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Paleo Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Cinnamon Cookie Crumble and Caramel Drizzle
This rich, creamy, luscious Paleo Pumpkin Panna Cotta is made dairy-free and it’s topped with crunchy spiced Cinnamon Cookie Crumble and a homemade dairy-free, honey-sweetened caramel drizzle. The perfect make-ahead, fuss-free holiday treat that you can feel good about eating.
We all know that with the holidays comes fussy recipes, especially desserts, that we covet and cherish every year, so we can savor the traditional flavors we have come to associate with the season. There is so much about this that I love and simultaneously I also find that possibly our time might be better spent in other ways. I would much prefer not to fuss with a complicated pie crust and rather enjoy my family or friends. I would prefer a more health-focused, smarter, more updated version of a recipe, in place of what we’ve always known.
This recipe brings the pumpkin pie vibes in a whole new way. Paleo Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Cinnamon Cookie Crumble and Caramel Drizzle, OK so, it may sound complicated in it’s name, but it will take more time to say the name, than it will to actually make it (ok disclosure: that part’s not true). There is certainly time in set up with this one, but actual hands on minutes of cooking and prep, they are pretty minimal, by comparison to a pie. Plus, as far as I am concerned any holiday recipe that doesn’t require an oven, that’s a win for every one. This single recipe can be made in much smaller serving sizes, serving up to 8, depending on the vessel you choose to serve in.
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Grain-free Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies {Paleo}
Paleo-friendly, dairy-free and gluten-free these Grain-free Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are a total breeze to whip up and you won’t believe how few ingredients they have.
These cookies may look familiar to you, they are the star of my popular Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches! But they are just way too solid on their own, that I felt they definitely deserved a dedicated post of their own here on TY.
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Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches {+ Video} – Paleo-friendly
With summer upon us frozen treats are a must, but no need to wreck your body in the process. These Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches feature my popular almond butter chocolate chip cookies and a banana soft serve filling. Made without dairy or grains and they are low in sugar.
[This is an updated post from 2013.]
It’s truly been years since I have had an old school ice cream sandwich, ya know the ones, soft chocolate cookies, vanilla ice cream filling. While working an event a few years back, I came across a food truck that specialized in just ice cream sandwiches and they actually had a gluten-free and dairy-free option for someone like me. YAY! It was delicious and messy but probably loaded with sugar and lots of other stuff I prefer not to eat. It immediately got the gears turning in my head. I wanted to make a more healthful ice cream sandwich myself and I of course just needed to find the time to actually play with some recipe ideas.
I know we have all seen the one or two ingredient banana ice cream that has been making it’s rounds all over the internet for the last few years. If you haven’t tried it yet, you must. Stop what you are doing right now, put those bananas in the freezer and make some yummy dairy-free ice cream alternative. It is simple to make and sooo surprisingly creamy and delicious. I realized it would make the perfect ice cream sandwich filling since it is creamy, simple to make and literally has nothing more than bananas in it. A great compliment to some grain-free, dairy-free cookies!
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Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar {Gluten-free, Paleo + Vegan}
With the holiday just a week away, I am sure, if you are like me, you still have a handful of last minute gifts to take care of. I always promise myself I won’t leave anything until till the last minute, and yet here I am, one week out with a few final gifts left to get. Thankfully, I have always loved the idea of handmade gifts, the personal touch and the thoughtfulness and these gifts can be made right up until the last moments before the actual holiday. Enter my Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar!! Because cookies are always a great idea, especially when someone else does half the work for you. If you get lucky, whoever you gift this mix to, they’ll have you over for dessert, when they bake them.
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25+ Gluten-free and Grain-free Holiday Cookies, Treats, Sweets and Cocktails
We made a list, but there is no need for you to check it twice. 25+ Gluten-free and Grain-free Holiday Cookies, Treats, Sweets and Cocktails! Everything you could need for a tasty and indulgent, homemade, real-food-inspired holiday is right here! From cookies, sweets and treats, to hot cozy drinks and spiked boozy cocktails, you can rest easy with all the planning already done for you. More time for you to finish up that last minute shipping and perfectly wrap all those thoughtful gifts.
