Macaroons

2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350. While egg whites until still. Place in separate bowl. Combine yolks and honey. Add vanilla and almond extract. Mix in the coconut, almonds, and chips.
Scoop uniformly onto parchment lined tray sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Gently press them to hold a better shape as they with be very loose and just make little piles as you scoop them. They will need a little coaxing to be pretty. Add sprinkles.
Bake around 10 minutes. Watch closely. You know they're done when the are toasty! Cool and peel off of sheet gently. You can freeze these for later too. Makes around 30 with a 2oz cookie scoop,

No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie (Cane Sugar FREE!)

Cane sugar free! The coconut sugar in the crust gives it a light graham cracker flavor. The filling is very rich and creamy. No baking required! Takes about 10 minutes to make! 

Crust:

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup coconut sugar

Generous 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

Pie:

1 cup creamy natural peanut butter

1 cup date purée

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup honey

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp vanilla extract

For crust-

Combine dry ingredients with whisk. Stir in melted butter and oil. Press into deep dish 9 inch pie pan. Freeze.

For filling-

Combine all the ingredients in stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on high for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides twice. 

Remove pan from freezer and spread filling inside. Top with salted peanuts and mini chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life brand. Use another brand if you want to completely avoid cane sugar. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve chilled with whipped cream.

Substitutions-
I believe another nut butter would work well too. Sun butter gives a pretty good "peanut butter" flavor as well. You could use all coconut oil. Also, you could use agave in place of honey. 

Super Easy Banana Bread (dairy free, egg free) only 7 ingredients!

1/4 cup ground flax
1/2 cup warm water
3 bananas, mashed
scant 3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cup white whole wheat flour or AP flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flax and water. Set aside. Mash bananas in a mixing bowl. Add sugar and combine. Add in flax mixture. Combine dry ingredients into wet by gently folding with spatula. Do not over mix. Add batter to greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until golden on edges. Turn out of pan after 5 minutes. Cool, slice, serve.

Chai Tea Oat Carrot Muffins

3 packets of Oregon Chai instant tea mix (The kind with sugar)
3 cups oats ground finely in food processor
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp ground flax
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups cooked carrot finely chopped
2 tbsp melted butter
pinch salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/3 cups milk (I used sweetened almond milk)
2 eggs

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Gently fold both mixtures together. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Fill cups full. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until set. Makes about 15.

No Cook No Bake Samoas Bars (Chocolate, Coconut, Caramel Bars)

about 1 sleeve of saltine crackers, maybe a little more
1/2 bag of chocolate chips
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 bag of sweetened shredded coconut

Mix caramel sauce and the coconut in a bowl. Set aside. Lay out a sheet of waxed paper. Melt the chocolate chips and spread chocolate in a rectangle on the waxed paper. Lay the saltines face down in a grid on the chocolate. Let chocolate harden. Spread the coconut mixture on the saltines. Press it down pretty firmly to flatten it and make it stick to the crackers. This takes a little time a patience. The mixture is thick and very sticky. Drizzle with a little more melted chocolate if you'd like. Let the bars sit for about an hour before cutting. Cut the crackers apart. Store covered. Make about a couple of dozen.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

1 15oz. can pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp molasses
2 packet stevia
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup whole milk plain yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup ap gluten free flour (any flour would work I think, even oat)
2 tbsp flax seed meal

Combine in a big mixing bowl. Pour into greased deep dish pie dish. Bake at 375 for about 55 minutes until center is set. Cool completely before eating.

Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

11/2 cups oat flour

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp butter flavor

1 cup melted coconut oil

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Combine into thick dough. Add 1 cup chocolate chips. Drop by big tbsp onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes rotating half way through if using regular oven. No rotaing necessary if using a convection oven. Makes about 18 cookies. Freeze baked cookies for later if you prefer. 

Brown Butter Blondies

1 cup butter
1 cup raw sugar
1 tsp molasses
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup AP unbleached flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup quick oats or whole oats ground in food processor
1 tsp baking soda
1 tap salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place butter in a small saucepan. On medium heat, cook butter until a deep golden color, swirling pan often. The butter will melt, foam, and then the foam will subside and it will deepen in color. Pour into a bowl to cool for 10 minutes.

Combine butter, sugar, molasses, and applesauce in mixer bowl. Mix until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. Combine on low speed.

Cut parchment to fit the bottom and 2 sides of a 13"x9"x2" pan. Place parchment in pan and grease. Spread mixture in pan using wet hands. Pat it evenly.

Top with any kind of chip, nut, etc. I used chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, & coconut. SPrinkle toppings, then press into dough.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes in pan. Lift the cookie out by the parchment sides and cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.

Cut into small bars.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp orange extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in mixing bowl. Add cranberries and almonds. Stir to coat the berries. Add eggs, butter, and extracts. Fold until barely combined.

Spread mixture evenly in greased 9" pie pan or 8"x8" pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes- until golden brown on edges and cranberries are bubbling.

Cool before serving.

Freezes well.

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

1 sleeve graham crackers, finely crushed
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Blend everything together in mixer bowl until well combined. Scoop 1 tsp. rounds with a small scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap. Chill until firm. Put them in the freezer to speed up the process.

