Sugar-free Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

These are seriously good. And seriously vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free (except for the tiny amount of sugar in the pumpkin puree). BAM. A tri-fecta of guilt-abolishing truths about desserts. I've made them a few times now, and while the texture isn't quite perfect, they stay together pretty well considering how many substitutions are in them. And everyone I've shared them with to (n=10) loved the flavor -- even though most don't follow a vegan, gluten-free, or sugar-free diet.

**These are loosely based on this recipe.

Sugar-free Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup Stevia in the Raw
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp. salt
1/2 - 1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
4 - 5 tbsp. coconut oil, warmed to liquid
3 - 4 tsp. vanilla extract (to taste)
1/2 cup gluten-free oats OR quinoa flakes (I've tried both and either way, you'll eat every last one)
1/2 cup pecan pieces (either raw or roasted will work)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the almond flour, sorghum flour, baking powder, stevia, shredded coconut, salt, and cinnamon together. Add the pumpkin puree, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract and mix well. Add in the oats or quinoa flakes and pecan pieces and mix well. It will be slightly crumbly, but it should still be stick enough to roll into little balls. If it's not, add a little more melted coconut oil and/or vanilla extract until it is.

Roll into tablespoon-sized balls and line up on a lined cookie sheet. These don't really spread much, so you can put them pretty close together. Bake for 7 - 11 minutes or just until light golden brown on top. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Eat as many as you want before storing in an airtight container (for best results so they don't crumble when they rub against each other, separate layers with waxed paper). 

No Bake Chex Mix Granola Bars

I've had a couple of attempts at granola bars recently, mainly because they can get so expensive to buy at the store.  So far, mine have mostly turned into granola because they just won't flippin' stay together long enough to be called bars. 

I won't claim that these are the sturdiest of bars.  But as you can see, they stayed in the shape of bars long enough to be photographed.  So that's something.  They actually stayed bars all day, especially if they were in the fridge.  I don't think they'd necessarily survive a long hike in a backpack (at least, not without some serious tupperware protection), but they have definite potential for someone who is looking for bars for light use. I know I'll be making them again.

And they are really, really tasty.  A friend of mine had sent me a link for Grain-free Granola Bars, and I thought, why not?  It fits in with my general pursuit of bars at the moment.  But I'm not grain-free, nor did I want to rely solely on nuts for my bars.  So I adapted it and added some finely ground-up honey nut chex, and more honey than what was originally called for.  I also studded mine with some crushed chocolate chips because.....well, I don't have a reason, actually.  Because chocolate is never a bad thing to add. 

If you want a stickier bar, feel free to add more honey, or maybe some agave nectar or maple syrup.  Experiment with your own favorite combination of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.  Go with Cinnamon Chex instead of Honey Nut.  Make these your own!

No Bake Chex Mix Granola Bars (Adapted from "Grain-free Granola Bars" on the Joyful Abode blog)
Makes one 8 x 8 pan of granola bars (about 15 small bars)
*You can double this recipe for thicker bars, or for a 9 x 13 pan.

1 cup Honey Nut Chex, ground finely
1/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds, ground finely (but not into a paste/butter!)
2 - 3 tbsp. of combination of flax seeds, chia seeds, and sesame seeds, ground up finely
1 tsp. salt
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used Let's Go Organic 40% Reduced Fat)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or your favorite dried fruit)
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp. coconut oil (substitute another oil or butter if you don't have it)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 - 1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Don't preheat the oven.  They're no-bake - yay!

Line an 8 x 8 pan with a sheet of wax paper (believe me, you'll want to have that paper there or you'll never get these out of the pan whole).

In a large bowl, combine the ground chex, almond meal, ground sunflower seeds, salt, ground flax, chia, and sesame seeds, dried cranberries, and the shredded coconut.

In a small saucepan, heat combine the honey, coconut oil, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Heat over low-medium heat until melted and it starts to bubble.  Pour over the dry mixture and stir well to coat.

Pour it into the pan and if desired, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the mixture (they might melt a little if it's still warm from the honey/coconut oil).  Using another piece of wax paper, press it really hard into the pan.  Like, really hard.  Remember, you want these to become bars!

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.  When ready to eat, remove the wax paper from the pan and cut into bars.  Store in the fridge so they stay in bar form.

Blueberry Cobbler Granola

I'll confess that granola is not actually what I set out to make yesterday.  I was trying to make snack bars.  You know, the kind that, uh, don't fall apart when you try to eat them.  But this turned out to be an ambitious goal.  No matter how much honey I added, they stubbornly refused to stay together in bar form.

But that's ok.  I was putting too much pressure on them to be something they're not.  This was a granola recipe from the beginning.  I see that now.

