Afternoon Coffee, Procrastination, and Peanut Butter Cookies

Don't judge... Yes, that's instant coffee! I'm the only one who drinks coffee in the GLG household, I don't like the environmental impact of K-cups.. and let me tell you, Nescafe is darn better than Sanka (well, Sanka circa 1990 which tasted like charcoal.. I haven't tried it lately though... ;-) 

It's a quiet Sunday, I was enjoying a small afternoon cup of coffee and I pulled out my "Introduction to Library and Information Science" to begin reading chapters 8, 9, 10  for my assignment next week and then it dawned on me, it was a great time to make cookies.  I know, I thought it was brilliant timing too! 

My favorite peanut butter cookies are the ol'  "1 cup of peanut butter + 1 cup sugar + 1 egg" recipe... but I didn't want to use THAT much peanut butter (do you know how expensive peanut butter is these days?) or THAT much sugar... or really...let's be honest...do I need THAT many cookies?

Probably, I don't need any cookies...

A few months ago I bought a used hardback copy of the 1974 edition of the Joy of Cooking. I wanted to get a copy I could actually use since the beloved paperback that my Dad had when I was growing up, is literally falling apart.

I love that cookbook. His favorite chocolate chip cookies came from Ms. Irma Rombauer and probably a bunch of other meals we used to eat growing up like meatloaf, oyster stew, and chicken a' la King. I wonder where Irma learned to make chicken a' la King.

These are basically the peanut butter cookies in Joy of Cooking (1974 ed.), but I made them gluten-free (of course) and halved the recipe. You could easily make this recipe egg free, If you choose to do that I would replace it with 1 tablespoon of water mixed with 1 teaspoon of ground flax seeds. Stir that mixture together and allow it to 'gel.'

If you decide to double the recipe below, just use a whole egg instead of an egg white (or double up on the flax seed substitute.)

Basic Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from the 1974 edition of 'Joy of Cooking' by Irma Rombauer
gluten-free, soy-free, easily egg-free, vegetarian
yields 30 - 1.5" cookies

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine of choice, (or even extra peanut butter if you're a big fan)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (we like chunky, all natural)
• 1 egg white (or 1 tablespoon water mixed with 1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Dry Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch (or starch of choice -- potato starch, cornstarch, tapioca starch, etc...)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl cream together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and peanut butter, until creamy and fluffy.
3. Stir in the egg white and vanilla. 
4. In another bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. 
5. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until you have a sticky, slightly wet cookie dough. 
6. Drop batter by small spoonfuls (about a teaspoon and a half per cookie) onto the cookie sheet. Placing a few inches between each cookie - we make 12 cookies per batch. 
7. Flatten cookies by gently pressing with the back of a fork in a criss-cross pattern. To keep the fork from sticking to the cookie, dip in granulated sugar between criss-crosses. 
8. Bake for 11-14 minutes until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. 

Grain-Free, Gluten-Free Yellow Cupcakes Recipe

My friend Pamela posted a message on facebook the other day asking for basic grain-free, gluten-free cupcakes. Eggs were fine, sugar was fine...she just wanted a grain-free cupcake that she could serve to friends and family.

When she asked I was intrigued. I knew Pamela was also intolerant to coconut (as I am) and many grain-free cupcake recipes call for coconut flour. I knew that was out for Pamela and I wondered how we could come up with a fluffy, delicious cupcake that her gluten-eating guests would enjoy.

I decided to play around with my almond flour scones recipe to see what I could come up with. I always liked the texture of that recipe and how easy it worked. I like the combination of almond flour with arrowroot starch. It gives a good crumb to baked goods and it just "feels" like you're eating a wheat-based dessert. I loved that with that recipe in particular it looked like a regular scone, was not only gluten-free but lower in carbs than your average gluten-free baked good.

So here's what I came up with! Please note the intial recipe does have a bit of an "eggy" flavor, almost like a rich pound cake (thanks for reminding me of that Dad!)... While I like the flavor, I was concerned that it might be off-putting to other cupcake lovers... so I've included notes at the bottom of the recipe on how to only use 2 eggs, so the cupcakes won't have as strong of an egg taste. If you try the "less eggs" version, I'd love to know how it turned out for you and what substitute you used! Despite the "pound-cake" type flavor, the cupcakes themselves are quite light & fluffy, which is a feat with almond flour baked goods!

Also... use whatever frosting you prefer! If you need grain-free, lower sugar frostings, check out the frostings from Elana's pantry... honestly, I was a fan of these lovely cupcakes just the way they were without a fancy frosting!

Fluffy Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Yellow Cupcakes
Free of gluten, dairy, grains, soy
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe

Yields: 12 Cupcakes or 1 - 9” layer cake

Dry Ingredients:
223 grams/ 2 (packed) cups, blanched almond flour
94 grams/ ¾ cup arrowroot starch
150 grams/ ¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:
154 grams/ 3 large eggs (see option for 2 eggs in notes below)
121 grams/ ½ cup + 1 tablespoon almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
61 grams/ ⅓ cup light-tasting olive oil (or other mild tasting oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners and spritz liners with non-stick cooking spray or brush with olive oil or coconut oil.
2. In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients.
3. In a small bowl whisk together all wet ingredients. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until you have a wet batter.
4. Spoon batter into greased cupcake liners until ¾ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
5. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before decorating with your favorite frosting.

