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I’m a fan of alliterations, aren’t you? Especially when they involve chocolate and cherries. These little treats definitely fit the bill: delicious chocolate little morsels filled with dried bing cherries with just the right amount of sweetness. They may not be the flashiest, prettiest little dessert, but after a long stretch without sweets (I’ve just finished a Whole30), these were heaven. They’re still paleo-friendly, as they’re sweetened only with fruit and a touch of stevia, but that was more than enough.

They’re also grain-free, nut-free, and vegan – something that is rare in any baked good. A while back, Maggie at She Let Them Eat Cake shared a chocolate chip cookie recipe using pumpkin seed flour. Pumpkin seeds, a.k.a. pepitas, are a great alternative to nuts, especially if someone in your family has an allergy, or your children attend a nut-free school. Just process them in a coffee grinder until finely ground, and you have yourself a nutritious flour! I couldn’t wait until I got my hands on some pumpkin seeds so I could try out this method. So after grinding away, and poking around in my pantry to see what fun ingredients I could throw together with this new flour, I came out armed with some cocoa powder, dates, prunes, and cherries. Next thing I knew, these cookies were born.

Which isn’t surprising. If I wander into the kitchen to bake, chances are, what I will be baking is cookies. It’s my go-to dessert. Maybe it’s because I’ve always adored cookies, even back when I was a gluten-eater. I’d snub most cakes and other treats, but a cookie? Oh yes, I was game. Now that I bake gluten-free and dairy-free (and often grain and sugar-free as well), cookies are an easy thing to create. Cookies don’t have to be light and airy and have that perfect cake crumb; they’re not tricky like gluten-free breads. Maybe it’s just my point of view, but cookies are a lot more forgiving. Besides, they’re delicious. Who doesn’t like cookies?

Especially chewy chocolate cookies with cherries?

That’s what I thought.

Chewy Chocolate Cherry Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Paleo)

10 prunes

3 Medjool dates

1 ½ c pumpkin seed flour (grind raw shelled pumpkin seeds in a coffee grinder)

3 T cocoa powder

¼ t baking soda

2 t cinnamon

¼ t sea salt

2 T applesauce

2 T coconut oil, melted

1 ½ t vanilla extract

¼ t almond extract

¼-1/2 t vanilla stevia extract

¾ c dried bing cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a small bowl, heat water until just boiling. Add prunes and dates and allow to soak for 5-10 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile, whisk together pumpkin seed flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt in a medium bowl.

Remove prunes and dates from water and place in the bowl of a food processor. Add applesauce coconut oil, and extracts and process until it forms a paste. Add pumpkin seed flour mixture and process until well-blended. Adjust sweetness level to your liking with stevia, blending well. Stir in cherries.

Using oiled hands, roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Flatten with the back of a spoon or the heel of your hand.

Bake 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Makes 1 ½ dozen.

This post is linked to Wellness Weekends at Diet, Dessert and Dogs and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.

Interested in learning about gluten-free baking? Join me and other Community Leaders at Udi’s Gluten-Free Living Community on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at 7 PM CDT to discuss gluten-free baking! Just visit this link to attend!

posted on Sunday, April 22nd, 2012 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free,Healthy Meals,Quick and Easy,Vegetarian 11 Comments

Have you heard about this AMAZING giveaway going on over at Healthy Blender Recipes? All during the month of April, you can enter to win a KitchenAid mixer – an amazing 7-QT Bowl-Lift Residential Stand Mixer!

Today I’m sharing my recipe for Lemon Earl Grey Cookies. They’re gluten and dairy-free. Check them out and enter for your chance to win this awesome KitchenAid mixer.

posted on Monday, April 16th, 2012 by altawrites Posted in Dairy-Free,Gluten-Free No Comments

chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, full of autumn flavors

Have you ever baked with pumpkin? Or tried to make pumpkin cookies? Pumpkin makes lovely breads and cakes. It bakes up light and fluffy, and provides lovely moisture. Unfortunately, light and fluffy aren’t good cookie characteristics, in my book. I love chewy cookies – especially chewy chocolate chip cookies. When pumpkin season came, I wanted to bake up pumpkin cookies, but didn’t want them all fluffy. What’s a chewy cookie lover to do?

So I started to think. What is it about pumpkin that turns those cookies into cake-like, fluffy treats? It dawned on me that pumpkin has a lot of moisture. Good for cakes and breads, to be sure, but it was ruining my perfect cookie. So the key? Remove some of the moisture from the pumpkin.

I got to work. I made a big batch of pumpkin butter from a gigantic cushaw squash I recently acquired. But rather than just adding pumpkin butter into a cookie recipe, I opted to reduce it further. I put some pumpkin butter in a saucepan and set it on medium-low heat, and I cooked it. And cooked it. Stirred and stirred, until it no longer looked like a pumpkin-y puree, and instead took on a thick texture more like tomato paste. Less moisture = less fluffy, I hoped.

I also opted to remove the egg white from the cookie recipe, figuring that an egg white would contribute to lift – something I didn’t want in my cookies. I left the yolk in, however, to hold things together and provide some additional fat.

