Maple Oat Nut Scones

These are amazing. Simply amazing. I made them a while back after one of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rallies, and they were some of the first gluten-free scones I've ever had that really, truly, honestly tasted like scones. One of my friends who swore he hated scones LOVED these. Couldn't get enough of them. Enough said.

They are full of lovely maple flavor and taste like the ones you get at Starbucks (at least, from what I remember). Seriously - they will disappear in a matter of hours (minutes?) if they even make it off the cooling rack.

Find this fabulous recipe by Gretchen at Kumquat by clicking here.

Chai Latte Cashew Cookies for the Ratio Rally

Cookies are woven into our culture. Images of chocolate chip cookies, warm from the oven at grandma's house. The classic Tollhouse recipe. The cookie jar. The cookie monster. Girl Scouts sell them. Web browsers have them. They're everywhere, when you think about it.

And with good reason.  Friends, it's because cookies rock.  And that's why I'm so excited that this month's Ratio Rally recipe is for cookies! This is what you've been waiting for. For years, you've been tethered to your classic Tollhouse recipe. But now - now you can create delicious, chewy, buttery cookies (and as many or as few as you want) using a simple ratio.

I thought long and hard about what kind of cookie I wanted to create. There are such endless possibilities. Should I go classic chocolate chip? German hazelnut jam thumbprint? Peanut butter with chocolate? Pumpkin? Sugar? My mind was spinning (and my stomach was growling).

Then I noticed a forgotten little package of cardamom in my spice cabinet that I had never gotten around to using before. And I knew what I was going to make.

Chai Lattes. In cookie form.

There are a few different possible ratios for cookies. I originally tried the 1-2-3 ratio, but those ended up being cakier than I preferred. So I went for a ratio closer to the 1-1-1 ratio (1 part each of butter, sugar, and flour) and they came out much more like traditional cookies. Buttery, soft, and with a nice texture. And delicious. These really did taste like little chai lattes - I brought them into work and they got great reviews! And cookies are a piece of cake (ha) to throw together, so they'll be making your house smell wonderful before you know it.

Many thanks to Caroline of The G Spot Revolution for hosting this month's Ratio Rally for cookies!  See below my recipe for a list of all the other fantastic cookie ideas the other Ratio Rally members came up with.

And get ready for a chai latte - just not the kind you're used to.


Chai Latte Cashew Cookies
Makes 24 - 36 cookies

1.5 oz butter

1 oz brown sugar

1 oz white sugar
1/2 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

.75 oz brown rice flour

.75 oz sorghum flour

.5 oz potato starch

1/8 tsp. xanthan gum

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped cashews

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla and beat together. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix together. Add to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until combined. Add the chopped cashews.

Drop by teaspoonful onto the lined cookie sheet (no greasing necessary). Bake for 7-9 minutes, or just until the edges are slightly browned. Remove from oven and leave on hot cookie sheet for another 2 -4 minutes or until firm enough to move to a cooling rack. When completely cooled, remove to an airtight container.

Take a look at the fabulous recipes the other Ratio Rally folks came up with!

Amanda | Gluten Free Maui | Simple Shortbread
Amie Valpone | The Healthy Apple | Grapefruit Sugar Cookies
Brooke | B & the boy! | Candy Cane Shortbread
Caleigh | Gluten Free[k] | Mulled Spice Cookies
Caneel | Mama Me Gluten Free | Cardamom Date Cookies
charissa | zest bakery | Coconut Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Caroline | The G-Spot | Double Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies
Erin | The Sensitive Epicure | Spritz Cookies with Jam
gretchen | kumquat | Classic Sugar Cookies
Irvin | Eat the Love | Apple Brown Butter Bay Leaf Spice Cookies
Jean | Gluten Free Doctor Recipes | Reindeer Cookies
Jenn | Jenn Cuisine | Basler Brunsli
Jonathan| The Canary Files | Vegan Salted Oatmeal Cherry Cookies
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free! | Mexican Wedding Cakes
Lisa from Gluten Free Canteen | Molasses Rum Raisin Cookies
Mary Fran | frannycakes | Pinwheel Cookies
Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan | Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Meredith | Gluten Free Betty | Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Morri | Meals With Morri| Stevia Sweetened & Grain-Free Thumbprint Cookies with Apricot Preserves
Pete & Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem| Belgian Speculaas Cookies
Rachel | The Crispy Cook | Melomakarona
Silvana Nardone | Silvana's Kitchen | Old-School Italian Jam-Filled Hazelnut Cookies
T.R. | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies | Cinnamon Lemon Cookies
Tara | A Baking Life | Walnut Shortbread