Notes:

• To have a less “eggy” flavor, use 2 eggs and add an additional ¼ cup of any of the following: applesauce, pumpkin puree, mashed bananas, pureed sweet potatoes or butternut squash. To keep the cupcake tasting very vanilla-y, use applesauce instead of the other options. 
• Milk: Use whatever milk substitute you would like. If you can use dairy milk, feel free to use that as well. 
• Sugar: Feel free to use coconut palm sugar or unrefined cane sugar in the same amount as the sugar. I'm not exactly sure how to use honey or maple syrup, as you would need to adjust the liquids in this recipe as well. 
• Egg-Free? NO idea... I haven't tried it completely egg-free, and I'm not sure how well it would work... however, if you try it and it works out well for you, please let me know how you did it!

Pumpkin Chai Latte Cupcakes with Nutmeg Cardamom Icing (Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan)

No, I didn't throw paleo out the window! This is one of the recipes in my baking cookbook and I've been meaning to share it with you here on the blog because there's actually a typo in the cookbook. And it's my fault! I looked over that recipe 500,037 times and still somehow didn't catch that typo!! Fingers crossed that's the only typo in the book!

But I really want you to have this recipe. It's probably one of my very favorites in the entire book not only because it's gluten-free, but because it contains pumpkin and chai spices, it's soy-free AND it's also vegan. Yep. No eggs or dairy in that lovely cake.

This is the recipe I keep turning too when people ask me to make them cupcakes for a friend or a neighbor, for a birthday or just because. They are spicy and sweet and they make nearly all tummies happy! They are moist and decadent and have a really lovely crumb. And that homemade icing, it's TO DIE FOR.

I actually made the cake this week for a fundraiser for a family in our community. They are going through some really tough times with medical issues and when a neighbor asked if I could donate a cake, I gladly jumped at the chance. Even if it's a treat that I really shouldn't be eating due to sugar or grains, it's still a joy to make them for other people.

So here's the deal with the recipe in cookbook, this recipe is listed on page: 187 in the cakes and cupcakes chapter as Chai Latte Cupcakes with Nutmeg Cardamom Icing. What needs to be corrected is that the original recipe in the book ONLY makes about 9-10 cupcakes and NOT 24. It's a small batch recipe. It can EASILY be doubled, tripled, even quadrupled! For the cake above I actually tripled the recipe and ended up with a 2 layer cake and about 8 cupcakes. How I managed to look at that recipe hundreds of times and miss that mistake, I will never know... but trust me, it won't make 24 cupcakes! (Unless maybe they are minis! lol)

Either way, it's a really delicious cake or cupcake. I'd love to come up with a grain-free version of this recipe without eggs (since there are SO many folks who follow paleo, but who also need to follow an autoimmune protocol or have egg sensitivities), but until then I hope you can enjoy this version! And while you're at it, double the recipe and share them with a friend!

Pumpkin Chai Latte Cupcakes with Nutmeg Cardamom Icing
Created by Carrie Forbes
Reprinted with permission from "The Everything Gluten-Free Baking Cookbook" 
Free of gluten, dairy, soy, eggs
Printer-friendly Recipe

Ingredients | Serves 9

Cupcakes
1 cup brown rice flour or sorghum flour
¹⁄³ cup arrowroot starch or tapioca starch
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¹⁄8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup almond milk, warmed to 110°F
4 black tea bags
¼ cup light-tasting olive oil or canola oil
½ cup unsweetened applesauce or plain pumpkin purée (I highly recommend the pumpkin) 
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting
1 cup Spectrum Palm Shortening (Or Crisco™ if you're cool with that or butter if you can tolerate dairy!)
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3–5 tablespoons ice water

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with 9-10 paper liners and spritz with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the brown rice flour or sorghum flour, arrowroot starch or tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Set dry ingredients aside.
3. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, heat almond milk in the microwave to 110°F. Add the tea bags and allow to steep for 10 minutes. Remove tea bags.
4. In a medium bowl mix together the tea-steeped milk, oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have a thick cake batter.
5. Fill the lined muffin tins 3/4 full of batter.
6. Bake for 25–30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean and the tops are golden-brown. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then turn out cupcakes onto wire racks to cool completely.
7. Make the frosting: In a medium bowl, cut shortening into confectioners’ sugar with a pastry blender. Stir in spices. (If you prefer a less-spicy frosting, use only ½ teaspoon of each.) Mixture will be crumbly. Thin the frosting with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency you desire to frost the cupcakes.
8. Store any remaining cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Carrie's Notes:

• To increase the pumpkin flavor in the cake even more, you can easily replace up to 1/3 cup of the almond milk with additional pumpkin puree. 
• Any type of non-dairy milk OR regular milk will work.
• Coconut palm sugar will work perfectly in place of the sugar, you can also decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup without compromising the texture of the cake. 
• For chai tea, simply whisk together the spics called for in this cake and add 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture to your regular hot tea with a splash of almond milk or regular milk. Coconut milk would also be lovely. 

Easy Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookies

I really need to keep my "good" camera around my neck at all times.. because when I don't you are forced to suffer through my terrible phone camera pictures...

But you know what's funny? I really like the imperfection of the phone camera pictures. I love the grainy quality. It's like adding some cool instagram filter, minus instagram.

At any rate, here are some cookies for you. And this imperfect, grainy picture... it's comfortably fitting for these tasty treats. They aren't amazing bakery cookies. They are easy, simple 4-ingredient cookies for a sweet tooth fix. They are low glycemic, so they won't spike your blood sugar and then send you sinking down, down, down on a Tuesday afternoon.

