My mom brought a zucchini all the way from her garden in Jersey and she and my husband made Aunt Rose’s Zucchini Bread. Aunt Rose was my Nonni’s aunt and an amazing baker, I remember her delicious Christmas cookies every year at Nonni’s house in Buffalo, right after breakfast Christmas morning. This recipe is gluten free and dairy free too.
These gluten free sugar cookies are made with vegan butter to make them dairy free as well. I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour and Earth Balance unsalted buttery sticks. The flavors taste just like I remember from making Christmas cookies with my Mom growing up. A word of caution, these cookies were very delicate and crumbled easily until I got some vegan buttercream frosting on them. Handle them with care and let them rest for at least five minutes when they get out of the oven. After frosting them with vegan buttercream, they were durable enough and nice and tender when eating. I also recommend the OXO fish spatula to remove delicate cookies from a pan.
My favorite shapes ended up being the Christmas tree. It was the easiest to cut out and decorate and green is one of my favorite colors. I made stockings and stars too, but the trees were the cutest. Overall, I’m really happy to finally have a healthy-ish sugar cookie recipe that tastes authentic.
I’ve been baking chocolate chip cookies like crazy, trying to come up with the perfect paleo friendly chocolate chip cookie recipe. Let me tell you it has not been easy. I still might tweak this recipe a bit, but I’ll update the website if I try something new I like better.
I used to follow the traditional Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe, before I starting following a healthier diet, and I totally rocked at making chocolate chip cookies. So, my expectations for what it should taste and look like are pretty high. These tasted how I wanted them too, even with the substitutions, but they were very finicky with spreading and over browning.
To reduce spreading I also used a higher temperature and shorter cooking time, and I also chilled it in the freezer for a half hour and then moved the cookie dough to the fridge as I was baking, so the dough would stay nice and firm. I also tried stacking two scoops of cookie dough on top of one another so it created a larger cookie, which I’m happy to say turned out pretty well. Plus, who doesn’t like a larger cookie. My scoops were two tsp each, so when I doubled up the cookie dough it was four tsp total.
I also found that the higher temperature made the edges brown and crispy and left the middle gooey, which is how I like it. I also like my chocolate chip cookies a bit underdone, but you can easily let it cook a bit longer if that is your personal preference. I plan on continuing my quest for the perfect paleo chocolate chip cookie, but I’m liking my results so far, so I thought I would post my progress, and of course my current recipe.
Combine almond flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
Beat palm oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy, about 30 seconds. (If it fails to get creamy, use your hands to mix, which helps incorporate less air than a mixer)
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Use a small cookie dough scoop (that measures 2 tsp) to spoon dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze indiviudaly for 30 minutes.
Then move chilled dough to refridgerator, and bake 6 at a time at 400 degrees.
For 2 tsp of cookie dough bake 8-10 minutes.
For double the amount of dough (4 tsp) stack chilled cookie dough and bake for 11-13 minutes.
When removing cookies from oven, put the cookie sheet on a cooling rack for 2-3 minutes to set cookies before moving them to the cooling rack. This will prevent them from breaking when you move them.
This maple pecan apple crisp is paleo and vegan friendly, and really easy to make. In fact, I think this may be my new favorite fall dessert. This recipe is naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and the crust is made with chopped pecans and almond flour. In the future, I would serve it with some vegan vanilla ice cream, but it tastes just as good without. I used Fuji apples, since I had a ton of them in the fridge that needed to be used ASAP.
Overall, I’m really happy that this recipe turned out so well, and I will definitely be making more fruit crisps in the future. I’m thinking persimmons or pears might be next.
These marzipan truffles are made with homemade marzipan, and make a perfect holiday gift for the someone who loves chocolate and almonds. They are gluten and dairy free, and made with almond meal, so technically grain free too. They were actually really easy to make, and taste just like store bought ones. Every time we go to World Market, my husband searches out the chocolate covered marzipan, so I’m happy I can now make some that taste just as good.
Why buy marzipan when it is super simple to do it yourself. With Halloween right around the corner, my husband and I wanted to make some chocolate covered marzipan truffles, which is one of our favorite sweet treats. I will post this recipe next guys!
Marzipan is gluten and dairy free, so it’s great if you are allergic or sensitive to either of those things. Personally, my husband and I love anything almond flavored, so naturally marzipan has a special place in our hearts.
The recipe for DIY marzipan does contain confectioner’s sugar, which is obviously not ideal, but I wanted the same taste and texture that you would find in a grocery store. This recipe also contains a raw egg white as a binder, so if you are vegan this recipe isn’t for you. I don’t have an issue with raw eggs, since I make my own paleo friendly mayo all the time, and I like my eggs over easy for breakfast. That said, use common sense, like keeping the marzipan stored in the fridge or cook with it as soon as possible.
My mom brought a zucchini all the way from her garden in Jersey and she and my husband made Aunt Rose’s Zucchini Bread. Aunt Rose was my Nonni’s aunt and an amazing baker, I remember her delicious Christmas cookies every year at Nonni’s house in Buffalo, right after breakfast Christmas morning. This recipe is gluten free and dairy free too.