Top Hat Cookie Dough Balls

I'm borderline obsessed with these cookie dough balls (as you may have noticed given how many times I've posted about them).  So a few weeks ago, a friend was over at my house, and I decided to make them with a slight twist.  I decided to give them hats.  Chocolate hats.

Now, these cookie dough balls do not need the chocolate hats in order to be delicious.  (And by the way, they're inspired by the "Fudge Baby" recipes on Chocolate-Covered Katie's blog.) They are addictive and wonderful (and relatively healthy!) totally on their own.  But....they were pretty fabulous with the chocolate ganache as a topping.  Dangerously so, in fact.  Mine weren't very nicely shaped (as you can see), but if your experience is anything like mine, they won't be around long enough for anyone to notice.

Top Hat Cookie Dough Balls

7 dates, pitted
1/3 cup cashews, lightly salted
1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup coconut flakes
2 tsp. (or more!) vanilla
Dash of salt
1 tbsp. flaxseed meal (if desired)
1 - 2 tbsp. marshmallow cream or Ricemellow vegan cream
1 - 3 tbsp. So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer (Original flavor)
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For ganache topping:
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 - 4 tbsp. So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  You want to be able to shape these with your hands into little balls, so if it's too runny, add some more oats, coconut, or cashews to make it thicker.

Roll the dough into balls and arrange on a plate.

In a small pan, melt the chocolate chips and So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer together just until it forms a thick melted chocolate paste.  Spread the chocolate ganache onto the top of each ball of dough.  You can eat them right away, or chill them in the refrigerator or freezer until you're ready to serve them.  They are delicious at any temperature!

Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Hummus (Vegan and Raw)

This is a lovely twist on traditional hummus dip.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure that it should even be called hummus, given the complete absence of the chickpeas, which are replaced entirely with cashews in this recipe.  All I know is that it was really, really tasty.  After several minutes of blitzing in the food processor, this raw dip was silky smooth, creamy, and wonderful.  It has a slightly sweet flavor from the roasted red peppers, with a salty tinge that lingers on your tongue.  I'm learning the art of keeping things simple, so I only added small amounts of a few other spices to this.  Not too many, though, because the roasted red peppers have such a strong flavor, and it's not fair to have to compete with that.

I ate this with corn chips, but it would be wonderful with pita chips as well, if you can find or make gluten-free ones.  I also used it in place of ketchup on a black bean burger I had this week, which was fantastic, and it would be great as a layer in a sandwich or as a tapenade with melted cheese on top, too.  Unfortunately, I ran out of the dip before I had time to try all of the different ways I thought of to use it.  But I'm sure that a few more batches will be coming my way before long...



Roasted Red Pepper Cashew "Hummus"

1 cup roasted cashews (I used the 50% reduced salt kind from Trader Joe's)
2 whole roasted red peppers, skin and seeds removed
1 - 2 tbsp. lemon juice (to taste)
2 tsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. salt (add more or less to your own taste)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper (to taste/tolerance)
Dash of cumin (to taste)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high speed for about 4 - 5 minutes, or until very creamy.  Remove and adjust spices as needed.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve with corn chips or as a tapenade.

Healthy Truffles

You may be asking, how can truffles be healthy?  And with good reason.  Normally, truffles are buttery, silky smooth balls of intense chocolate.  They melt in your mouth and overwhelm you with their richness.  They embody indulgence.