They are easy, kid-friendly, snack-size little gems of almond flour and coconut palm sugar... and will make you smile.

Who needs perfection? Have a cookie instead!

Easy Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookies
free of gluten, dairy, soy, grains, and easily egg-free
printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or: honey, sugar, maple syrup, date sugar...)
1 egg (or egg replacer, 1/4 cup applesauce would work just fine)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. In a large bowl whisk together the almond flour and coconut palm sugar. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg (or egg replacer) and the pure vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have a very stiff and sturdy dough. It should be stiff enough to stir into a ball. If it's too crumbly (and it could be, depending on the humidity levels where you live), add water a teaspoon at a time, until the dough will stir into a stiff ball. Scoop the dough out with a cookie scoop and place 1" apart onto the cookie sheet. I usually get about 12 medium-size cookies. Shape them with your fingers into circular cookies and flatten them slightly with your palm. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies are a bit puffy and are golden brown around the edges. Allow cookies to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating... if you can wait that long!

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake Recipe

Summer screams strawberries to me! The early summer strawberries are now available in eastern nc... and normally I have to make a pie. My great-grandma P's best strawberry pie, as a matter of fact. And really, you should make that too.

But if you're not up to making a pie, you can make this cake. This soft, light, white cake filled with fresh strawberries!

We served this cake on Sunday for my awesome mom-in-law Carol. To make things easy, and to have a less-heavy dessert after a cookout, I simply frosted the cake with Cool Whip. But I know many MANY of you are not "fake" whipped topping fans, and that's A-Ok, because you can have your frosting too! For the "real food" folks, you could easily make a light, dairy-free coconut milk frosting, like this one: Elana's Vegan Coconut Cream Frosting. Or you could simply use real whipped cream with a little sugar added. So pick your favorite way to frost it.

However, no matter what type of whipped topping you decide to use, make SURE not to frost the cake until it's completely cool, otherwise, it will melt and be a soggy mess! Then store the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight) before serving. This is definitely a cake that improves with a little time, so feel free to make it a day ahead of time for the yummiest results!

Gluten-Free Fresh Strawberry Cake
free of gluten and soy (and easily dairy-free)
created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or tapioca starch/flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 tablespoons TEASPOONS baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup - 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 cup almond milk, or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup light-tasting olive oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with a circle of parchment paper on the bottom of each pan. Spritz each pan with non-stick cooking spray or brush with light-tasting olive oil and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. In a large bowl mix together sugar and fresh strawberries until they are fully coated in the sugar (this will help keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Add the egg whites, almond milk, olive oil, and almond extract. Whisk wet ingredients together thoroughly. Slowly stir in dry mixture a little at a time, until it's thoroughly mixed into the wet ingredients. Pour cake batter evenly between the two greased cake pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. Frost with cool whip, coconut cream frosting (see recipe suggestions in above text), or your favorite vanilla or cream cheese frosting. (Pillsbury vanilla frosting and cream cheese frosting are both gluten-free and dairy-free). Top cake with additional fresh strawberries if desired.

**Cake is best when refrigerated for several hours before serving. Store cake in the refrigerator as it is quite moist and will not keep well on the counter. 

Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes (A Master Baking Mix Recipe)

One of the best recipes that I've shared over the years is my Gluten-Free Master Baking Mix. I created it in 2008 before Gluten-Free Bisquick was available. It's the same concept, but my homemade version is a bit more versatile than the store-bought brand. The homemade Master Baking Mix works really well in a huge variety of recipes because it already has shortening in the mix, along with protein from blanched almond meal. The mix also has ground flax seeds in it for additional fiber and omega 3 fatty acids.

Along with biscuits, pancakes, cookies, and muffins... it also turns out you can make a really good cupcake! These cupcakes are SO easy to whip up with the master baking mix. It literally takes less than five minutes to mix them together and pour them into cupcake liners!

Have a last minute school birthday party? Need a quick dessert? These cupcakes are the perfect solution. They are a basic yellow cupcake which means you can really personalize them by adding your favorite flavorings or spices. Feel free to frost these cupcakes with your favorite kind of homemade or store-bought gluten-free frosting. (Pillsbury brand frostings are gluten-free and are great to have on hand for dessert emergencies!) You can also just leave these little cakes plain jane and eat them as is! That's actually how we enjoyed them.

This recipe is a sneak preview for my NEW cookbook coming out in October 2013, "The Everything Gluten-Free Baking Cookbook." There will be an ENTIRE chapter devoted to recipes using my popular Master Baking Mix! 

Gluten-Free Master Baking Mix Vanilla Cupcakes
free of gluten/dairy/casein/soy
created by Carrie of Gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

Yields: 12 cupcakes or 1 (8-inch) single layer cake

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups Carrie's Gluten-Free Master Baking Mix
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup  1/4 cup light-tasting olive oil or canola oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Gluten-free frosting, if desired (store-bought or homemade --> use almond milk and spectrum palm shortening for a super easy version)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Lightly spritz non-stick cooking spray into each liner and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together baking mix and white sugar. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add milk, olive oil, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until you have a lump-free cake batter. Fill each paper liner ¾ full with cake batter. Bake cupcakes for 12-15 minutes until light, golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Gluten-Free, Vegan, Cane Sugar-Free, Chocolate Chunk Cookies -- Adapted from Real Sustenance

YUM, right?! They really are. I rarely get so excited about making SOMEONE ELSE'S recipe... but this time I genuinely am. And well, like with nearly all recipes, I have to tweak them and change them along the way. I'm not really sure why... I think it might have something to do with having a rebellious personality... my grandmother always called me defiant... so maybe these are defiant chocolate chunk cookies.. who knows!