And once I just let it be granola, it all fell into place. At first I was going to call this Blueberry Muffin Granola, but when I shared it with two of my friends, they immediately said it tasted more like cobbler.  Which makes sense, since it probably shares more ingredients with cobbler than muffins.  But, the point is really that it will taste like a delicious baked blueberry dessert of some kind, and you'll probably have a hard time not eating all of it from the pan.

I had originally added only 1/4 cup of honey, but after baking them for about 20 minutes, it was clear that the mixture was too dry to stay together in bar form.  So I added another 1/4 cup in the hopes that this would help - but it didn't.  And then I ended up with really sticky, soft granola.  Which, again, was delicious, but feel free to adjust the amount of honey according to your own tastes, since it's not going to stay together anyway.

I'm sure this would be wonderful with other add-ins - maybe some flax or chia seeds, or nuts, or a different combination of dried fruit.  Go crazy if you feel like it.  But if you're a blueberry fan, stick with what you know.  You won't be disappointed.

Blueberry Cobbler Granola

1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 - 1 cup dried blueberries
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line a 8 x 8 pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, toss the oats, coconut, blueberries, salt, and cinnamon together.  Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and mix together lightly, then toss with the oats.

Spread over the pan evenly and place in the oven for at least 30 minutes (for a softer granola) and for up to 50 minutes (for a crunchier granola).  Stir around every 10 minutes or so, and remove when you're happy with how browned it is.

Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.  If there's any left.

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!

Piña Colada Muffins for the Gluten-free Ratio Rally

I have been baking for as long as I can remember.  In fact, one of my first memories is standing on a chair next to my mom in the kitchen of our tiny house in St. Louis when I was about 3 years old, peering over her shoulder as she sifted flour into a large mixing bowl.  (Of course, part of why that memory sticks is probably what happened next - I got a little too engrossed in peering and toppled into the wall headfirst, ending up in the ER for stitches.  But the baking part is really clear to me, too, I swear.).  My childhood is full of moments like that, watching my mom bake loaf after loaf of fluffy braided challah early on the morning of our annual Hanukkah party, or cutting out cookies at Christmas, or stirring the thick batter of a cake just because she felt like making one.  It's no wonder to me that I grew to love baking too, and in a deeply therapeutic way.  I'm not good at painting, drawing, or really any other fine arts.  But baking is my escape, and my place of creation.

Woven into each of those memories, whether explicit or not, was almost always a recipe.  A map of ingredients and instructions.  Something passed down from a generation past, or found while rooting through the worn pages of a favorite cookbook, or even a recipe discovered online, rated and tweaked by dozens of other bakers.  I have always been slightly afraid of changing recipes for fear of destroying whatever internal balance has been so delicately constructed.  Even though I've done my fair share of tweaking recipes, it was always with trepidation, and without a clear understanding of what it really is that makes bread bread-y, a muffin muffin-y, and a cake cake-y.  I've experimented, yes - but I've always respected the recipe.  Feared the recipe, in a way. 

So when I was perusing my usual food blogs one day last month and came across the Gluten-free Girl's post on the Gluten-free Ratio Rally, I was immediately intrigued.  Here was a group of gluten-free bloggers breaking free from the bonds of recipes to get at what really underlies them all: a simple ratio.  Flour, liquid, egg, and fat - these ingredients appear in so many different kinds of baked goods, but without knowing how much of each one is in a pancake versus a biscuit, you'll have to follow a recipe.  Once you know the ratio at work, though, the world of gluten-free ingredients is your oyster.  As long as you measure each class of ingredient in the proper ratio by weight instead of volume (using ounces or grams instead of cup measures), you can create new recipes to your heart's content, using whichever flours and flavors you want.  You can reshelve your cookbooks.  That's right - you can create recipes.  Seriously.

The idea of baking from a ratio of weights makes so much sense when you think about it.  As bakers, we all measure things slightly differently.  The weight of my cup of flour may be quite different from your cup of flour, depending on how much the flour settles.  This is especially in gluten-free baking, in which so many different kinds of flours are used; the weight of 1 cup of sorghum flour will be very different from 1 cup of potato starch, for instance.  The amount of flour used in a recipe can therefore vary quite widely if it's measured by volume (cups) instead of by weight.

Last month, the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally bloggers took on pancakes as their challenge, and the recipes looked fantastic.  Just check them out and see what creativity can be unleashed when you're free to roam beyond the page of a cookbook.

So this month, I'm joining in the fun and have created my own recipe for you, for muffins.  Not just any muffins, though.  Really, really awesome muffins.  And what I can't get over is how I can honestly say that I created these.  Using Michael Ruhlman's ratio for quickbread and muffins (2 parts flour: 2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1 part fat), I just....made it up. 