Grain-free Cookies
Dark Chocolate-Dipped Grain-free Rosemary Shortbread Cookies (pictured)
Grain-Free Dark Chocolate Dipped Almond Cranberry Biscotti with Sea Salt
Grain-free No-bake Gingerbread Cookie Balls
Grain-free Orange, Almond and Dark Chocolate Biscotti
Grain-free Matcha Orange Blossom Shortbread with Black Sesame Seeds
Perfect Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons
Grain-free Spices Molasses Cookies
Grain-free Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Sweets and Treats
Hemp Heart Peppermint Chocolate Fudge (pictured)
How-to Make Chocolate Bark (with customizable printable labels)
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
Winter Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark with Smoked Sea Salt
Grain-free Mini Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Creme
Winter Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark with Smoked Sea Salt
Grain-free Cranberry-Orange Spice Mini Tarts
Salted Dark Chocolate Nut Bites
Pomegranate Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Drinks, Smoothies and Cocktails
Spice Infused Winter Sangria (pictured)
Dairy-free Peppermint Mocha & Hot Cocoa
Spiced Apple Cranberry Kombucha Sangria
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Perfect Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookies {gluten-free, paleo, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan}
Last month marked 6 years of Tasty Yummies. WOW! How that happened, I actually have no idea. I still remember the day I decided that I wanted to share my recipes with the world and it truthfully doesn’t feel that long ago. It’s been an interesting handful of years with varying challenges, lots of healing, yet so very much to celebrate. Mostly, this website and my own personal journey to health, these both always felt like the first steps to finding my true purpose. With years of my health bringing various challenges and curve-balls, I have realized that this was all part of my path to being able to help others in a much deeper way than just recipes. This was part of my journey for reasons that now finally make sense to me.
For the first many years I started this website, really until late 2014, I had looked at the long journey towards health I had already been on and how I was feeling in that present moment and somehow I let myself get accustomed to “good enough”. While I can look back now and see how terrible I was still actually feeling, I was letting myself compare it to my past (and to other’s) and it all just seemed fine enough. I looked at others battling with chronic illness and other serious afflictions and I somehow felt that I had no place complaining, that I had no right thinking my afflictions were “something”. After all I hadn’t been to the hospital, I could get out of bed every morning. I didn’t have cancer or lyme disease. I would read other blogs, I saw drastic and scary before and after photos, even comments here from my readers, going through just terrible, awful things – it all made me feel like I had no right thinking I wasn’t well. I felt like I was being nit-picky, complaining about having no energy and having chronic digestive issues. So, instead I would chronically repeat to myself “it could always be worse”. While this positivity served it’s purpose for me in some ways, in many ways it was a very dangerous addiction to “positivity” that was actually hindering my healing.
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Grain-free Matcha Orange Blossom Shortbread with Black Sesame Seeds
Green has always been one of my very favorite colors. I have always been intuitively drawn to it, as long as I can remember. After I grew out of the typical pale pink phase that most little girls go through, I wanted everything to be green in my childhood bedroom. I am drawn to green food and I find comfort in lush green environments. From an energetic standpoint the color green represents the heart chakra, Anahata. Our center of love and compassion.
I think when we hear the word love, often we think of our relationships, our spouses and partners, our family and our closest friends. We are all taken by this feeling of being drawn together and connected in unity. But, lately I have very much reminded how just as important that same love and compassion is, when it comes to ourselves.
It is so very easy to get caught up in life, to forget our own needs and to be so available to those that we love that we can forget to care for ourselves. After struggling with this at the end of last year and as I continue to explore the idea of helping others on a deeper level, I am constantly reminded how vital self care, self love and self compassion are to me being able to bring my best self to others. I struggle with my ego trying to convince me to believe this self care is selfish, the balance is delicate and often that line is greyed, for some people.