Finally, I proceeded to wing it. I wanted to keep the cookie grain-free, so I went with almond flour. And while this recipe isn’t technically dairy-free (I used ghee), it is casein-free, so those with casein intolerance can still indulge. (I find that while I can’t tolerate regular or even grass-fed, cultured butter, I can tolerate a bit of ghee here and there.) If you can’t do ghee, try substituting coconut oil. Because I really wanted the pumpkin pie spice effect, I threw in extra cinnamon and nutmeg. I also added chocolate chips and some chopped pecans, just because.

It’s my cookie, and I can do what I want.

The result was more than I’d hoped. These cookies are tender, but chewy. Moist, but not overly so. They are indeed chocolate chip cookies, but they are so much more than that. They are like chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin pie got together and had a love child.

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

7 T pumpkin butter paste (simmer pumpkin butter over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until texture resembles tomato paste)

1/4 c melted ghee (or coconut oil)

1/2 t vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

3/4 c brown sugar or coconut palm sugar

2 c almond flour (I tried this recipe with both Honeyville blanched almond flour and Bob’s Red Mill – both work, but I prefer Honeyville)

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/2 c dairy-free chocolate chips

1/3 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the pumpkin butter paste, ghee, vanilla extract, egg yolk, and brown sugar. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.

Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until just starting to brown on the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.

posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Desserts,Gluten-Free 11 Comments

This month for Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger I chose to adopt Cheryl of Gluten-Free Goodness. Cheryl’s a relatively new bloggy friend of mine; I “met” her through Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl. Cheryl is a Registered Dietitian and nutritionist, as well as a health and wellness coach. She helps a lot of people enjoy a healthy, gluten-free diet. Cheryl has several food allergies, and while that might frustrate some in the kitchen, Cheryl handles it with grace and innovation. She is always coming up with something delicious, healthy, and allergen-free. It definitely makes choosing just a few recipes to try that much more difficult!

Somehow, I managed. I had to choose one of her dessert recipes, and came across these amazing Brazil Nut Chip Cookies. Brazil nuts, however, are not something I adore, so I improvised a bit. (Okay, more than a little bit…but I wanted to use what was on hand.)I used almond butter instead of the brazil nut butter, substituted raisins for the chocolate chips, and used 1 whole banana instead of the avocado. My gluten-free flour blend was 1 part teff flour, 1 part millet flour, and 1 part coconut flour. These came out of the oven tasting like banana-y oatmeal raisin cookies – one of my favorite cookies of all time. I’m definitely making these again and again. They were superb.

Another recipe I have tried (more than once) from Cheryl is her coconut curried greens recipe. I opted to use canned coconut milk, and did not add chicken, as I made this a side dish. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the ingredients here – these greens are craveably delicious. I had to make them twice – after the first time, the flavors haunted me. It’s a good thing collard greens are arriving in my CSA box in large amounts lately!

While this is all I’ve made so far, I definitely found more recipes I want to make in the future. Cheryl has a Nana Skillet Bread that looks comforting and delicious. I can imagine it as tasty breakfast treat. Her Sniffle Stew looks like a go-to recipe, especially in the winter. (I don’t think you need the sniffles in order to eat it – I can imagine it’s the perfect lunchtime soup as well!) And who could pass up her Chocolate Raspberry Pie? That looks killer.

Need some healthy, easy recipe inspiration? Check out more of Cheryl’s recipes here. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

posted on Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Budget-Friendly,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free,Healthy Meals,Quick and Easy,Side Dishes,Vegetables,Vegetarian 12 Comments

 The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

Yes, more edible containers. What’s not to love about a container you can eat? Evelyne suggested making a maple mousse and a bacon cup to hold the mousse. I loved the idea so much, I decided to stick closely to the recipes suggested. I made the mousse (dairy-free, of course), refrigerated it, and got to making bacon cups. I molded bacon around the back side of a muffin tin, secured with toothpicks, and baked, but my bacon cups weren’t really cup-like – they shriveled and had holes too large to hold any mousse. Stumped on what to do instead, I questioned my husband. (Who was walking in and out of the kitchen this whole time, drawn to what I was doing by the aroma of bacon.) His suggestion? Let him eat the bacon. While this is a tasty solution, it doesn’t give me an edible container. (I did share some of the failed bacon cups with him though!)

After some time to think, I remembered that a year or two ago, bacon chocolate chip cookies were all the rage in the food blog world. Having never made them myself, I decided I would play with a chocolate chip cookie recipe, only instead making them in a cup form. I set off making dough and pressing the dough into muffin cups.

I did, however, forget that in spite of pressing the dough only around the edges of the muffin cup (like it was a pie crust), that the cookie dough would rise and fill in the cup entirely. Whoops. So what I ended up with was more like a bacon chocolate chip muffin. Undeterred, I grabbed my melon baller and scooped out a bit of the center, making it a cup once again. (And enjoying the bits of cookie I scooped out – the baker’s treat for sure!)

The rest was easy. Scoop in the maple mousse, top with bacon bits, and refrigerate. Voila – an edible container with a delicious mousse!