People in grad school tend to do a lot of stress eating.  (Although, let's face it, I've always been a stress eater anyway, so I can't blame it entirely on grad school.)  Truffles, and chocolate in general, are an obvious default candidate for those frenzied hours of studying and snacking.  So I am in an ongoing quest to make my stress eating a little less awful by developing healthier versions of some of my favorite snacks.  My friend Sarah (whose adorable children I babysit) and I have been tweaking this recipe for chocolate chip cookie dough balls a little bit each time we make them, which is often (her kids devour them as quickly as she makes them.)  Sarah had the brilliant idea to add cocoa powder to the regular version to make a sort of "brownie bite," and from there, we just kept tweaking until this version came about.  In my chocolate-addled state of mind, I decided to take it a step further and roll them in cocoa powder (just to add to the chocolate quotient).  And, ta-da!  Truffles.

I brought some of these to school with me to share with some of my classmates, who loved them.  One friend said that the texture was great because it really fools you into thinking you're eating a truffle; another said they were simply amazing overall.  The best part is how quickly and easily you can whip up a batch because it's truly just a matter of throwing all of the ingredients into your food processor and hitting "blend."  And you can't really mess these up because you can always tweak them by adding a little more of one ingredient or a little less of another until you find the combination and texture you personally like.  The recipe is very forgiving in that way.  And if you don't feel like rolling them into balls, just put the mixture in a bowl and eat it with a spoon.  I won't tell (because I've definitely done that before). 

So go ahead.  Indulge.  Because now, it's healthy.

Healthy Truffles

7 Trader Joe's Fancy Medjool Dates (with pits removed)
1/3 cup cashews
1/4 cup gluten-free oats
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tbsp. Marshmallow Fluff or Vegan Ricemellow Marshmallow Fluff
1 1/2 tbsp. pure cocoa powder + 1 tbsp. for rolling truffles
1-4 tbsp. So Delicious Coconut Milk, as needed
1 tbsp. granulated sugar (for rolling truffles - optional)

Place the dates (be sure to remove the pits!), cashews, oats, vanilla, coconut, Fluff, and cocoa powder in a food processor and blend on the highest speed.  When the food processor seems to have done as much as it can with those ingredients, start adding the So Delicious Coconut Milk one tablespoon at a time.  You want these to be very creamy so the texture is like the inside of a truffle, but still firm enough that you can roll them into balls.  Continue to pulse on the highest speed so that they are as well-blended as possible.

On a plate, combine the 1 tbsp. cocoa powder and the 1 tbsp. sugar (you can leave the sugar out if you want, although they will taste slightly more bitter).  (If the mixture is too thin, you can put it in the fridge for a little while to harden it up before you roll it into balls.)  Remove the chocolate mixture by tablespoonful and roll into balls with your hands, and then roll in the cocoa and sugar mixture to coat.  Place on a plate.  Refrigerate them for at least two hours before removing them to a container where they are touching each other.  Eat as needed.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites - Healthy, Vegan, and Raw

I know the words "vegan" and "raw" can have a similar effect to flipping an "off" switch for some people.  They become suspicious and doubtful of its flavor potential.  But just hear me out on this one.

I was browsing through food blogs last night and, after following a long chain of hyperlinked posts, stumbled across a blog called "Chocolate-Covered Katie."  Feeling an immediate kinship with the title, I delved further into Katie's website and discovered an entire section of her blog dedicated to making what she calls "Fudge Babies."

Intrigued, I scrolled through the list of varieties she has mastered.  Some of the flavors she has developed recipes for include peanut butter cup cookies, snickerdoodles, chocolate fudge, tiramisu, and s'more cookies, to name a few.  There are many others, and they all look fantastic. 

The first one I wanted to try is a flavor most of us will recognize and love.  Something we probably ate too much of when we were kids (and, um, some of us beyond the time since we were kids):  chocolate chip cookie dough.  What is it about cookie dough that is so damn good?  Yes, it's bad for you.  But it's awfully hard to resist one little taste while you're dumping chocolate chips into a buttery, sugary, silky-smooth bowl of cookie dough.  And once you've had one little taste, it's awfully hard to resist another little taste.  And then another.  And another.