At any rate, Brittany Angell... the amazing author of the blog "Real Sustenance" and books: "The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guides" (Part 1 and Part 2) shared these cookies on her blog a few days ago. They reminded me of cookies I had seen on Elana's Pantry several years ago, sort of combined with chocolate chunk cookies from Lauren of Healthy Indulgences, also quite a few years back. I've made both of those cookies as well and hubs (the cookie monster at our house) thought both versions were pretty good (not as good as THESE chocolate chip cookies) but ate them all regardless. He's really not that picky when it comes to cookies.

So I played. I loved that Brittany made them vegan and offered a cane sugar-free and an agave-free version... But I remembered when I tried Lauren's version I threw in a hefty few tablespoons of ground flax seeds, because I love them. Love all that extra fiber, omega-3-fatty-acid-goodness, and the tiny bit of nutty flavor they add. So I added them. And because I went a little wild and crazy with the flavor extracts (ADD the almond extract -- TRUST ME -- it doesn't make them taste like cherries, it makes them AWESOME), I had a really wet dough and decided to throw in some arrowroot starch to thicken it up.

For the chocolate, I had 70% dark chocolate (3.5 oz) Lindt bars which I chopped into chunks.(These Lindt bars do not contain gluten ingredients, and the company uses stringent manufacturing practices to avoid cross-contamination, but it is a possibility and they are honest about it -- so use the chocolate you like best, if you're not a fan of Lindt.) One bar provided about 1 cup's worth of  "chocolate chunks" so it worked perfectly for this recipe!

I've made these cookies 4 times now... and they ARE really, really, REALLY awesome. I can't believe how delicious they turn out with no eggs, no gums, and no cane sugar. Right out of the oven they have an incredible crunch on the outside and a perfect chewiness inside. I can totally see why Brittany named them "Worlds Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies" --  cuz' they TOTALLY live up to the name, especially if you are limiting sugars and trying more lower glycemic, lower carb recipes! Try Brittany's awesome recipe, try my version... either way... MAKE THEM!

Gluten-Free, Vegan, (Almost) Grain-Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Adapted from Brittany Angell's recipe
free of gluten, dairy/casein, eggs, soy, and options for grain-free
printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients: 
2 cups packed, blanched almond flour
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
3 tablespoons arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon baking powder (this brand is corn-free or make your own -- it works SO much better than storebought!)
2 heaping tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients: 
3 tablespoons Spectrum Palm Shortening (or butter, if you can tolerate dairy)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3-4 tablespoons almond milk (start with 3, then add 1 more if you need additional moisture)

Add In's:
1 cup gluten-free, vegan chocolate chunks or chips (I used a 3.5 oz, 70% dark chocolate bar, chopped up)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. Cut in Spectrum Palm Shortening or butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or a knife and fork until the shortening resembles very small peas evenly throughout the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and 3 tablespoons of almond milk. Using a little elbow grease, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have a very thick, batter (it might be a bit crumbly). This may take several minutes to be incorporated well. If necessary, use an additional tablespoon of almond milk. The batter WILL be VERY thick though, DO NOT add tons of extra milk, or the cookies will not turn out right. Scoop the dough into golf-ball sized mounds and place on cookie sheet about 2" apart. Flatten lightly and shape with your hands into round cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on how crispy you want your cookies. The edges should be golden brown when done. Makes 12-15 cookies depending on how large you make them. I'd tell you to store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter or the fridge for 2-3 days and then freeze them for up to 1 month.. but seriously, there won't BE any leftovers!

Carrie's Notes: 

• Almond pulp, leftover from making almond milk will NOT work in this recipe. I tried! It's just too moist and it makes a pile of mush for a cookie. You may be able to make it work with a dehydrator, but in the oven, it just didn't work. 
• You can probably use another nut flour/meal to make the cookies, but I haven't tried it, so I don't know how it works. If you don't want to use a nut flour see the note below: 
• If you are allergic to nuts, just make my regular ol' gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, they are awesome too!
• Use your favorite non-dairy milk in the recipe if you don't like almond milk -- it will work. 
• If you don't have coconut palm sugar: use regular sugar or even brown sugar. I don't know how it would work with liquid sugar substitutes, if you have agave nectar, try Elana's cookies. 

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Biscuits Recipe

As much as I love to cook & bake, when the holidays finally get here I'm kinda cooked out. I'm sort of glad all of our main holiday meals are at relatives homes... it means the kitchen doesn't have to be spotless and I'm not responsible for feeding tons of people!

Still, I felt like having something a little special for Christmas morning. And because I didn't feel like giving it much effort, I pulled out the emergency box of Gluten-Free Bisquick. It's the one in the cabinet for the last minute dinner guests that never show up... chicken pot pie, hello?!

Unlike the yeasty variety, these cinnamon rolls don't take hours of prep work, no waiting for the dough to rise, and they are still soft & delish. A bit more crumbly than the yeast version, but still pretty darn good for 15 minutes of simply mixing up, rolling out, and popping in the oven.

