Coconut Macaroons

Need a quick last minute cookie for Christmas??Try these! I found some delicious little treats at Whole Foods and I fell in love with them. They are called “Snacaroons” made by Laughing Giraffe. They are these little raw, vegan coconut mounds with various flavors. Whole Foods isn’t close but I found them online also. However, they are pretty pricey so I decided to try my own little version. Result = fantastic! These are just slightly baked so they have a nice little crunch but still a gooey texture inside. I made a variety of flavors with the same base ingredients and will probably experiment more. If you like coconut macaroons, you will love these gluten free, dairy free version (note, mine are not vegan as they do have egg whites)! This recipe makes about 24 small cookies

Base

12 oz of unsweetened coconut flakes (I like Bob’s Red Mill)

¼ cup coconut oil

1 Tbsp almond paste (or additional coconut oil)

1 egg white (you could use egg replacer with a little experimentation)

¼ cup almond milk or coconut milk

1 tsp sea salt

¼ cup raw coconut sugar (regular sugar will work)

Mix ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well blended. This will be your base. To make plain macaroons, form mixture into small cookies using a scoop and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Watch closely to make sure the coconut does not burn. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.

Here are a few variations I’ve tried to so far:

Amaretto Cherry

1/3 of the base mixture

¼ cup cherries, finely chopped

1 tsp Amaretto liquor (you can omit this if desired)

Mix together and bake according to base directions.

Pumpkin Pie

¼ cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp maple syrup

1/3 of the base mixture

Mix together and bake according to base directions.

Caramel

2 Tbsp caramel sauce (homemade or store bought)

1 tsp maple syrup

1/3 of the base mixture

Mix together and bake according to base directions.

Other variations: Cranberry Orange – add in 1 tsp orange zest, 1 tsp minced cranberries, 1 tsp orange juice to 2 cups of the base mixture. Caramel Bailey’s – add in 1 tsp of Bailey’s liqueur to the caramel version. Peanut Butter – add 2 tsp peanut butter or almond butter to the base mixture. 

GF Gingerbread Cookies

I’m going to brag a bit here; I’m pretty proud of these cookies! These are the first cookies that have turned out almost identical to what the original cookie tastes like. They are also the first cookies I’ve been able to roll out properly! Win! These are just a traditional gingerbread cookie with a few lower fat options to save on unnecessary junk and calories. Serve these with or without the frosting. Makes about 2 ½ dozen cutout cookies.

1 cup GF all purpose flour

½ cup white rice flour

½ cup arrowroot starch

¼ cup coconut flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

½ cup coconut sugar, or stevia

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground ginger

½ cup molasses

1 large ripe banana, mashed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla almondmilk (or regular milk)

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, starch, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda and ginger. 
• Add in banana, molasses, egg and vanilla and blend over medium speed for about a minute. 
• It is best to chill dough about 30 minutes so it is easier to handle but it’s not required. 
• Pour dough onto a clean, floured surface and gently roll out into a ¼” thick circle. 
• Cut out cookies and place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. 
• Bake at 375°F for about 10-15 minutes or until cookies start to brown.
•  Let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and gently spread icing over cookies if desired. Store cookie sin a sealed container. 

White Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies

I love cranberries! In the coming weeks, you will probably see a lot of recipes featuring this tart little berry. I’ve posted a few already, Cranberry Orange Spread, Turkey Cranberry Sandwich, etc. These little gems are delicious – not to mention gluten free and low carb! This makes about 2.5 dozen cookies.

