Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

These are so similar to the Girl Scout Peanut Butter Pattie Cookies…only gluten free! I halved the recipe and made my Homemade Twix Bars at the same time but the recipe below will make just a full batch of these. I like to call these a Re-twix, which is my term for a Reese’s/Twix mix and can you really go wrong with that?? I think not. Enjoy these in moderation as you could easily call these your “cheat” for the week as they are not that healthy (but oh so delicious!)

1 package of cookie mix (sugar or shortbread preferably – I used Bob’s Red Mill Shortbread)

¼ cup coconut oil
½ cup applesauce or yogurt
1 large egg
¼ cup water
1 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
1/3 cup almond milk
½ cup chocolate chips
1 Tbsp almond milk

• Mix together cookie mix, oil, applesauce, egg and water until mix is well combined and crumbly. It will look very dry – this is fine.
• In a greased 9x13 baking pan, press cookie dough until it covers the bottom of the pan. Try to make the cookie dough as level as possible in the bottom of the pan.
• Bake the cookie dough at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until just slightly browned along edges.
• While your cookie is baking, make your peanut butter layer. Melt peanut butter and 1/3 cup almond milk together either in the microwave or over the stove.
• Once the cookie has finished baking, pour over peanut butter mixture. Let set for about 20 minutes.
• Melt chocolate chips and almond milk together either over the stove or in microwave according to your chocolate chip package instructions. Pour chocolate sauce over peanut cookie. Let this set for about 20 minutes.
• Cut into pieces and serve. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.
• NOTE: I froze my bars instead of letting them cool for 20 minutes. We also liked eating them cold. Also – you can bake your cookies according to package instructions if desired – I just lightened ours up a bit.

Gluten Free, Grain Free Pumpkin Pie

This was a challenge… a big one. I have always had a hard time with pumpkin pie. My mom makes an AWESOME pumpkin pie. My absolute favorite pie. I’ve tried to mimic her recipes (homemade pie crust included) and always burn it or under cook it. It’s tricky. This recipe was even worse as I had no idea what I was doing when I started. I knew what the basic pumpkin filling needed to have and how I needed to modify it. The pie crust was the worse though. A typical pie crust is buttery, flakey and delicious but full of fat and gluten. I decided to go with a nut crust instead. It is still full of fat – but good fats. I added the oat topping for my husband as he is not a huge pumpkin fan. This will be our go to for Thanksgiving dessert. Go ahead – add it to your holiday menu too!

Crust

1 ½ cup finely ground nuts (I used an almond, cashew hazelnut blend)
1/3 cup date puree
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Filling
1 can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
¼ cup applesauce
2/3 cup almond milk
2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp honey
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Topping (optional - omit this to make it grain free)
2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup GF oats
¼ cup chopped pecans
1 tsp cinnamon

• To grind nuts, use a high power blender (I used my Magic Bullet) and blend for about 1 minute until most of the nuts are finely ground. If you blend to much you will end up with nut butter so just watch it. You don’t want them ground like flour so it should still be a little coarse.
• To puree the dates, add in about ½ cup or (10-12 small) dates and ¼ cup water. Using a high powered blender, blend the dates and water until a paste forms.
• Combine the nuts and dates into a small bowl. Stir in coconut sugar and cinnamon.
• Spread into a greased glass pie plate and press onto bottom and sides. Pre-bake the crust at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pierce crust with a fork. The crust may bubble up but piercing it should remove the extra air.
• While the crust is pre-baking, combine the filling ingredients and stir with a whisk until well combined and smooth.
• Pour filling into pie crust. Bake at 325°F for about 45-50 minutes or until sides start to brown.
• While pie is baking, combine topping ingredients until crumbly.
• Half way through baking, remove pie and sprinkle with topping mixture. Cover with foil and return to oven to finish baking. The foil will prevent the pie and topping from over browning.
• Remove from oven and let cool for about an hour.
• Refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight before serving to let pie to set up.

German Chocolate Brownies

This is my 100th post!! Wow - I never thought I'd have 20 posts - or that people would read them. Let's shoot for 100 more (and then more than that!) :)

So I’ll leave the description of this short and sweet (just like these little beauties!) Delicious is the best word to describe them. Chocolate-y, slightly fudgy, a little salty – pretty much mind blowing. Take a short cut and use a premade brownie mix if desired!

1 pkg of gluten-free brownie mix (I like Namaste brand – it is free from major allergens)

1 egg
½ cup applesauce
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
½ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
½ cup pecans, chopped
½ tsp sea salt
1/3 cup brown coconut sugar

• In a large bowl, mix together brownie mix, egg, applesauce and water.
• Pour into a greased 8x8 baking pan. In a separate bowl, combine coconut oil, coconut, pecans and sugar.
• Sprinkle coconut mixture evenly onto brownie batter.
• Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until brownies are cooked through and topping is brown. I find that the coconut browns quickly so I cover mine with foil about halfway through baking.

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!

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This dish is absolutely delicious! It is a perfect weekend meal. It’s easy enough for a typical family dinner but nice enough to serve at a fancy dinner also! The spinach and mushrooms go perfect together and gives a nice flavor to the garlic-y chicken breasts. This will make a regular appearance to our weekly date night I believe!  We ate this with a light salad but serve it over pasta for a complete meal. Makes two servings.

2 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise (not quite all the way through! – like you are butterflying them)

½ cup mushrooms, diced
½ cup fresh spinach
3 slices prosciutto, diced (or turkey bacon would work)
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
2 slices of cheese (I used dairy free mozzarella, but Swiss or Provolone would be great!)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Basil, fresh or dried

• In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms, spinach and prosciutto.
• In a greased two quart baking dish, place sliced chicken breasts, cut side up.
• Pour balsamic vinaigrette over open chicken breasts.
• Place a slice of cheese into chicken breast.
• The spread halve of the spinach mixture over cheese in each chicken breast.
• Close the chicken breast with the top flap an secure with a tooth pick.
• Sprinkle minced garlic salt and pepper over closed chicken breasts. Drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake at 375°F for about 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked completely through.