Gluten-free, dairy-free, and yummy-full!

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Biscuits
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-Friendly Recipe

Biscuits: 
1 recipe prepared biscuit dough for 8-10 biscuits (I used the recipe for gluten-free biscuits on the Bisquick box. You could also use my homemade gluten-free master mix biscuits.)

Filling: 
1/2 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (less, if you're not really into cinnamon)
3-4 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or butter, if you can tolerate butter)

Vanilla Icing: 
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2-3 tablespoons vanilla almond milk (depending on how thin/thick you want it)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 8-9" cake pan or square pan with parchment paper and set aside. Place a large sheet of plastic wrap, parchment paper, or wax paper down on a clean, flat surface. Dust the plastic wrap generously with gluten-free flour to help prevent the biscuit dough from sticking. Place biscuit dough on wrap and pat out into a 10x10 square or just into a large rectangle. Brush melted coconut oil or butter over the dough leaving about 1/4" around the edges of the dough un-oiled. Sprinkle sugar & cinnamon evenly over the dough. Using the plastic wrap to help if necessary, gently roll up the square of dough into a large cinnamon roll. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 9-10 rolls. Place the rolls into the lined cake pan. (It's fine if they are squeezed in side-to-side!) Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then serve drizzled with vanilla icing.

To Make Icing: 
In a small bowl whisk together the confectioners sugar & almond milk. You should have a thin glaze. Drizzle evenly over the cinnamon rolls.

Carrie's Notes: 

• If you prefer sweeter cinnamon rolls, add 1/2 cup of sugar to the biscuit dough when preparing. 
• You can use regular milk in place of the almond milk in the icing or in the biscuit dough. 
• To make more decadent, gooey cinnamon rolls, place additional brown sugar & coconut oil & even a few tablespoons of coconut milk or almond milk in the bottom of the baking dish before adding the cinnamon rolls. 
• Feel free to add raisins, chopped nuts, or even chocolate chips into the filling for the rolls. 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes Recipe

Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary!! It's hard to believe that 8 years ago we were walking out on a sandy beach with about 10 of our closest family members and getting married on a beautiful October day. Every year we do something special for our anniversary. Some years it will be a little vacation or an overnight trip to the beach... but other years (especially if we're into super budgeting mode) we just spend the day together. No major plans. Nothing set in stone... just a day together...

This year we took the day off of work. Went out for a leisurely breakfast. (My favorite meal out is breakfast!) And I spend the afternoon cooking and baking. We had homemade beef tacos for dinner but I wanted something super special for dessert.

Michael's favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies. (This recipe in particular!) My favorite dessert is cupcakes. I wondered if I could merge the two into one diabetic-coma-inducing sugary treat. (Okay, not really... lol) I read lots of different recipes on the interwebs and finally went with an idea from Kevin & Amanda  that seemed much less complicated than other recipes: basically just plopping good 'ol chocolate chip cookie dough right into the cake batter.

And it worked. It worked really well. The cake rose up beautifully, even with the cookie dough being in the middle. In Amanda's cookies, the cookie dough sank to the bottom of the cupcakes and she topped them with a homemade cookie-dough flavored frosting. In my cupcakes, the cookie dough just sat on top and baked sort of in the middle, so you get a surprise bite of cookie inside the cupcake!

Want to make these cupcakes? 
Follow Amanda's directions for making and assembling the cupcakes. 

• For the cupcakes I used my basic homemade yellow gluten-free cake mix recipe. 
• For the chocolate chip cookie dough: Michael's favorite chocolate chip cookies -- chilled for about 30 minutes, I plopped about a tablespoon of dough into each cupcake. 
• For the frosting, I followed Amanda's recipe (scroll to the bottom of the recipe ingredients!)
• For the cookie toppers: using the remaining cookie dough, make a batch of really small (using about a teaspoon of dough or less per cookie) cookies. Once they are baked and cooled, cut them in half and stick a half cookie in each cupcake!

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Gluten-free pumpkin bread made in the slow cooker. When you love your slow cookers as much as I do, you want to make everything in them... including quick breads. Why? Well, because it's super easy, it can cost less than using your oven, and most importantly... it's FUN! And gluten-free baking should be fun right? 

And even better the slow cooker steams your bread so it's super moist and delicious. For most of the breads in the cookbook and this recipe I used my favorite 4 quart slow cooker. It's perfect for making one batch of quick bread, and in this case... pumpkin bread!  

The only additional equipment you need to make this bread is three aluminum cans. Preferably cans that would hold about 15 - 15.5 ounces (generally from canned veggies, beans, or fruits). I've used these same three cans for about 2 years. They last forever and they are easy to clean and re-use. 

SAFETY FIRST!

• Wash the cans out with very hot, soapy water using a baby bottle brush. 
• CUT any sharp edges OFF of the rim of the cans with heavy duty metal cutting shears or scissors. This is why it's good just to create a "set" of cans to use, so that you don't have sharp edges to worry about time after time! 
• Make sure to completely remove the paper wrapper and the glue residue on the outside of the can before using to cook with. 

Before each use spritz the inside of the cans with non-stick cooking spray or use a paper towel to wipe olive oil or coconut oil evenly inside the can. By greasing the cans the bread shouldn't stick to them when baking.