With these, you don't have to worry about all the butter, sugar, and raw eggs you're consuming as you eat cookie dough.  It's not completely spot-on in flavor, I will say that - but it's very reminiscent of cookie dough, and you can make it even more so by upping the vanilla content.  But even though they aren't exactly the same as cookie dough, they are still really, really good.

And best of all, you can feel good about trading in that sliver of flavor for a huge slice of health.  As Katie describes, these are sort of reminiscent of Larabars in their flavor, texture, and simplicity.  They are super easy and quick to make (you can have them done in less than 15 minutes) and make a healthful and delicious snack.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (Modified slightly from "Chocolate-Covered Katie's" fantastic recipe, which you can find here.)
Makes about 12 - 15 pieces

90 grams (~1/2 cup) dates
30 grams whole raw cashews
1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
2 heaping tbsp. shredded coconut
1/4 cup mini-chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)

For best results, chop dates into smaller pieces before placing into food processor so they are easier to grind up.

Place the dates, cashews, vanilla, and salt (if desired) into a food processor (Katie uses a Magic Bullet, but I don't have one of those, so I just threw it all into my plain old food processor).  Blend on the highest setting until the dates have been reduced at least to small crumbs and will stick together in clumps (longer if you want it to be even smoother).  Scrape into a bowl and add the coconut and chocolate chips, stirring to mix well.  Scoop out by the tablespoonful and mold into small balls with your hands.

That's it!  Now you can go ahead and eat them.  You can store at room temperature or in the fridge.

I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect these would be great dipped in a chocolate ganache.

Creamy (vegan!) Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Sauce

Tonight, exhausted from a full day of babysitting and with the prospect of another several hours of babysitting after dinner, I was looking for a new recipe to try that would be simple. Simple, but delicious.  

There is a place in Boston called Veggie Planet, which has a dish with some sort of amazing roasted red pepper and nut sauce.  I had a bag of cashews, and a jar of roasted red peppers I've had forever.  And I have a food processor.  What resulted was a rich, creamy, and thick sauce - I had to refrain from eating up every last bite of it.  When I started making it, I wasn't sure yet how I wanted to use this sauce, but as I stood over the stove, stirring and thinking, I decided that it would be an excellent base for a pizza.  And oh, was it ever.  But this sauce is so versatile that you could use it for all kinds of other things.  With pasta, on a sandwich - so many ways!  (See below for suggestions.)  So give it a try - it's vegan and gluten-free and full of flavor.  You'll love it.

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Sauce

3 roasted red peppers

1/3 cup unsalted or lightly salted cashew nuts (I used the "50% less salt" kind from Trader Joe's)

1/4 - 1/2 cup almond milk (depending on how thick you want your sauce)

1 tsp. minced/crushed garlic

1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cumin (or to taste)

dash of cayenne pepper (optional; to taste)

dash of black pepper 

1 tsp. agave nectar OR 1 tsp. sugar 

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

In a food processor, combine the roasted red peppers and cashews and process on highest setting.  After about 1 minute, add 1/4 cup of almond milk and continue to process until it is very smooth.  

Put the processed mixture into a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat.  Add more almond milk if desired, the salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, agave nectar, and lemon juice and heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until the mixture becomes as thick as you want it to be. Tweak the spices as you stir to your own taste - the recipe above is just an approximation!  When you are happy with the taste and consistency, remove from heat.  Use immediately (see below) or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Ways to use this sauce:

-as a pasta sauce or (if you let it get thick enough) as a pesto to toss with angel hair pasta

-spoon hot over sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and brown rice

-spread over chicken and bake in the oven, covered OR spread over grilled chicken

-as a sandwich spread (would complement pesto extremely well)

-as a dip for crackers or pretzels (gluten-free, of course)

-as a delicious replacement for regular pizza sauce (see picture below!) with your favorite toppings (I sauteed a Spicy Jalapeno chicken sausage from Trader Joe's and topped two corn tortillas with a layer of the roasted red pepper sauce, the sausage, and then Daiya vegan cheese, and it was phenomenally good, and extremely fast)

Roasted Red Pepper and Sausage Pizza