This need for self-love has been most apparent to me as I have tackled my own healing journey this past year and I would say the same could be said for anyone going through any of their own healing. Whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. To heal is to make whole. If our heart center is the catalyst to unification, then it too becomes the center of healing. Indeed, love stands to be the ultimate healing force.
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Dark Chocolate-Dipped Paleo Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
To know me, is to know my absolute LOVE and adoration of Christmas. You guys, I love the holidays so much I would eat my Christmas tree, if I could. But I can’t, I’ve tried (I haven’t). Seriously though, I was thinking the other day about the aroma of the tree and that very distinct evergreen scent that fills the house and how I wish I could bottle it up and eat it. These ramblings of a Christmas crazy person did actually serve some purpose, it brought me to the idea of rosemary cookies.
Yes, I know rosemary is not the same as a pine tree, but it certainly is reminiscent, it does have teeny little hints of the same earthy aroma and it felt like the perfect flavor to craft a cookie around. Besides, to know me is to also know that I much prefer savory over sweet and most Christmas cookies are just way too sugary for my taste.
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20 Healthy Holiday Recipes to Keep You On Track This Season
It’s certainly very easy to go a little too hard and overindulge a bit during the holidays. We’ve all been there. You may feel the guilt of not following your usual, more conscious way of eating, but usually more-so you end up feeling the actual physical pain of loosening up a little and not being mindful of the type of food you are consuming.
I am a big fan of balance, having your fun and letting go, but not at the cost of your health, or the healing you work so hard to maintain the rest of the year. I think with the holidays coming but once a year, it’s important to be kind to yourself, honoring your health and your hard work, while also acknowledging that depriving yourself isn’t the real answer. While it can be easy to use this time of year as an excuse to overindulge, it is also very important to cultivate and hone that same balance you honor throughout the rest of the year. To pick your battles wisely, yet to still allow yourself to indulge a little in your favorites. Rather than spending the first few weeks of the new year detoxing, cleansing and working to reverse any damage caused by going too far during the holidays, I find it helps to simply reach for healthier versions of your favorites, whenever possible. Less sugar, less refined, processed foods and instead more nourishing, whole foods.
I compiled a list of some of my favorite holiday-inspired and seasonal recipes sure to keep you on-track and in-balance this holiday season.
20 Healthy Holiday Recipes to Keep You On Track This Season
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Grain-free Mini Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Creme
Often when I find myself traveling new cities and towns, seeking out new dishes and popular local delicacies, I feel left out from being able to fully savor the flavors of the region. When you have dietary challenges, whether it be allergies, intolerances or choices, it can make dropping into a new city a little bit less than spontaneous. You can’t just stop by the most popular restaurants, the hot spots featured time and time again in magazines and TV shows, instead you have to plan ahead, do your homework and find places that will support your restrictions. This extra work, the plotting and scheming, I can tell you, is always worth it.
While traveling to Maine earlier this fall, this is exactly what I did. I had just 2 days in Portland, Maine and I was determined to make the most of it. Portland truly is a foodie town, with more restaurants per capita than most major cities in the US. So, I did what any good gluten-free foodie would do, I did my homework and I truly ate and drank my way through the city, so I have lots of great tips to share with you, at the bottom of this post.
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Grain-Free Dark Chocolate Dipped Almond Cranberry Biscotti with Sea Salt
With my lack of interest in sweets this year, I came to the realization that if I just started making sweet recipes to post here on the blog, I would eat them, simply because they were here. This is my number one rule for being mindful of how I eat and not making bad decisions. If you don’t have it in the house, you can’t and won’t eat it. Even with not being much of a dessert or baked goods person, my hatred of wasting food would definitely beat out my disinterest in any sweets. So, I have opted to just not make many sweet things this holiday season. Problem solved.
Though this time of year tempting sweets sseem to be around every corner, it doesn’t mean we have to overindulge. It is totally possible to enjoy a little something sweet without the massive guilt that usually immediately follows. I don’t love the idea of taking care of yourself all year round and then going hog-wild at the holidays. For me, a little indulging here and there is good, but there is no logical reason to consume several pounds of sugar over a two week period, just because of the time of year and because that’s “what we do”.
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Grain-free Chinese Almond Cookies – Gluten-free, Paleo and Vegan
I am so excited to introduce you guys to a super-sweet lady today, Erin, of Texanerin Baking! Erin shares amazing healthy baked goods!! Though not all of her recipes are gluten-free, this girl sure knows her way around a mixer and an oven, because whenever she starts experimenting with almond flour and other gluten-free flours, the results are just incredible! You’d think she’s been doing this her whole life. I hope you enjoy this amazing grain-free cookie recipe she created today in honor of the Chinese New Year.
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Hi, everyone! I’m Erin and blog over at Texanerin Baking, which is all about healthier baked goods. I started off blogging about 100% whole grain recipes but then one day, I tried almond flour, just to see what it was like. Turns out that I love it and although I don’t have any dietary restrictions, I post quite a few grain-free recipes.
With the Chinese New Year coming up on the 31st, I thought it’d be fun to share these healthier grain-free Chinese almond cookies with you! Are they authentic? Probably not. But who really cares when they’re perfectly soft, chewy and awesomely delicious? 🙂
One of my favorite cookies growing up was my mother’s almond cookies. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, Crisco and a load of white sugar. I’m sure I’d still enjoy them (although I don’t know if I could handle the Crisco), but then I’d eat 19 of them only to be depressed about it afterwards. That’s just how I roll with this kind of stuff. Read the rest of this entry »
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Pomegranate Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten-Free and Vegan)
Can you even believe that Christmas is less than one week away already? Where did the time go? Are you all ready?
I had to get in one last special cookie recipe for the season!! For as much as I enjoy traditional holiday cookies, I also get so excited about creating fun new flavor combinations. These cookies make me both happy, because of how great they taste, and bummed, because I haven’t been pairing pomegranates with chocolate up until now. What an amazing combo! You have to try it.
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Grain-free No-Bake Gingerbread Cookie Balls {Gluten-free & Vegan}
Gingerbread is one of my absolute favorite holiday flavors. It’s right up there with dark chocolate and mint anything and of course, nog-flavored goodies. I don’t always have the patience to make a full batch of gluten-free cookies, especially not the kind you have to roll and cut out, then decorate. These no-bake cookie balls are an amazing way to enjoy the unique flavor of gingerbread cookies without the work and the guilt! I love a sweet treat that not only satisfies your cravings, but doesn’t leave you feeling bad about what you just ate. Plus, between the protein from the nuts and the iron from the molasses, one could even argue these cookies are extra good for you! Read the rest of this entry »
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Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches – Gluten-free + Dairy-free
I realized earlier this summer that it had been years since I have had an ice cream sandwich. While working an event, I came across a food truck that specialized in just ice cream sandwiches and they actually had a gluten-free and dairy-free option for someone like me. YAY! It was delicious, messy and probably loaded with sugar and lots of other stuff I prefer not to eat. It immediately got the gears turning in my head. I wanted to make a healthy ice cream sandwich myself and I of course just needed to find the time to actually play with some recipe ideas.
I know we have all seen the one or two ingredient banana ice cream that has been making it’s rounds all over the internet for the last two years. If you haven’t tried it yet, you must. Stop what you are doing right now, put those bananas in the freezer and make some yummy healthy ice cream. It is simple to make and sooo surprisingly creamy and delicious. I realized it would make the perfect ice cream sandwich filling since it is creamy, simple to make and literally has nothing more than bananas in it. A great compliment to some grain-free dairy-free cookies!
I am sharing the cookie recipe over on Free People today as part of my ongoing Restricted Diets series with them and so I expanded on the recipe to make this a two-for-one deal; a cookie recipe and a bonus ice cream sandwich recipe! Plus, we had our friends Dan and Debbie over earlier this week to celebrate Dan’s birthday, so I wanted to make something special for him that we could all enjoy. Debbie is experimenting with a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, so I am pretty sure her mind was blown that these were OK for her to eat! They were a hit, I don’t think anyone believed me that the filling was just bananas and the cookies were totally grain-free!! I love recipes like that. Read the rest of this entry »
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Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Popsicles – Gluten-free + Refined Sugar-Free
If someone tells you they couldn’t devour a large amount of chocolate chip cookie dough, if given a chance, they are lying. There is no way around it. It has to be some of the yummiest stuff that man has ever created. So how about some summer-ready chocolate chip cookie dough, without the flour or raw eggs, the heat of the oven and the mess in the kitchen?
A week or two ago a vegan friend of mine posted a link to some chocolate chip cookie dough popsicles made with whole milk and two kinds of refined sugar. He mentioned wanting to figure out how to make them vegan. I of course decided to help out and veganize the recipe. Yeh, I wanted to help him, but selfishly as soon as he posted the link, I was unable to get them out of my mind and I couldn’t wait to get a cookie dough popsicle into my tummy! Read the rest of this entry »
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Grain-Free Orange, Almond & Dark Chocolate Biscotti – Gluten-free + Vegan
I wrote this recipe up back when we were still in Buffalo staying at my parents house but I never had the time to make them while we were there. Both of my parents and Mark are coffee-aholics. Man do they love their coffee. Me, I could take it or leave it these days. I probably drink 2-3 cups a month, at most. Most times it is part of a super early wake up call for an event or on a long road trip. I love the way coffee tastes, but I don’t always like how it makes me feel. I don’t like the caffeine jitters or the burny, acid bitterness of some cups of joe.
Mostly I like the smell of coffee and the culture surrounding it. Yeh, I know that’s weird. I love coffee cups and mugs, local coffee shops, french presses, pour over coffee, fancy organic fair trade beans, and yes, I even love cookies meant for dunking in coffee. That is exactly what I think of when I think of biscotti. That crispy, crunchiness is just begging to be dunked into coffee.
All the nights at my parents house when the three of them would fill up their mugs, add their splash of cream, grab a sweet of some kind and then come out to the living room to watch the evening news. I felt kinda left out. Sometimes I would have a cup (then have a terrible time getting to sleep that night), sometimes I would have some tea and other times I opted for another glass of wine! I should have made these cookies when I was staying there, they could have added dunking these yummy cookies to their evening ritual and I would have dunked mine into Mark’s hot cup of java.
I was inspired to combine orange and dark chocolate in these biscotti because my mom LOVES that flavor combo. So do I. Just the smell alone is so delicious. Looks like I’ll just have to make these for my parents when then come visit in June! (Which by the way, I cannot wait for) I originally wanted to make these with cocoa nibs, but was unable to find any at the stores locally, so I just went with dark chocolate chunks, I cannot wait to get my hands on some cocoa nibs and make these again!
Do you drink coffee? What is your favorite thing about coffee?
[print_this]Grain-Free Orange, Almond & Dark Chocolate Biscotti – Gluten-free + Vegan
Makes 12-15 cookies- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (tightly packed)
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (or tapioca starch)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds or other nut
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks, mini chocolate chips or cocoa nibs
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
In your food processor combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and baking soda. Process until all of the ingredients are well combined. Then pulse in maple (or honey), orange juice and orange zest until the dough forms a ball. Fold in chopped almonds and chocolate chunks by hand.
Dampen hands and form the dough into a log approx 10″ long and 2″ wide on the parchment paperlined baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 hour. Turn the oven to 250º F.
Once fully cooled cut the log into 1/2-inch slices on the diagonal with a very sharp knife.
Spread slices out on a baking sheet cut side down and bake at 250° for 10 minutes then turn over and bake another 10 minutes on the other side. Turn off the oven and let them sit inside the oven on the baking sheet until cool.
Once cooled they should be nice and crispy. Serve with coffee, tea, ice cold almond milk, etc. Also, you’ll want to consider sharing these with friends or you will likely eat the entire batch yourself. In one sitting.