 

1 cup of coconut flour

¼ cup of tapioca starch
½ cup of soy flour
½ cup of white sorghum flour
½ cup of almond flour
1 large egg
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp salt
½ cup milk (I used almond)
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup butter (I used soy)
1 cup white chocolate chips (Trader Joe’s has some healthy versions out there)
1 cup fresh cranberries, finely chopped
½ cup walnuts, chopped

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all flours, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Mix until well combined. Add in egg, milk, vanilla and butter.
• Blend until you get a crumbly mixture. Slowly stir in cranberries, chocolate chips and walnuts.
• Using a cookie scoop, place cookie balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

I can’t believe it is already time to post this. I’m a little nervous about the holidays this year. This will be the first year for a gluten-free Thanksgiving. Last year I was on a pretty strict diet, but I cheated a little and suffered the consequences. This year – none of that! I’m not nervous about the food. I’m nervous about the interactions during meal time. I definitely don’t want to hurt feelings or step on toes about not eating what the family cooks. However – I simply can’t afford to have a bad day due to poor diet choices. So here goes nothing (wish me luck!) As I’m sure many of you are doing, we are traveling some. We aren’t traveling far but we do have several dinners to go to or make. One thing I will miss this year – my mom’s pumpkin pie and my mother-in-law’s ham. Oh gosh… my mom always makes an extra pumpkin pie, just for me! I take it home; eat it again that night, for breakfast the next day, etc. We will have to work on an alternative but for now, no “Mom’s Famous” pumpkin pie for this girl. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t have to suffer or feel guilty about not eating holiday meals. There are many options out there; you just have to find what’s best for you. What we have decided to do is to just make our own “traveling” Thanksgiving dinner. I will make our own meal and take it to the dinners we are going to. For those coming to our house to eat, they can eat what we cook. If they don’t want to, they can bring their own. It’s not the best solution I’m sure, but it’s the best one we’ve come up with. I can’t touch, eat, or be around gluten. If anyone has other suggestions – I’m all for hearing about them! Anyway – I wanted to present some options to any of you having this same problem. Or if any of you are just wanting to try something new this holiday season, try one of the recipes below! Either way, it’s Thanksgiving and it’s a great time of year to be thankful for what we have. Whether you are doing a typical family tradition, or like us – trying something new, just remember how fortunate we all are. I sometimes find myself wondering why this happened to me, but at the end of the day I have to be thankful. I’m thankful God put me in this position to help me learn and challenge me. I have learned so much about taking care of my body and my health. My situation has also made me realize how fortunate it is to enjoy a meal with family. Something as simple as dinner can be taken away so quickly. Some may not be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner due to food allergies or illnesses. Others may simply not be able to afford it. Regardless, I am so very thankful for the opportunity to create a tasty, healthy meal on this wonderful day and I hope you all are too. Of course, I’m thankful for millions of other things but this is a food blog after all! Check out the full day’s menu options below and try some of the recipes – they should all be linked to the original posts complete with pictures. Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

    

Breakfast:

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Maple or Original)
Banana Oatmeal Pancakes – my most popular! (for extra energy if you have having a late lunch)
Cinnamon Scones
Appetizers
Shrimp Dip
Veggie Pizza
Watermelon Mint Jam – served with crackers/chips
Smoked Chicken Antipasto
Lunch/Dinner:
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts - for an alternative to turkey
Made Over Mashed Potatoes
Balsamic Green Beans
Roasted Fall Veggies
Deceptive Mac & Cheese
Stuffed Acorn Squash (or stuffing)
Mushrooms, Onions & Swiss Chard
Butternut Pumpkin Biscuits
Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
Desserts
Upside Down Apple Cake
Cranberry Pear Crisp with Lavender – my favorite!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – for the kids!
Pumpkin Pie with Almond Crust – if you want to get real fancy
Beverages
Apple Cider
Pumpkin Spiced Chai Latte
Strawberry Lemonade  - for the kids

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Okay you pumpkin lovers. I’m also on a slight pumpkin kick so hopefully we will both be happy with my new pumpkin creations. These cookies are quick and easy to make and also have a perfect balance of pumpkin and cinnamon. For those gluten-free dieters, be careful when you are buying or use oats. Oats themselves are naturally gluten-free. However, many are processed with other grains and have a lot of cross contamination. I have found that buying strictly labeled “gluten-free” oats are the way to go. There are many brands out there that are easily accessible. Also – buying online is another option that I’ve taken before as well. Just like with any other food item – be careful and read your labels. No one wants to have a gluten attack that can be prevented! Anyway – serve these cookies with a warm cup of coffee or tea.