I won't say that it was a seamless ride to the finish line.  These underwent a few different iterations before I finally settled on the recipe I'm posting here.  My first attempt was pretty tasty, but had a somewhat dense texture that I wanted to lighten up.  It also relied mainly on starches and refined grains, and I wanted to strike a healthier balance with whole grain flours instead.  The second attempt was an utter fail involving a fatal overdose of xanthan gum and too much liquid, which resulted in a gummy mess that puffed up nicely at first, tricking me in the first 30 minutes of baking, only to deflate back into itself, stubbornly refusing to rise again. 

But the third attempt - the third attempt was a keeper.  I kept several elements the same, using pineapple juice as part of the liquid (don't worry, it's not something separate you have to buy, as long as you buy crushed pineapple in 100% juice) and substituting applesauce for half the fat.  I did tweak a few things from the first recipe, though: reduced the xanthan gum, added some baking soda, and used a little less crushed pineapple in the batter.  I substituted brown rice flour for white rice flour.  I increased the amount of each extract, too, so that the piña colada flavor shines through unmistakably.  And I frosted them with a simple coconut-rum glaze and toasted coconut.

You could take my word for it and believe that these are amazing.  I had to give them all away for fear of eating every last one myself.  But in case the bias in that opinion is (understandably) too much for you, maybe I can share what my classmates and friends said when they tried these.  "Oh, my GOD," was the most common refrain of disbelief uttered after the first bite.  They couldn't believe these were gluten-free, and they all agreed that they tasted just like their namesake.  "DEE-licious!" read an email from another friend who tried these.  I could go on, but you get the idea.  They're good - really good.
 
For a healthier breakfast option, you can absolutely make these without the frosting.  If you do that, they'll look like this:

The inside came out moist, soft, and wonderful.  And they really do taste like a piña colada, with the rum, coconut and vanilla extracts complementing the sweetness of the real pineapple chunks perfectly.  These are seriously addictive, and so delicious that you can safely serve them to non-celiacs without any backlash about their being gluten-free and dairy-free (Now that I think about it, I believe I was the only celiac who tried this last batch, but everyone loved them!). 

So, because this recipe is the first one I've made up this way, I am especially excited to share it with you.  I hope that you enjoy them!

For a list of all the other fabulous recipes for muffins and quick breads that the Gluten-free Ratio Rally bloggers came up with this month, visit Sylvana's Kitchen.

*Note:  All measurements are given here in weight, but you only need a very inexpensive, simple scale to weigh these ingredients because they are all in multiples of 2 ounces.  I have a scale from Target that cost maybe $5 that I used for this.  Originally, I was measuring out approximations of how many cups each ingredient would have, but they were all such strange measurements (i.e. "somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 cup of sorghum flour") that I decided against including that here.  But suffice to say, overall, I ended up with about 1 3/4 cups of flour in the end using this combination.  I highly encourage you to weigh out each one for best results, though!

*One other note:  I bought a 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple in 100% juice for this recipe and used it for both the crushed pineapple and the pineapple juice.  I definitely had some leftover, but the smaller 6 oz. cans will not be enough.  So I'd recommend just getting the larger size and having the leftovers as a snack.


Piña Colada Muffins with Coconut Rum Glaze and Toasted Coconut
Makes 12 muffins 
Ratio for quick bread and muffins: 2 parts flour: 2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1 part fat

2 oz./57 grams sorghum flour

2 oz./57 grams brown rice flour

2 oz./57 grams tapioca starch

2 oz./56 grams potato starch

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. xanthan gum

4 oz./113 grams white granulated sugar or evaporated cane crystals

3 oz./150 grams shredded coconut (unsweetened or sweetened are both fine)

2 eggs (or Egg Replacer)

4 oz./113 grams So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

4 oz./113 grams pineapple juice (from drained can)

2 oz./4 tbsp/57 grams Earth Balance Buttery Stick, melted

2 oz./57 grams smooth applesauce

1 ½ tsp. gluten-free vanilla

1 ¼ tsp.gluten-free coconut extract

1 tsp. gluten-free rum extract

4 oz./113 grams crushed pineapple from can, completely drained

Optional: combine these ingredients in a small bowl to sprinkle over the muffins before baking:

2 oz./57 grams crushed pineapple

2 tbsp. shredded coconut

1 tbsp. brown sugar

¼ tsp. coconut extract

¼ tsp. rum extract

To make icing, whip the following ingredients together, adjusting for desired thickness of glaze:

4 tbsp. Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese

2 – 5 tbsp. pineapple juice (depending on how thick you want the glaze to be)

½ tsp. rum extract

½ tsp. coconut extract

4 oz./113 grams powdered sugar

To be sprinkled on top:
4 oz. toasted coconut (about 1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 400 F (You'll reduce the temperature to 350 F after you put the muffins in, but this cushions it against the heat that escapes when you open the oven).  Line a 12-muffin pan with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.

