease your pan. The picture you see is what the pan looked like after I dumped the muffins out, it's amazing and makes clean up a breeze. I purchased from Amazon and am slowly adding to my collection. They have a wonderful bagel/donut pan that I also use all the time for making baked bagels. Just thought I'd pass that on :-).

Sweet Potato Bars/Muffins

Yes I know this recipe does not contain much coconut, but all the blog names I tried with coconut and sweet potato were already in use, so most of my recipes will contain one or the other or both. ;-)

These bars or if you prefer, muffins have become a staple in my house ever since I found the recipe in a cookbook called "sweet potato power" by Ashley Tudor. My children love them for snacks and with meals, and they remind me of moist gingerbread, so what could be better?

Here are the ingredients

You want to use cooked sweet potatoes for this recipe, so wash them, prick them and pop them in the oven at 400 for approximately 55 minutes (less time if you have smaller potatoes). I normally like to do an entire panful because I like having the extra sweet potato purée. 

Once they are cooked, simply put them in your blender, I use my Vita-mix and blend until you have a smooth consistency.

Now I again use my vita-mix to make this entire recipe, but I am sure a food processor will work fine as well. Once all the sweet potato is puréed, I remove it from the vita-mix leaving 1 cup behind. I then add 4 eggs and 1/2 cup coconut nectar (honey works well also) and blend until smooth. After that I add 2 cups unblanched almond flour, 1tsp baking soda, 1/2tsp sea salt, 1/2tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves (I actually have always used allspice and it works great). Combine all of the ingredients until smooth and then pour into a 9 x 13 greased glass dish.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and then check with a tooth pick. It's done when the toothpick comes out clean. 

Let cool and then cut into bars. These will keep for at least a week in an airtight container in your refrigerator - if they last that long, they don't at my house. :-)

1 cup sweet potato purée 

1/2 cup coconut nectar or honey

4 eggs

2 cups unblanched almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1tsp baking soda

1/2tsp cinnamon

1/2tsp nutmeg

1/2tsp cloves or allspice

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor or vita-mix, combine purée, coconut nectar (or honey) and eggs. Pulse for 2 minutes. Add dry flour and seasonings. Pulse until well combined. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 30-35 minutes until tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy!