Paleo Chocolate Cherry Cookies

I made these cookies for my great grandmothers birthday party a while back. She turned 94! That seems like a pretty amazing feat these days. Since it was a birthday party, that means cake and ice cream, among other tasty temptaions. Several of my family members eat low carb if not primal so I decided to test these cookies on them as a cake alternative. They are chewy and chocolaty and just sweet enough without being overwhelming.

(Pictures coming soon)

Paleo Chocolate Cherry Cookies

12 Medjool dates
1 ½ c almond flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
¼ tsp sea salt
2 tbsp applesauce
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
¾ c dried bing cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Soak dates in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes or until soft.
In a medium bowl combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt.
Drain dates and place in the bowl of a food processor with the applesauce, coconut oil, and extracts. Process until it forms a paste. Add dry ingredients and process until well-blended. Move the mixture back to the bowl you had the dry ingredients in and stir in cherries.
Use a cookie scoop or oiled hands to roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Flatten with the palm of your hand.
Bake 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack.

Adapted from this recipe

Individual Peach Cobblers

I'm not really a fan of peaches; however it is amazing what you can learn to appreciate when doing a Whole 30. I originally intended to just roast these peaches and let them stand on their own but then I was reminded of a peach cobbler that I made last month and inspiration hit. These have no sweetener and since you are roasting the peaches they don't have to be particularly ripe. For those of you, like me, who have terrible luck picking good peach, this is helpful.

Also I realize that these peaches are probably pushing the Whole 30 boundaries pretty hard, so keep your goals in mind when considering this recipe.

Individual Peach Cobblers

3 peaches, halved and pitted
2 cups almond flour
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup melted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line an 8x8 Pyrex with foil. Add the vanilla to the melted butter and stir to combine. Mix in the remaining ingredients and stir until everything comes together and gets crumbly.

Put your peach halves into the pan cut side up. fill the peaches with the almond flour mixture and press it down so it stays on the peach. Cover the pan with foil and place in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes covered and then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes so you don't melt the roof of your mouth, then enjoy.

Almond Chocolate Chip Microwave Mini Cakes

You know those days when you you want to eat an entire batch of cupcakes but you still have the willpower to know that would be a bad idea. Well this is recipe is for you, its a bigger than a cupcake and can even make 2 if you want to share. There are a lot of different flavor combos that would could try but my favorite is the Almond Chocolate Chip Mini Cake.

 

Almond Chocolate Chip Microwave Mini Cakes

Ingredients:
2/3 cup almond flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1-2 tbsp water
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips


Add everything but the chocolate chips to a bowl and stir to combine, then fold in the chocolate chips. Grease 1-2 ramekins, depending on how generous you are feeling, with coconut oil and add your batter. Cook in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.Test for doneness (its a word I swear) with a toothpick.

You can either eat it directly from the ramekin or turn it out on a plate, but be careful, the ramekin will be hot.

Birthday Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

So it was my birthday this week so I decided I would make cupcakes. In my department you always get your favorite cake for your birthday, but I wanted to be able to actually eat my birthday cake  and since no one around here makes almond or coconut flour cakes commercially, I decided to make my own. Luckily I enjoy cooking and baking of that would have been a sad birthday story (not sure why but people seem to be shocked that I made my own birthday cupcakes).

I actually came up with this recipe for my parent's 30th anniversary party a couple of weeks ago, pretty much on accident. The carrot cake cupcakes I made for the party didn't make enough and I really didn't feel like shredding anymore carrots so I needed something that was basically just throwing stuff in a bowl and mixing together. It worked out surprisingly well and I got rave reviews on them at the party.

Please forgive the lack of picture of a cupcake with frosting on it. I didn't frost them until right before we were going to eat them and I forgot to take pictures. I know its one of the big rules of food blogging, use actual measurements and take tons of pictures. I'm still learning :-)

Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk all of the wet ingredients together until combined. Next add in the remaining ingredients and stir until the lumps are gone. Next line a cupcake pan with liners (I highly recommend these, they do not stick to the cupcakes like conventional cupcake liners. I get mine at Whole Foods). Evenly distribute the batter and bake for 20 minutes. Oven temperatures may vary so check for doneness (yes I know this is made up word) with a toothpick. Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 pint of heavy cream
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (I usually let a little extra go over the side of the spoon, not an exact measurement)

Place the bowl you plan on using in the freezer for about 10 minutes. If using a hand mixer I  recommend a glass or metal bowl since plastic won't retain the cold very well. Once your bowl is nice and cold whip your cream and vanilla together until you get stiff peaks (almost over whipping is best, you want to get right to the point before you are making butter). Next place the whipped cream in another bowl while you whip the cream cheese and maple syrup. Once the cream cheese and syrup are combined and no longer lumpy add in the whipped cream. Stop at least once to scrape down the sides.
When whipped to your liking store in the fridge until ready to use. Can be made up to a day in advance. I like to keep it in a zip-lock baggie, then I will cut one of the corners off and pipe the frosting directly onto the cupcakes. Its cleaner than spreading it on and makes them look nice.

*Note: I would recommend not frosting the cupcakes until you are ready to eat them. If you frost in the morning but then don't eat them until the evening things might get soggy.

Apple Pie Bars

Nothing says America like apple pie right? Well since going primal, pie hasn't exactly been on my food radar. There are recipes out there for primal pie crusts made with almond flour, but I haven't taken the time to explore those options. In my defense dough was never my strong point.


Anyway, these apple pie bars are would be great to bring along to a barbecue this Memorial Day weekend. Its always a good idea to bring some primal friendly snacks and treats if you have to bring a dish to a party. That way you know that there will be something there for you to eat. 


As with all treats these should be for every once in a while not everyday so it's probably a good idea to make these to share if you don't trust yourself with them in the house. And now without further ado, Apple Pie Bars!

Apple Pie Bars

Makes 36 squares

Ingredients

• 12 medjool dates
• 1 cup dried apple rings
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 ½   tbsp cinnamon (1tbsp if you don't love cinnamon quite as much as I do)

Add dates and apples to a food processor. Turn it on and stream in coconut oil. You will have to stop and break up the date mixture a couple of times to make sure everything is mixed together. Once the dates and apples are a paste like consistency add the nuts and cinnamon and blend until everything starts to stick together. 

Date and apple mixture

A quick note, I have heard that food processors are overheating when people try this recipe so be sure to keep an eye on your machine. I like to wait to measure out the nuts and cinnamon until the dates and apples are all mixed together, that way I don't have to try to remember to keep checking the food processor.

Once the the mixture is the desired consistency, line an 8x8 pyrex baking pan with parchment paper and add the mixture. With clean hands press until some what flat and compressed, being sure to press the corners down, otherwise they will fall apart when you try to take them out of the pan. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (you could probably cut some time by putting them in the freezer, but I have not tried this). 

Once hardened cut to desired size, I like to make them smaller (6 cuts x 6 cuts)with the illusion that they will last longer but you could also do 4x4 or 5x5 cuts for bigger bars. Store in fridge until ready to eat.