Using a kitchen scale, measure out the sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, sugar, and shredded coconut.  Whisk together in a mixing bowl with the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum until well combined.  

Weigh the So Delicious Coconut Milk, pineapple juice, and applesauce and whisk together in a separate bowl with the eggs and melted butter. (Be sure to let the butter cool a bit before adding it so you don't partially cook the eggs!)  Add the vanilla, coconut, and rum extracts and continue to mix very well. 

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat by hand to mix until all ingredients have been incorporated.  Add the 4 oz. crushed, drained pineapple to the batter and mix in.

Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin tin, distributing the batter evenly among the 12 tins.  Sprinkle some of the pineapple-coconut-brown sugar topping on each muffin and press down slightly to get them to stick.  

Place the muffins into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350 F.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean (I baked mine for exactly 29 minutes, but your baking time may vary depending on the oven and altitude).  Remove from oven and leave in the muffin tin for another 5 minutes or so before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  If you try to take them out and they are still too delicate, leave them in the muffin tin until you can take them out without crushing/crumbling them.  

When the muffins are completely cooled, drizzle with the coconut-rum glaze and top with toasted coconut (if desired).  Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  If you can wait that long. 

Check out the rest of the amazing recipes from the other Ralliers this month:

Mrs. R of honey from flinty rocks made Lemon Lavender Muffins with Lavender Sugar
Alisha Austin of gfmostlyvegetarian made Sweet Potato Breakfast Loaf
Amanda Schaefer of Gluten Free Maui made Classic Banana, Oat, Pecan Bread
Amie Valpone of  The Healthy Apple made Gluten-Free Agave Apricot Quick Bread
Britt Hodges of GF In The City made Date & Walnut Bread
Brooke Lippy of Bell Wookie made Double Chocolate Cherry Muffin
Caleigh of Gluten Free[k] made Cardamom Banana Bread
Caroline Karasik of The G Spot Revolution made Orange Spice Bread with a Vanilla Glaze
Claire Berman of Gluten Freedom made Piña Colada Muffins with Coconut-Rum Glaze and Toasted Coconut
Danna Owens of Sweet Dees Gluten Free made Blood Orange Cardamom Muffins
Erin Block of Mysteries Internal made Strawberry Yogurt Muffins
Erin Swing of The Sensitive Epicure made Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins with Streusel
Flo of Makanaibio made 2 Recettes de Muffins ou de Gateau Rapides
Gretchen of kumquat made Gingerbread Fig Loaf
Irvin of Eat The Love made Gluten Free Glazed Meyer Lemon Muffins filled with Slow Roasted Balsamic Red Wine Strawberry Jam
Jenn of Jenn Cuisine made Chestnut and Chocolate Quickbread
Karen Robertson of Cooking Gluten Free made Muffins
Kate Brabon of Kate Alice Cookbook made Raspberry Banana Crumble-Top Muffins
Kate Chan of Gluten Free Gobsmacked made Mocha + Chocolate Chip Muffins/Quickbread
Lauren McMillan of Celiac Teen made Cocoa Quickbread
Lisa of Gluten Free Canteen made Almond Cherry Berry Banana Muffins, Gluten Free
Lisa of With Style and Grace made Rosemary Lemon Quick Bread
Marla Meridith of Family Fresh Cooking made Strawberry Snack Cakes
Mary Frances of Gluten Free Cooking School made Cranberry Orange Bread with Cream Cheese Icing
Meaghan Cassidy of The Wicked Good Vegan made Vegan Gluten-Free Apricot-Orange Bread
Melanie of Mindful Food made Almond Joy Muffins
Nannette Minley of Nannette Raw made Chai Muffins
Robyn of Chocswirl made Brown Butter Apple Spice Muffins with Pecan Nut Streusel
Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef made Lemon Poppyseed Bread with Ginger Glaze
Silvana of Silvana's Kitchen made Chocolate-Coated Marshmallow-Topped Vanilla Cupcakes
Wendy Kirby of La Phemme Phoodie made Cheesy Apple Butter Bread with Garlic Powder
Winnie Abramson of Healthy Green Kitchen made Brown Butter Banana Bread

Samoa Girl Scout Cookies

Who out there misses Girl Scout Cookies?  Samoas, anyone?  You might not have to miss them quite as much if you make these.  They're not spot on, but they are - shall we say - reminiscent.  If you don't compare them directly to the gooey coconut-y fudgey deliciousness of Samoas, you'll probably like them even more.  Lose the comparison entirely and they become decadent.