¼ cup steel cut GF oats

½ cup water
½ tsp sea salt
½ cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup GF old fashioned oats
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup pine nuts (or pecans, walnuts, etc) if desired
¼ cup cocoa nibs (or chocolate chips) if desired

• In a small saucepan, bring steel cut oats and water to boil. Cook for about 7 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed.
• In a large mixing bowl, blend pumpkin, sugar, honey and coconut oil. Add in egg, vanilla, baking soda, spices, both kinds of oats and flour. Blend until well combined.
• Fold in nuts and chocolate chips if desired.
• Using a cookie scoop, place cookie dough 2 inches apart on a sprayed cookie sheet.
• If you want your cookies flat, flatten dough on pan with a spoon or your hand.
• Bake at 375°F for 12-15 minutes until cookies are slightly browned on top. Let cool about 10 minutes. Store cookies in a sealed container – preferably in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Chai Caramel Cookies

Here’s another OMG moment. Remember my last one?? Here’s a refresher – my Pumpkin Chai Thumbprints. I actually used the same base for this cookie, but instead of putting a Hershey’s Kiss on top, I stuffed them with caramels. In our opinion, these were even better! I don’t think there’s anything else to say about them – just let the cookie do the talking J

¼ cup non-dairy butter

½ cup pumpkin
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup Stevia
¼ cup strong chai tea (I steeped one bag in about ½ cup water for a few minutes)
1 Tbsp milled flaxseed
3 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup coconut flour
1 cup rice flour
½ cup white sorghum flour
½ cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp dry chai tea blend (I used one half of a tea bag – just cut it open and use!)
10 Kraft Caramels, cut in half to make 20 pieces.

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together butter, pumpkin, sugar and stevia.
• Add in liquid Chai tea, flaxseed, water and vanilla. Blend until well combined.
• Gradually add in remaining dry ingredients. Mix until dough is well blended.
• Using a cookie scoop, make cookie dough balls and add one piece of caramel to the middle. Shape dough around caramel so that it is completely covered. 
• Flatten with your palm and bake at 350°F for about 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Store in a sealed container.
• NOTE: I chose to make these egg-free so that’s where the flaxseed came in. If you’d rather use an egg, just substitute one egg for the flaxseed and water.
• Also – the Kraft Caramel is a RARE and special treat that we don’t usually have. I made a few of these without them also for myself as they are not on my diet. They still give a nice fall cookie treat for someone to enjoy!

Maple Pecan Cookies

Sweet, soft, fluffy are great words to describe these cookies. Aside from pumpkin, maple may be my second favorite fall flavor! These little cookies are a great fall treat without the guilt and also store well so you can save some for another day! I think the best way to describe them is a mix between a fluffy maple cake donut and a pecan shortbread cookie. They have the nice pecan flavor but are very soft and moist. Makes about 2 dozen small cookies.

1 ½ cups GF all purpose flour

1 egg
¼ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
3 Tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup apple sauce
¼ cup coconut oil
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp sea salt
½ cup chopped pecans

• In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, coconut oil, sugar and syrup until well blended. Add in egg, flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and pecans.
• Blend on medium speed for about 1 minute or until well combined, scraping sides if necessary.
• Using a cookie scoop, place cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet about 2” apart. Flatten cookies with palm if desired.
• Bake at 350°F for about 10-12 minutes or until cookies start to brown. Store in a sealed container for up to a week.

Pumpkin Chai Thumbprints

So I don’t say this too much but OMG – these cookies are FANTASTIC! Chai tea is one of my go-to comfort drinks and as you’ve noticed – I love pumpkin. These are a perfect blend. They are great by themselves, but throw that Hershey’s Kiss on top and you’ve got something magical. I originally got the idea for this recipe off of Pinterest. Therefore I can’t take credit for the whole idea – I think the original post I found was from www.passthesushi.com for a Chai spice cookie. There are many pins for a similar type of cookie out there but I didn’t find any gluten free. Anyway – I made my own little version here and I hope you love it as much as we do!