To make the bread you will simply add 1/3 of the bread batter to each aluminum can and place the cans in the slow cooker. The cans will be anywhere from half to 3/4 full. Add about 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup warm water around the bottom of the cans to steam the bread and prevent the slow cooker from cracking. Place the lid on the slow cooker and then slip a chopstick right underneath the lid to help excess moisture escape during cooking.

When the bread is finished it will be cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the  middle will come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for a few minutes in the slow cooker with the lid off. You can then carefully remove the cans using a potholder or kitchen tongs.

To remove the bread, just shake the can a little and the bread should slide right out. Alternatively, you could also used the "canned" bread as a homemade gift by wrapping it decoratively in colored paper and tying it off with a pretty ribbon!

For more recipes like this gluten-free pumpkin bread and to learn more creative ways you can use your slow cooker, please check out my brand new cookbook!

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Created by Carrie of Gingerlemongirl.com
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
Printer-friendly recipe.

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups plain cooked pumpkin (I used most of a 15 oz. can of Libby's 100% pure pumpkin)
1/4 cup oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

Slow Cooker Directions:

1. Spritz three (15 - 15.5 oz) washed & dried aluminum cans with non-stick cooking spray, or use a paper towel to grease with oil. 
2. In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. 
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Stir to thoroughly combine into a thick batter. 
4. Add about 1/3 of pumpkin bread batter into each can. 
5. Place cans in a 4-quart slow cooker. Add about 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup warm water around the bottom of the cans. 
6. Place the lid on the slow cooker and add a chopstick right underneath the lid to allow excess water to escape. 
7. Cook the bread on high for 3 1/2 - 4 hours until the bread is cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the middle of each can comes out clean. Allow the cans to cool for a few minutes before carefully removing them using a potholder. Gently shake bread out of the cans onto a plate. Cut each loaf into 4-5 slices and enjoy! Store pumpkin bread slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. This bread also freezes well for up to 6 months. 

Oven Directions for Pumpkin Bread Muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 serving muffin tin and set aside. 
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together ALL dry ingredients until well incorporated. In a medium sized bowl mix together all wet ingredients. 
3. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until mixture is thoroughly moistened. Muffin batter will be thick. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into into muffin tin for 12 large muffins. 
4. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes prior to eating (if you can wait that long!) 
5. Store in an airtight container on the counter. (Slow cooked bread is stored in the refrigerator because it is much more moist than the oven-baked bread!) 

Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook -- Chunky Applesauce

My friend Sarah, author of Celiac in the City was one of my recipe testers for "The Everything Gluten-Free Cookbook." Sarah wasn't feeling too hot when she tested a few recipes and she said this chunky applesauce was very comforting to her.

It's a super easy recipe and it's in the first chapter of the book. Homemade applesauce is healthy and you get to control how much or how little sugar you would like added. It's great for young children as a snack or side dish. It goes with roast pork or chicken.

You can use any apples you like and make your own personal variation of this recipe.

Product Review: Hodgson's Mill Gluten-Free Brownie Mix

Product: Hodgson's Mill Gluten-Free Brownie Mix
Company: Hodgson Mill Inc.
Location: All products made in USA
Self-purchased or Company Sample: Self-purchased

I don't keep a lot of gluten-free mixes in my kitchen. I like making things from scratch and brownies are no exception. However a few weeks ago I found this brownie mix from Hodgson's Mill and it was very reasonably priced (a little over $4.00 I think?) so I thought I'd try it out.

Last night was the perfect opportunity. Because is there ever a bad opportunity to make brownies? :-)

The mix called for 1/2 cup of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 egg, and water. To save a few calories, I used 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce (instead of butter) and added about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. I mixed as directed and then decided to put the mix into cupcake liners to make individual servings.

On top of each brownie "cupcake" I added  a small sprinkling of chocolate chips and 2 pecan halves. I baked them for about 18 minutes and voila... some really cute & delicious brownie cupcakes!

Michael and I really enjoyed these. They were chewy and cakey at the same time. SUPER chocolately and rich... definitely a match for any chocolate craving!

This is a gluten-free baking mix I think I definitely plan to keep in the pantry for a quick dessert!

Chocolate Cherry "Milkshake" -- a green smoothie in disguise

Basically I just wanted chocolate a few nights ago... then I wanted a milkshake... then I decided just to make a healthy version of a chocolate shake... I had frozen cherries in the freezer from a friend. I had spinach. I had raw cacao powder. I had bananas. I had almond milk. All that stuff + ice = mmmmm. Unexpectedly mmmmm.

This one's a win! It's a green smoothie in disguise. You can add more greens if you like. It's quite sweet with the stevia and fruit, so you could definitely pack in some more spinach or kale. They will never know... it's chocolate, so it's supposed to be brown... they'll never guess that's partially from the greens as well.

Michael also likes this with a few tablespoons of peanut butter thrown in for good measure. I, however... am the purist... just give me the chocolate and the cherries.

Chocolate Cherry "Milkshake" 
Gluten/Grain-Free, Dairy/Casein-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan, No-Added-Sugar
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com

1/2 medium banana
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen, pitted cherries
1-2 handfuls baby spinach
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder (of course if you don't have this laying around just toss in some Hershey's cocoa powder!)
1/2 cup almond milk
3-4 ice cubes
few drops liquid vanilla stevia

Add all to high powdered blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes until thoroughly creamy and resembles a dark chocolate milkshake. Makes 1 large serving -or- 2 small servings.