I was lucky enough to host a friend of mine over the weekend, a friend who is scarily similar to me in many ways.  One thing we share is a love of baking, and we spent much of her visit in my kitchen, chatting endlessly as we made one delicious thing after another.  On the first day of her visit, we walked past a little cluster of hopeful Girl Scouts  in the Harvard subway station.  They were standing in front of huge stacks of cookie boxes, trying their best sales pitches/pleas on the passing commuters.  While we didn't buy any for obvious gluten reasons, they inspired us to try making Girl Scout cookies on our own at home.  After all, how hard could it be?

Not very hard, really - and fun!  All it takes is a good cookie base - we used shortbread, but feel free to try any other vanilla cookie base that you think would work - and then it's just a matter of the coconut cream and chocolate.  Easy to assemble, and despite being shortbread (aka butter-based), ended up tasting quite light and airy when all was said and done.  The shortbread base did become slightly crumbly, making the process of eating them a little messy.  There are two ways to remedy that.  You could use a different base, one that is more like a regular cookie, which will be softer and chewier.  Or - you can avoid crumbs by eating the entire cookie at once.  The choice is yours.  But if you're looking for a Samoa fix, these are the cookies for you.

Gluten-free Samoa Girl Scout Cookies

For the shortbread:

1/3 cup brown rice flour 
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tbsp. tapioca starch
3/4 cup, or 1.5 sticks, Fleischmann's baking margarine or Earth Balance "Butter"
Sweet rice flour for dusting


For the coconut cream and chocolate drizzle:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. coconut oil (can substitute Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
1/2 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup shredded coconut + 2 tbsp. for sprinkling over cookies
1/4 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
3 oz. Trader Joe's Pound Plus Dark Chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 300 F.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Using an electric hand mixer (if you don't have one, just do the best you can by hand), cream the butter until it is very smooth.  Slowly beat in the dry ingredients bit by bit until they are well mixed.  Using your hands, gather the dough into a big ball, kneading any uneven parts as necessary.

Break off the dough by tablespoonful and roll into balls.  Place them on the parchment paper and, after dusting with the sweet rice flour to keep from sticking, flatten with the bottom of a cup or a fork or spoon. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, until they are firm to the touch, but not yet browned.  Remove from oven and let sit on the hot cookie sheets for another 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

In the meantime, prepare the coconut cream.  Melt the sugar and coconut oil together into a small pot and toast them together for about 1 - 2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning/sticking.  Add the coconut milk and vanilla and stir well.  Simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes or until the mixture has reduced a bit and has become slightly thicker.  Add the shredded coconut and salt and stir in well.  Continue to cook for another 2 - 3 minutes, or until it has thickened more.  Remove from the pot into a bowl.  Let cool for a few minutes, then add the powdered sugar (which will help thicken it even more).  If yours still isn't very thick, you can try adding a bit of extra cornstarch as well.  Continue to cool.

In a regular nonstick pot, melt the chocolate over low heat. (If you have a double boiler, go ahead and use that!)  You could also microwave the chocolate in increments of 15 seconds if you prefer to avoid pots altogether.  Once it is melted, place it in a small baggie.  When you're ready to use it, cut a small hole at one of the corners to drizzle it over the cookies.

When the cookies have cooled, spread a layer of the cooled coconut cream on top, then drizzle chocolate over the coconut cream to your heart's content.  If desired, sprinkle some extra coconut flakes over the cookies before the toppings dry.  You can eat them right away, but the icing will still be slightly melty, so it works better to refrigerate them for a few hours before you serve them.

These can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.  If they last that long.

Coconut Almond Pie Crust

I've never really been much of a pie person in the past.  I'm not sure why.  Pie always seemed like so much work, and so messy.

But...that is one beautiful crust.  And it was so simple to make.  What on earth was keeping me from making pie all this time??

I used a strawberry custard filling in this for the first try, and it was delicious.  But I would imagine other successful flavor combinations oould include vanilla custard, chocolate pudding, key lime filling, non-baked cheesecake, or any dark berries - especially raspberries.

I taste-tested this with the kids I babysit, and while one of them hated it (because she hates coconut and almonds!), the other one couldn't get enough of it.  I eventually had to cut her off.  Her parents loved it, too.  They said the crust reminded them of Coconut Almond KIND bars.