¼ cup non-dairy butter

½ cup pumpkin
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup Stevia
¼ cup strong chai tea (I steeped one bag in about ½ cup water for a few minutes)
1 Tbsp milled flaxseed
3 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup coconut flour
1 cup rice flour
½ cup white sorghum flour
½ cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp dry chai tea blend (I used one half of a tea bag – just cut it open and use!)
20 Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together butter, pumpkin, sugar and stevia. Add in liquid Chai tea, flaxseed, water and vanilla. Blend until well combined.
• Gradually add in remaining dry ingredients. Mix until dough is well blended.
• Using a cookie scoop, make cookie dough balls and place onto greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Flatten with your palm and bake at 350°F for about 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove cookies from oven and immediately place one Hershey’s Kiss in the middle of each cookie.
• Let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Store in a sealed container.
• NOTE: I chose to make these egg-free so that’s where the flaxseed came in. If you’d rather use an egg, just substitute one egg for the flaxseed and water.
• Also – the Hershey’s Kiss is a RARE and special treat that we don’t usually have. I made a few of these without the Kiss for myself as they are not on my diet. Once again – they are still great without them!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies - extra post!

I love mother-son cooking days. I’ve also decided that my cookies turn out better when my son helps. These were great. It probably helps that he dumped an entire bag of chocolate chips into the batter so there was literally like 20 mini chips per each little cookie. Regardless, these are very soft and sweet with a little crunch out the outside plus a small hint of pumpkin. Of course, they are still gluten-free and dairy free!

2 cups gluten free flour (I used an all-purpose baking blend)

¼ cup of dairy free butter (or shortening)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup water
1 cup brown coconut sugar, packed
¼ cup stevia
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life! brand)

• In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, pumpkin, sugar and stevia until creamy.
• Add in flour, water, olive oil, baking powder, soda, xanthan gum, salt and vanilla.
• Mix until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Using a cookie scoop, form dough into 1” balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until cookies start to brown.
• Let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Store in a sealed container.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles - Easy!

You can’t go the first week into October without a pumpkin recipe – so here is mine!  These were so easy. I cut out a step by using a GF sugar cookie mix and it turned out great. I don’t like using mixes all of the time but I have found some of them to be really good (with ingredients I can actually pronounce). I cut out some of the fat by using pumpkin and also boosting some extra flavor. A perfect twist on the traditional snicker doodle. These are great in the afternoon with a cup of hot tea!

 

1 package GF sugar cookie mix

½ cup pumpkin
2 eggs
¼ cup oil
1 Tbsp cinnamon
¼ cup coconut sugar

• In a large mixing bowl, combine cookie mix, pumpkin, eggs and oil until well blended.
• In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and coconut sugar.
• Form dough into 1 inch balls and roll into sugar mixture until coated.
• Place on a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and flatten with palm.
• Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool about 10 minutes. Store in a sealed container.

Chocolate Chip-Banana Almond Cookies

These cookies are a slight modification of a whole-wheat banana cookie I use to make that my boys LOVE! They would literally eat the whole cookie sheet full in one evening. It was so very simple and fairly healthy, but full of gluten. This is my first attempt to recreate them gluten free. It’s not how I imagined they would turn out BUT they are still good. Next time, I will try a different flour mixture but for now, these will definitely do. They smell amazing and would be perfect in the fall!

1 large overripe banana mashed (approximately ¾-1 cup)

1/3 cup of nut or seed butter (I used almond)
1 tsp maple extract (or vanilla, almond etc.)
1 Tbsp honey
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp applesauce
1 cup almond flour
½ cup coconut flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon (or ½ if you like cinnamon)
½ cup mini chocolate chips (or regular size, chunks, etc.)

• Mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips in a bowl on low speed.
• Using a cookie scoop, place cookies onto a greased baking sheet (or lined with parchment paper).
• Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes or until cookies are slightly browned. Let cookies cool for about 10 minutes so they continue to set up properly.