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Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free
I finally made some time to play in the kitchen with a new baked good recipe and boy am I glad I did. I have been craving chocolate chip cookies like crazy lately but rather than another cookie recipe, which there are a ton of all over the internet, I wanted to make cookie bars. These tasty beauties are soft and chewy and the chocolate just melts in your mouth. They satisfy that craving for chocolate chip cookies, and then some.
I made these with coconut oil, since that is what I had on hand, but I cannot wait to try it with palm shortening, since whenever I have made cookies with it they are always extra incredible. But, these are definitely not lacking in any way! These bars would be great with other goodies added like dried cherries, chopped walnuts, coconut, etc.
I cannot wait to share these with my parent’s tonight after dinner. I made these last night and I couldn’t try them until today after I took photos and the anticipation was killing me. As much as I don’t necessarily want to share these, I am quite happy to not only have other recipe testers around, but also a few more mouths to eat my creations, to save me from sitting down and eating ALL of them! Also two more people to judge me if I am a pig and eat ALL of them in one day. Ooh it’s so tempting.
[print_this]Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (I use Honeyville)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 extra-large local farm fresh brown eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (grass-fed butter, palm shortening or ghee will also work)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used almond)
- 3/4 cup dairy-free gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like Chocolate Dream or Enjoy Life)
- 1/4 cup walnuts (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350º F and lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8″ square baking pan with coconut oil.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, add all of the wet ingredients. Mix well with a hand mixer or a whisk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix very well with a hand mixer. Then fold in the chocolate chips and nuts (if you are including) with a spatula.
Pour all of the batter into the greased pan and spread evenly with a spatula or your hands, gently press in.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the top is nice and golden brown and the center is no longer doughy. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before cutting into bars or they could fall apart.
*These keep best in an air-tight container in the fridge. You could put these in the microwave for a few seconds when serving to take the chill off or to get them slightly warm. [/print_this]
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Gingerbread Smoothie – Gluten-free + Vegan
With the lack of time to play in the kitchen right now, I am certainly feeling the loss of certain seasonal flavors and tastes that are quintessential holiday treats for me. So, I have been getting creative when the time allows and enjoying the flavors of the season, however I can.
I had dreams of creating grain-free gingerbread cookies this year, but there just hasn’t been the time to experiment and play, so instead I created a simple and super tasty gingerbread smoothie to celebrate all of those same flavors, but without all of the mixing, cutting out and baking! It turned out great. The aroma from this simple treat alone is enough to satisfy that holiday hankering for those cute little cut out dudes.
Plus, you get to really enjoy some health benefits with this smoothie. Blackstrap molasses is just one type of molasses, the dark liquid byproduct of the process of refining sugar cane into table sugar. Blackstrap is my molasses as choice because of the variety of great nutritional benefits that comes with it. Blackstrap molasses is a sweetener that is actually good for you. Unlike refined white sugar and corn syrup, which are stripped of virtually all nutrients except simple carbohydrates, or artificial sweeteners like saccharine or aspartame, which not only provide no useful nutrients but have been shown to cause health problems in sensitive individuals, blackstrap molasses is a healthful sweetener that contains significant amounts of a variety of minerals that promote your health. Blackstrap molasses has a low glycemic index. Plus, because of its high iron content, many use blackstrap molasses to holistically overcome anemia. Blackstrap molasses is also a great source for calcium and magnesium. Potassium is another mineral abundant in blackstrap molasses, and the list goes on and on.
If you find the bittersweet flavor from the molasses to be a bit pungent, (which can often times happen to those who have taste buds conditioned for years by sugar and artificial sweeteners) or find it lacking as a sweetener, add a bit of additional sweetener of your choice, maple syrup, honey, etc. I personally felt like it didn’t need to be any sweeter. It was just perfect.
I also couldn’t help but think about how delicious this smoothie would be with a shot of some spiced rum or a good bourbon. Is it bad that’s where my mind goes right now?
If you are looking for a couple other creative gingerbread recipes, check out my recipes for Gingerbread Granola (gluten-free + vegan) and Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins with Dried Cranberries (gluten-free + vegan).