Gluten-Free, No-Sugar-Added, Chocolate Fudge Cake

really horrid phone camera pic of some seriously awesome cake.
please don't judge the book by it's cover on this one...
trust me... you want to make this cake!

Wow... it's been a while... it feels rather like when you spend a prolonged period at home or on vacation and you're not the one driving... then when you get back in the car on Monday morning to head to work it feels strange... 

I've missed you. I've missed blogging... but I'm ready to come back! 

My Dad is very, very, very slowly on the mend. We are still traveling every other weekend to see him in the hospital. And it's been a joy to see him slowly progress. Some days are better than others both physically & mentally for him. He has a very long road ahead with many, many steps of recovery along the way... and we pray the end result will eventually be a heart transplant. It will be quite a journey to that point.... but I believe in him. 

In lighter news... I'm also a fan of cake. Densely, richly chocolate cake. My friend Jaime W. makes this amazing gluten-free, flour-free chocolate cake. She brings it to local gluten free potlucks and I might as well forget about portion sizes, sugar intake, or my calorie content for the day. It's all out the window if she brings that marvelous cake. 

My friend Heather invited us over for dinner the other night and I instantly wanted to make cake... which is odd since I haven't felt like cooking or baking in months... but suddenly I wanted to make cake. And I wanted a low-sugar, but super chocolate-y cake. I remember seeing a version of Jaime's cake in Paleo Comfort Foods, but it didn't contain ANY added sugar and I thought surely that must taste horrible.

But I decided to give it a go. I didn't want to use as much butter or eggs as the recipe called for... so I played and came up with the following version. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have... it's definitely better cold (it's AWESOME cold! Richly dense and super delicious!) but almost like a sponge cake when warm... so you can pick how to enjoy it...

(Additional Note: This cake is EXTREMELY rich, fudge-y, and not very sweet. It almost has a coffee overtone (which we loved!)... but I don't think it would appeal to children because of the lack of sweetness and due to the hint of bitterness from the intense dark chocolate.) 

and another really awful phone camera pic of this marvelous
cake... I probably need to apologize to the cake...
she's truly much more stunning in person...
and strangely enough I rather like the retro feel
of these sort of 70's orangish pictures...
moving on...  :-P

Gluten-Free, No-Sugar-Added, Chocolate Fudge Cake
Adapted from the version in Paleo Comfort Foods
Free of gluten, grains, soy, and added sugar
Printer-Friendly Recipe

The Good Stuff:
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
1 bag (11.5 oz.) 60-75% dark chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients: 
5 large eggs (preferably at room temperature)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut flour
* 1/4 teaspoon corn-free baking powder (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a double broiler on the stove or a glass bowl in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips and butter together. In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, applesauce, almond milk, and vanilla. Very, very slowly & gently whisk in a small stream of the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture. If you add the hot melted chocolate too quickly it will cook the eggs, so do it very slowly and gently. Mix the melted chocolate, butter, and egg mixture until it's thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Pour cake batter into a greased pie plate or cake pan. If you want to serve the cake on a platter make sure to line the cake pan with parchment paper so you can remove it easily. Place in 325 degree oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. The time can vary depending on the temperature of your oven and how wet the batter is. The cake will be completely done on the edges and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out MOSTLY clean, there will be some crumbs. Allow cake to cool completely on the counter (the edges will pull away from the pie pan and look as if it's shrinking a bit -- that's okay!) before transferring to the fridge to chill overnight. Slice and serve!


Carrie's Notes: 

• I have no idea what you can use in place of coconut flour, sorry I can't offer a substitution! If you would like the full sugar version that doesn't use coconut flour, try this cake recipe. 
• I have no idea what you can use in place of the eggs in the cake... the eggs are very important here. For a dense egg-free gluten-free chocolate cake, try this one. 
• The baking powder will help the cake rise a little more, but it's not necessary if you choose to leave it out. For a homemade version of corn-free baking powder, check out this recipe. 
• Also the chili powder adds just a hint of kick to the cake, which is awesome... but if you're not into awesome, you can leave it out too! 
• I just baked the cake and served it out of a glass pie pan, which I think works well! And it's pretty!  
• I recommend refrigerating the cake overnight before serving. It will be a dense, rich, dark chocolate-y cake. 
• If you prefer it warm, it will have more of a sponge-cake type texture and is still quite good... but I personally prefer it cold!

Gluten Free "Crustless" Pumpkin Pie Recipe

It dawned on me when I posted my yearly gluten free Thanksgiving Menu that I had never shared my favorite recipe for pumpkin pie.

The main reason is because I figured this was one of those super easy recipes that everybody already has. Or already knows how to make...But then I decided even if that may be the case, but I'm going to share it anyway. Hope you don't mind. The pie is based on good ol' Libby's traditional recipe. I make the pie dairy free with coconut milk, and I double the spices because I'm a little wild & crazy like that. :-)

While I've always loved a good, crispy, flaky crust... the pumpkin filling has always been my favorite part. I love the warm spices and the super creamy texture. I do like a little crunch too though... To get that crunch with each slice I add pecan halves around the pie. Isn't it pretty? But if you're not a fan of pecans (you poor thing!) simply leave them off.

I use sorghum or millet flour in this recipe to create the "crust-like" texture around the edge of the pie You might call this pie an "Impossible" pie --the bisquick people made recipes like this popular. You can use the same amount of gluten free bisquick or GF master mix in place of the flour called for. If you go that route, simply leave out the baking soda called for in the recipe below.  Alternately, to make the pie more "paleo" friendly you could use 3 tablespoons of coconut flour in place of the gluten free flour.