This is probably the easiest pie crust you'll ever make - you don't even have to worry about peeling flour off of your rolling pin when it's done.  So, have at it.  As a former pie skeptic, I can tell you - it's worth it.

Here's what mine looked like just before going into the oven.  A springform pan would work best for this recipe, but if you don't have one (as I don't), a regular old 9-inch pan will work just fine, too.

Coconut Almond Pie Crust

1 cup shredded unsweetened or sweetened coconut
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tbsp. sweet rice flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 F.  Spray a 9-inch nonstick pan (or a springform pan if you have one) with cooking spray.

Combine the coconut, almond flour, sweet rice flour, and salt in a bowl.  Add the Earth Balance Buttery Spread and vanilla extract and cut them into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is evenly distributed.  Press into the pan, pushing some of the dough up along the side of the pan.  Place in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the coconut is lightly browned.  Watch it carefully so the coconut doesn't burn!  If it's browning too quickly, you can place a piece of foil loosely over the pan until it's done.

Remove from oven and cool before filling with cold filling.

**If you want to use this for a pie whose filling needs to be baked, I would place it in the oven for at least 10 minutes to firm up the crust before adding the filling.  I haven't tried this yet with a baked pie filling so I cannot guarantee that it won't burn being in the oven that long!

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.

Decadently Chewy Granola Bars

Yes, that's right.  I'm going to call these decadent, even though they are also healthy.  I haven't had a lot of luck in the past with granola bar recipes, with the main problem being how they tend to fall apart right away, crumbling sadly into a chunky granola the moment I remove them from the pan.  Still delicious?  Yes - but not the point!  What I have wanted for so long is a healthy and convenient gluten-free snack on-the-go.  True, it's something that has become commercially easier to find in recent years, but the store-bought gluten-free granola bars leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion, between the slightly-off texture and more-than-slightly off taste, often evocative of cardboard.
 

These don't resemble cardboard.  Not even a little bit.  They're chewy, full of flavor, and you can tailor them to whatever ingredients you want and/or have on hand.  Don't have coconut?  No problem!  Add more oats or almond meal.  Don't like cranberries?  Add whatever fruit you DO like.  As long as you keep the basic ratio of dry ingredients to wet ingredient roughly the same, it shouldn't matter what you substitute here.  (Just try to avoid super absorbent flours like coconut flour without adjusting the liquid ingredients, too).  Get ready to snack!


Decadently Chewy Granola Bars

1 ¼ cups gluten-free oats (remove 1/3 cup to grind into oat flour)

½ cup buckwheat flakes (or substitute more oats if you don't have buckwheat flakes)

½ - ¾ cup sugar (I used a little less than 2/3 cup, but follow your own taste)

1 cup almond meal*

½ cup dried cranberries (or any other dried fruit)

½ cup coconut flakes**

1/3 cup mixed seeds (sunflower, sesame, and linseed)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup + 2 tsp. honey, agave, or maple syrup (I used half honey/half agave, but you can use all of one or the other)

¼ cup Sunbutter***

3 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread

3 tbsp. applesauce (I used my homemade applesauce)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tbsp. water

*You can substitute another kind of nut meal, like hazelnut meal.
**If you hate coconut, substitute more almond meal or more fruit/nuts
***You can substitute any other kind of nutbutter here.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.  Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray. (Warning: if you use wax paper, it will probably stick to your baked granola bars, so beware!)

Measure out the 1 1/4 cups oats first, and then remove 1/3 cup of them and grind them into oat flour (you can use your coffee grinder - I did!).  Place the oats and oat flour in a large bowl, and then add the rest of the dry ingredients, including the cinnamon and salt.  If you don't like cranberries and almond flour, don't worry - just add your own favorite nuts/seeds/dried fruits in the same amounts and you will be fine.  

Place the Sunbutter, honey/agave nectar, Earth Balance, applesauce, vanilla, and water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning, and when it comes to a simmer and everything has melted together, remove from heat and pour over the dry ingredients.  Mix well until all dry ingredients have been moistened.

Pour into the prepared pan and, using a spoon or your fingers, press down firmly and evenly into the pan.  Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the edges and top are browned.  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting (if you can stand to wait that long).  When they are completely cooled, place them in the fridge for another hour or so before cutting them so they'll stick together even better.

Remove from fridge and cut into whatever shape your heart desires.  I cut mine into thirds, and then into sixths the other way, for slightly smaller bars.  Store in an airtight container and return to the fridge for maximum shelf life.

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars

Oh yeah, these are as good as they look.  Doused with coconut and infused with banana, the batter baked itself into a moist and delicious cake that I served to a group of non-celiacs.  They were scraping the bottom of the plate for the last crumbs. 