Have you been enjoying the flavors of the season? What’s your favorite holiday treat?
[print_this]Gingerbread Smoothie
serves 1- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup unsweetened organic vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 tablespoon unsulphured blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon flax-seed meal (or ground chia seeds)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (grated fresh ginger would be extra nice)
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- dash of all spice
- 1 small handful of ice
*additional sweetener, if needed
Add all of the ingredients to the blender and process until smooth and creamy. Pour into your glass, top with a little freshly grated nutmeg (or regular ol ground nutmeg will work too). Serve immediately.
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Vanilla Almond “Sugar” Cookies Made from Almond Milk Pulp – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free
Every time I make my homemade almond milk, I swear that I am going to do something amazing with the leftover almond pulp. Enter Vanilla Almond “Sugar” Cookies Made from Almond Milk Pulp! Most times I put it in the fridge with really great intentions and plans, then within a few days it has mold and I feel horrid throwing it out. Happens way more often that I would like to admit. Almond pulp has to get used up within a day or two, so if you can muster up the motivation to do something with it, you have to do it quickly. This time as soon as I finished making the almond milk I started looking around online at different recipes I could use the pulp in. I have seen many recipes for savory crackers made from the almond pulp, but since this time the almond milk (and therefore the almond pulp) that I made was sweetened and I added vanilla, I wanted to make some type of sweet cookie. I still want to play around with a cracker recipe, too. So hopefully soon.
These cookies have a really great vanilla flavor and they are delicious with an ice cold glass of almond milk, or a mug of hot tea or coffee. If you want to skip the chocolate and sea salt on top, go for it, I just felt like it was the perfect compliment to them, who doesn’t love chocolate? These cookies are subtly sweet and reminiscent of a classic sugar cookie, but without all the junk. Side note, even after baking and making dozens of different sweet treats and smoothies, etc – sweetened only by using dates, I am still completely amazed by them. Who knew those funny looking little things could be so sweet and sinful. The sweet nuttiness from the almond pulp is so delicious and pronounced in these cookies, it’s really one of my favorite flavors. After eating a bunch of these, I started thinking about different ways I could play with this recipe. I think you could add cocoa to make a chocolate cookie and I also think a spicy gingersnap version of these cookies made with ground ginger and cinnamon would also be delicious, so I will definitely have to play around with both of those.
Just a quick note, the original recipe has an option to dehydrate these cookies to make them “raw”, but since I don’t have a dehydrator and I was making these at night and wasn’t comfortable leaving them in the oven overnight, I just baked them as the recipe also suggests. The bake time can vary a bit depending on how moist your pulp was when you started, I think mine ended up baking for nearly 30 minutes, but I would suggest checking them around 18 or 20, since you don’t want them to dry out or burn.
[print_this]Vanilla Almond “Sugar” Cookies with Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free
Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies
Recipe adapted from Choosing Raw- 2 cups almond milk pulp
- 8 soaked and pitted medjool dates
- 1/3 cup almond or coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- dash of sea salt
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup melted dairy-free dark chocolate (I melt unsweetened bakers chocolate and sweeten it with a little maple syrup and/or stevia, you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips or whatever your favorite chocolate happens to be)
1 teaspoon course sea salt
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Add the almond pulp, dates, coconut flour, salt and vanilla extract into a food processor and process until the “dough” is the same texture and consistency of sugar cookie dough, or there about. You may need to add a little more flour, depending on how moist your almond pulp was to start.
Using your hands, make small little round balls with the dough (about a tablespoon or so each) and line them up in rows on your parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Press each one down very gently using a fork. (the original recipe called for using a fancy cookie press, but since I don’t have one, I improvised)
Bake cookies for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown. This time may vary depending on how moist your cookies are. Just keep checking on them so you don’t burn them or dry them out.
Allow the cookies to cool totally then drizzle the dark chocolate over top of each cookie and sprinkle a small amount of seat salt on each cookie.
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