Who needs a traditional crust?

Gluten Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and corn
Printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar -or- coconut palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup sorghum or millet flour -or- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 (13.5 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Optional:
1/2 cup - 1 cup pecan halves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and whisk in the wet ingredients. Thoroughly mix into a thick batter. Pour batter into a large 9" pie plate that's been greased with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. Optional -- If you'd like, line the pecan halves around the edge of the pie and make a small circle in the middle. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until set in the middle. The pie will only jiggle slightly in the middle when done and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean. Allow pie to cool for about an hour, then slice and serve.

vegan banana peach "ice-cream"

The past few months I've been cutting back on my processed sugar intake. So less baked goods, more fruit! I allow myself to have 1-2 servings of fruit a day. Lately, I've been "saving" my fruit servings to use as dessert after dinner.

For years I've heard about people making one ingredient ice-cream in their vitamix or blendtec blenders by simply pulverizing frozen bananas. To be honest, I kinda laughed at the idea. For one, I've never been a HUGE banana fan. Secondly... it just sort of sounded impossible.

But then I tried it. (Here's a quick little video to show you how.) 

And it was another "foot in mouth" moment. It's seriously delicious... and strangely enough -- because it's so cold, it tastes more like ice-cream than bananas! Now generally I have to add about 1/4 cup of almond milk in with my frozen fruit to get my machine to process the "ice-cream" smooth enough -- I think it's because my vitamix is an older refurbished model (I still love him). But that's all I do!

I usually mix one frozen banana with a handful for frozen strawberries or peaches. Sometimes blueberries. Sometimes a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. Sometimes a tablespoon of vanilla. I never have to add sugar. It's completely sweet enough just as it is.

On last night's serving I drizzled a little honey on top. Honestly, it was just for the picture. It absolutely didn't need the additional sweetness.

Have you made "one-ingredient" banana ice cream? What are your favorite combinations? Let's chat! Right here on the blog. If you look over to the left you'll see a blue box just for you. Talk with me. I want to hear about how you would make your banana ice cream.

gluten free peach crisp for one -- an almond flour recipe

The past few weeks I've been using a lot of blanched almond flour in my baking. I am doing this to cut back on sugar and carbohydrates in my overall food plan. Over the past few years I experimented with this low glycemic flour thanks to Elana Amsterdam and her cookbooks... but I've never used it as exclusively as I have the past few weeks... and you know what?

It is SO stinkin' easy!

I had forgotten how incredibly easy it is to use almond flour in baking, especially when you're gluten free. Almond flour is quite healthy as it's high in protein and fiber. To learn more about why I use this flour, check out my GF Baking 101 page.

I've been meaning to share my recipe for an almond flour peach crisp the past few weeks.  I've made it in the oven, in the slow cooker, and now even in the microwave. I meant to make another batch this week so I could take a few good photos of the crisp, but so far I haven't had the time. Yet.... I had a real hankerin' for peach crisp tonight. So I decided to make a personal peach crisp for one. To lightly sweeten the peach crisp, I used a little bit of coconut sugar... but if you'd rather, feel free to use regular sugar or leave it out completely.

I'd say I made this crisp just for you, but I didn't... it was for me. :-P All me. And I enjoyed every single bite of it! But I will be nice enough to share the recipe...

Gluten Free Peach Crisp for One
free of gluten, grains, white sugar, eggs, corn, soy, dairy/casein
created by Carrie of Gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

1 ripe peach, sliced, and peeled if you prefer
3-4 tablespoons blanched almond flour
4 teaspoons coconut sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
tiny pinch salt
2 teaspoons butter, coconut oil, or canola oil

Directions:

1. Place sliced peach in a microwave safe (or glass) cereal or soup bowl. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar over the peaches. 
2. Microwave peaches on high for 3 minutes until they are softened and sugar has caramelized. 
3. In a small bowl mix together blanched almond flour, remaining coconut sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a fork, cut in the butter or coconut oil into the almond flour mixture. 
4. Sprinkle almond flour mixture on top of the peaches. Cook in microwave on high for 2 minutes. 
5. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before eating. Don't share. Eat the whole thing and enjoy every single gluten free, grain free morsel!! :-) 

{recipe review} heather's oaties

One of my favorite food/healthy living bloggers is Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter. She likes healthy foods, she thinks butter is a good thing (oh thank you Heather), and she loves her oatbran & oats... just like me!

It's her constant journaling of healthy dinners made of greens, grass-fed beef, and fresh vegetables that inspires me on nights when I can't think of anything to make.

Another thing I love about Heather is her sweet tooth... and how she somehow manages to make dessert recipes with healthy things like rolled oats... and they are AMAZING. These little cookies are a variation of Heather's Butterfied Oaties ( for those who are wondering about the dairy thing -- while I cannot digest most types of dairy -- milk, yogurt, ice-cream, sour cream, etc... I can handle small amounts of buttah and I feel like it's a much better alternative than margarine).

I LOVE these little cookies. I've kept them at work as a snack throughout the day. They are crunchy, buttery, just sweet & salty enough! IT's a great combination and such an awesome way to make a healthy snack. Sure, as all snacks they need to be eaten in moderation... but they are really easy, egg-free, delicious chocolate-y snacks!!

Check out Heather's other varieties of Oaties and let me know what you think! Please make them!