See below for tips on making this dessert vegan!

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars

Makes 16 Bars

1/4 cup gluten-free margarine or buttery spread
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup ripe, mashed bananas (I used about 3 medium ripe bananas)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used 1/3 cup tapioca starch, 1/3 sorghum flour, and 1/3 cup brown rice flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt

For topping:
2-3 Tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8x8 baking pan.

Mix the softened butter with the brown sugar and beat well, until the brown sugar is well-mixed in.  Add the egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla.

In a small bowl, mix together the gluten-free flours with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time.  Stir in 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2/3 cup shredded coconut. Pour the batter into baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. 

In another small bowl, combine shredded coconut, melted butter, and sugar, and sprinkle over the top of the batter. Spread about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Warning:  They will not last long.

To make vegan chocolate chip bars:  Substitute 1.5 tsp egg replacer + 2 tbsp. water for the egg and ensure that margarine is vegan (such as Earth Balance) and that the chocolate chips are also vegan.

Coconut Dark Chocolate Cookie Bars

Oh, I have missed baking dearly this last month I've been away. I decided to treat myself today and buy ingredients for just a simple recipe, so when I caught a ride in to work this morning, I took a little detour to the Superspar grocery store - the slightly nicer store in Mbabane. And the one that has at least a few gluten-free flour mixes. I had already bought a self-raising flour mix that I was waiting to use, and so I went down the baking aisle and grabbed a bag of coconut, a cheap bottle of vanilla flavoring, and after a careful search that yielded no discoveries of chocolate chips, headed over to the candy section to pick out a dark chocolate bar that I could chop up and use for these bars. These fabulous goodies were inspired by the cookie bars on the Gluten-Free Goddess' website. Karina, who blogs her wonderfully creative and always delicious adventures in the kitchen, came up with this very simple recipe for some knockout cookie bars using coconut, and I basically used the same recipe with a few substitutes for ingredients I could find here in Swaziland. Her recipe calls for chocolate chips; I used a whole chocolate bar. Hers calls for Spectrum shortening; I have roughly zero chance of finding that here and so substituted a baking margarine I found here. I didn't have finely granulated brown sugar, so I used raw. I love vanilla and added a little more than what was originally called for. And instead of Pamela's, I used the only flour mix I have available to me: Orgran Self-Raising Flour mix, free of all allergens. If I could have found any, I would have added some crushed pecans into the batter as well, but alas, only macadamia and cashew nuts showed themselves in the Superspar. As I marched into the kitchen with an armful of baking ingredients, Celiwe looked over at me and exclaimed, "Siphiwe is baking a cake!" with a big smile (Siphiwe is my Swazi name), and she and the other staff watched me with some interest as I started putting the ingredients together, stirring and measuring out the flour and brown sugar. Celiwe stepped in and started stirring the dough for me as I spooned in the flour bit by bit, and when she finished stirring it all in, she took a little taste and said, "Oh! That is nice. That is going to be a good cake, sisi (sister)." And she was right - they were some pretty awesome (and yes, very cake-like) cookie bars. All of the staff tried a piece and they agreed that it was "very nice," one of them even exclaiming, "Oh! If I could have this for Christmas, I would just be happy." So, consider these a treat worthy of any occasion; they're extremely easy to put together, ingredient-light, and everyone will love them.


Coconut Dark Chocolate Cookie Bars

1/2 cup baking margarine, vegetable oil, or Spectrum shortening (if you can find it!)
1 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
2 cups self-raising flour (your favorite brand, or your own blend of flours with salt and baking powder added in)
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1 whole dark chocolate bar, chopped into very small pieces OR 12 oz. bag of dark chocolate chips
1/2 - 3/4 cup finely chopped pecan pieces (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C. Allow the margarine to come to room temperature and beat, adding the brown sugar in to mix well. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix. Add the flour bit by bit, stirring carefully to mix it all in. Then add the coconut and add 3/4 of the chocolate and 3/4 of the pecans and stir to mix. The dough will be pretty thick at this point. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and press the dough into it, and then sprinkle the rest of the chocolate and pecans on top and press into the dough. Bake for about 20 -25 minutes, being careful not to overbake so it doesn't get too dry. I'd err on the side of removing from the oven after 20 minutes rather than waiting too long. Allow to cool and then either top with a dark chocolate ganache drizzle, or serve by itself - with hot tea or coffee is preferred!