Once chilled, melt about 1lb. chocolate candy melts or chips (any flavor will work, I used milk chocolate) in a double boiler until completely melted. Stir in 1 tbsp oil.

Dip the truffles in chocolate to coat using forks or spoons. The mixture is soft, so you'll need to work quickly when dipping in the warm chocolate. Place back on tray until chocolate sets. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs or sanding sugar/sprinkles while chocolate is still shiny if you want to decorate them.

Makes about 30.

Oatmeal Fig Bars

These bars are thick and crumbly. Not too sweet, goes great with a cup of coffee.

Filling
1 14oz. pkg. dried figs cut into small pieces (I used Kalamata whole dried figs from Randazzo's, like this)
2 cups water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup local honey
pinch of sea salt

Crust & Topping
4 cups rolled oats pulsed in the food processor
2 cups unbleached AP flour (you could use 1 1/2 cup AP flour & 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup local honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter (I use Smart Balance)

For filling-
Add figs & water to the pot. Bring to a boil, take it off the burner and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The figs need to soak up most of the water. If there's a lot of water left in the pot, pour some out. Once the water is mostly gone, puree' the figs with a hand blender- make it a smooth or chunky as you'd like. Add the rest of the ingredients. It should be a thick paste.

For crust-
Dump all ingredients into mixer bowl. Combine until it resembles coarse, wet sand.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the sides of a 13"x9" baking dish. Press 2/3 the crumb mixture into the bottom of the dish. Spread filling evenly over the crust. Crumble the last 1/3 of the crumb mixture over the top of the filling. Gently pat the crumbled top so it's pressed down into the wet filling. This makes the bars less crumbly when you cut them.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into small squares.

Classic Peanut Butter Crisscross Cookies

This is my Go-To recipe for delicious PB cookies. It can also be made into a bar cookie very easily.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 1/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Cream butter, PB, & sugar. Add egg. Add dry ingredients. 

Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Make the crisscross marks with a floured fork, pressing the cookie flat. 

Bake for 7 minutes for soft cookies, 9 minutes for crunchy ones. 

Makes a few dozen. 

You can press this dough into a bar pan for bar cookies. Bake about 15 minutes and then check for doneness. Should look a little puffy and shine should be gone from the top when it's done. Cool completely before cutting. 

*adapted from a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book 

Low-Fat Apple Double Cinnamon Coffee Cake

The cinnamon makes this cake a dark brown color.

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups chopped apples

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

Topping:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease 9inch cake pan. (I use foil pans so it's easier to freeze the cake)

Combine wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients. Combine gently. Batter will be a little lumpy. Pour into cake pan. 

Mix topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly on top of batter. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. It takes mine about 35 minutes to bake. I think it depends on the moisture content of the apples and applesauce. 

Freeze when cool for up to 3 months. Serve warm or room temperature.

*inspired by a Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book recipe. 

Raspberry Ganache Pie: Valentine Treat Part 2

I used my OREO crumbs for this special dessert!

Here's what I made my Valentine for dessert on Sunday evening. 

Oreo Cookie Crust (about 2 cups of crumbs + 1/4 cup melted butter, press into pie plate)
1 cup heavy cream
10 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate
Fresh Raspberries
Fresh Orange Slices (Optional)

Warm heavy cream in a sauce pan. Add chocolate. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and shiny.

Pour into chilled crust. Top with raspberries.

Chill until ganache is set (soft fudge consistency)

Slice with a wet knife.

Serve with fresh oranges.

Eat a small piece. It is intense.

Oreo Cookie (Crumbs): Valentine Treat Part 1

Here's part one of my decadent valentine treat. I think I will keep you in suspense for part two. I'll only be using these cookies for crumbs for my Valentine's dessert, but I will give you the full cookie recipe in case you want to enjoy a whole O-R-E-O. Enjoy!

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter (I always cook/bake with Smart Balance)
1 egg
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 oz square bakers chocolate 
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups cake flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 


Cream sugar and 1/2 cup butter. Add egg and cream again. Melt chocolate square with 2 tbsp. butter. Add chocolate and cocoa powder to creamed mixture. Add dry  ingredients. Mix just until combined. 


Scoop 1 tsp. mounds of dough, 2 inches apart, on parchment lined cookie sheets. Dip a flat-bottomed glass into warm water and gently flatten the cookies- just slightly. 


Bake for 11 minutes. Let cool on raised cooling rack until they crisp up.


To make them into crumbs…well, just crumble them up! 


To make them into OREOS:


Filling: 
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2-2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla


Blend butter, shortening, and vanilla. Beat in sugar until it makes a thick frosting, adding a little at a time. 


Spread on half of cooled cookies. Top them off with another cookie.


If I were you, I'd let them sit out on a nice plate for most of the day to give them a chance to harder up (the cookies & the filling). Do this if you you want them to be crunchy (like an OREO), and if you can stand to leave them alone for most of the day. 


I will warn you though, their chocolatey aroma makes it difficult to walk past them without touching….maybe just taste one…


Makes about 20 sandwich cookies.