Coconut Almond-crusted Tilapia with Pineapple Coconut Rice

I am trying really hard to eat more fish, and really, to talk myself into having more of a taste for fish. At this point, I can feign interest in fish; appreciate what is coating the fish; and I enjoy the lightness of it. But I really want to develop more of a passion for fish. I meet so many people who are really passionate about their seafood, and I feel like I must really be missing out on something, as I sit in the dark corner eating my plain, ordinary chicken while everyone else is basking in the light of a delicious fillet of Mahi Mahi or some other fish I don't know anything about. So the other day at the grocery store (there aren't many days when I CAN'T refer to "yesterday at the grocery store," by the way - I go shopping for food entirely too often), I wandered into the seafood section and picked out a little bag of frozen tilapia fillets. This is what came of it. And please, if you do have any suggestions for me of what kinds of fish or seafood to try, and how to prepare it, leave a comment for me!!

Coconut and Almond-Crusted Tilapia with Pineapple Coconut Rice

For the rice:

1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 small can of diced or chunky pineapple (~1/2 cup)
1/2 of 1 small can diced green chilies
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 5.5-oz can coconut milk

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until onion starts to become translucent, and add the can of diced pineapple and the 1/2 can (or more if you desire) of diced green chilies. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the 2 cups of water and the can of coconut milk, bring to a boil, and then add the rice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over reduced heat for 40 - 50 minutes, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. You should be left with a slightly creamy rice dish.

For the tilapia:

2  4-oz. tilapia filets
1/2 cup ground almonds (hazelnuts or macadamia nuts would work very well, too)
2 tbsp. shredded coconut flakes (I used unsweetened)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg + 1 tsp. water or soy milk

Preheat the oven to 425 F or prepare a saute pan. Whisk the egg and water/soy milk together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the ground nuts, coconut, thyme, ginger, salt, and pepper. Take each filet and dip it first into the egg mixture, and then into the nut mixture, coating well and evenly. If you are baking the filets, place them on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. If you are sauteing them, place them in the prepared pan and cook for about 5 - 7 minutes, flipping them once or twice. Serve with the pineapple coconut rice.

Crunchy Maple Sunbutter Granola

I have been making food for myself to bring along as snacks on my upcoming trip to Israel, and I've been trying to create a variety for myself so I don't get totally sick of one thing. I used to love crunchy granola in my pre-celiac days, and now that I've started eating oats again, I wanted to try to create my own granola. My first attempt at granola was good, but it was more like muesli; it wasn't crunchy and didn't clump together at all. So this time, I used sunbutter and maple butter to add thickness and stickiness, and it turned out beautifully. It made the whole apartment smell wonderful, and it tasted absolutely delicious. The maple butter and honey added a touch of sweetness, but the sunbutter filled out the taste and texture and balanced that sweetness. I will be making this often!  

Crunchy Maple Sunbutter Granola

1 1/2 cups oats (certified gluten-free)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup roasted cashews
1/4 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup raisins (or more to taste)
1/4 cup cranberries (or more to taste)
**You can substitute any other dried fruit, nuts, or seeds of your choice - this would be great with: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, slivered almonds, dried cherries, etc.
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sunbutter (or peanut butter)
1/2 cup maple butter or creamed honey
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut flakes, cashews, pecans, raisins, cranberries, and cinnamon. Add any other nuts, seeds, etc. that you would like and mix well. In a small saucepan, combine the sunbutter, maple butter, honey, and vanilla and heat until melted. It will still be pretty thick. Pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix very well until the heated mixture has been spread throughout the mixture. I used two spoons and sort of chopped the chunks of sunbutter into the oats. Line a baking dish with wax or parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake at 300 F for 30 - 40 minutes. The granola will still feel soft when you take it out of the oven, but it will harden as it cools.

Maple Cranberry Granola

I love granola, and I love maple anything. Tonight, I was trying to rest and recover from the bad sore throat/cold that has me down this week, but after a whole day of being in bed and another night today of just sitting around, I was itching to do something. I've missed granola since going gluten-free, and so tonight I just threw this together as an experiment. It turned out to be very tasty, although next time I would probably bake mine for a little less time. (Mine was in the oven for about 37 minutes and turned out to be rather crispy, and I probably could have taken it out after 30.) Feel free to throw any other types of dried fruit, seeds, or nuts, as this is completely versatile and can be adapted to your own taste. You could also substitute honey for the maple syrup if you prefer.

Maple Cranberry Granola

1 cup gluten-free oats or soy flakes
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cranberries, raisins, or a combination of both
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. canola oil
1/4 cup very hot water
1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 F. Place a sheet of wax paper on a baking pan (preferably one with sides). Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, oil, water, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Pour over the dry mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Spread evenly into the pan. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir the granola around, and bake in 5 minute increments until the desired crispness is reached. Cool, and then store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.  Keep it in the fridge and it will last even longer.