The verdict? I think if I try this again, I’ll modify the cookie/cup recipe somewhat. It was a bit dry and crumbly. The mousse, however, was amazing. I could sit down and eat tons of that by itself. As for the bacon-in-a-dessert thing? It’s not bad (it adds a lovely sweet-savory touch, but didn’t taste much like bacon), but it’s not my favorite combination. I could take it or leave it. I think I’d much prefer just to enjoy the mousse unadorned (or maybe with some dairy-free whipped cream).

This was definitely a fun challenge! A big thanks to Evelyne.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cups with Maple Mousse

For the cups:

1 ¾ c gluten-free flour blend (I used equal parts arrowroot starch, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour)

2 t ground chia seed meal

½ t baking soda

½ t kosher salt

1/3 c vegan buttery sticks or oil (I used bacon grease leftover from cooking the bacon plus vegan butter)

½ c coconut sugar

½ c coconut nectar

1 large egg

½ t vanilla extract

½ c finely chopped cooked bacon (about 8 strips), divided

2/3 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, chia seed meal, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add buttery sticks/oil, sugar, and coconut nectar and beat for about 3 minutes or until blended. Add egg and vanilla and mix on medium until incorporated. Stir in half of the bacon and all of the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for an hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin and divide into 8-9 of the muffin cups, pressing up against the sides. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until beginning to brown on the edges and set in the center. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove from tin and place on cooling rack to cool completely.

With a melon baller or similarly sized spoon, scoop out the center of each chocolate chip cup. Fill with chilled maple mousse and garnish with remaining bacon.

For the mousse:

½ c grade B maple syrup

2 large egg yolks

½ envelope gelatin

¾ c coconut cream (scoop cream off of the top of a can of coconut milk)

Bring maple syrup to a boil and remove from heat.

In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of maple syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they won’t curdle).

Add eggs to maple syrup and whisk until well mixed.

Measure ¼ cup of the coconut cream and place in a bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Place in microwave for 15 seconds and then stir, and microwave for 10 seconds more if needed to dissolve gelatin completely.

Whisk gelatin mixture into the maple syrup and set aside.

Whisk occasionally, leaving mixture out for about an hour, until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.

Whip the remaining coconut cream in a large bowl. Stir ¼ of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Remove from fridge, whisk, and scoop into bacon chocolate chip cups.

posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free 12 Comments

I cherish these Kids In The Kitchen times. With three teenagers in the house (well, one is 12, but in some ways she’s going on 16 anyway, so I might as well include her in that “teenager” description), I realize that this special time we spend together learning to cook, experiencing food adventures, and generally having fun, isn’t going to last forever. Eventually, one by one, their focus will shift, priorities will change, and they’ll have grown up and won’t be cooking every other weekend in the kitchen with me anymore. This makes this time we have that much more precious. So much more happens than just a kid, a recipe, some food, and a resulting blog post. We get opportunities to learn together, to be silly together, to bond together, one on one. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the world.

Matt is the oldest (he’ll be 16 next week!). I suppose that means he’s not a little boy anymore. He’s learning to really voice his opinions and trying to understand and feel his way around where he stands on important worldly beliefs and issues (ranging from what genre of music is best to religion), but at the same time, he continually tries to make us laugh with a quick joke. He takes after his Dad that way – the jokes aren’t always funny, but the sense of humor behind their delivery will guarantee a chuckle and a smile, and many times can disarm me, even in stern moments. In my opinion, a good sense of humor is definitely an asset.

But in spite of his ever-more-grown-up ways, he is still in some ways a boy. Take his suggestion for what we would make for Kids In The Kitchen – peanut butter cookies. That’s a childhood favorite I think he and I share (and a lot of others). Some things you just never outgrow.

These peanut butter cookies are a breeze to make. In fact, I’ve made an almond butter version before following the same recipe. It’s Shirley’s recipe from Gluten-Free Easily, and it’s by far one of the easiest cookie recipes out there. We made these as written – complete with chocolate chips. I only had a taste, but the kids definitely took care of the rest for me – they enjoyed two a piece when they were made, and gladly took the rest home to enjoy at the end of the weekend. They were indeed a hit. Of course, this won’t be the last time this recipe (or a version of it) will be gracing our kitchen. It’s an easy, go-to recipe for cookies that can please a crowd (and some hungry teenagers).

Check out the recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies here.

Have you entered into the giveaway for a copy of Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free: 120 Easy and Delicious Recipes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less by Amy Green? If not, there’s still time! Check out the giveaway details here. Hurry, because the giveaway ends April 23!

posted on Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Budget-Friendly,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free,Kid-Friendly,Quick and Easy 10 Comments

Matt wanted to make cinnamon rolls. This was what was decided on the weekend before last. I hadn’t perfected my “healthier” cinnamon roll recipe yet, and while I’ve bookmarked quite a few, I thought that perhaps Matt didn’t want to experiment with those. Instead, I made plans to make these from I Am Gluten Free (who is now Gluten-Free Diva), as I had made them before, early on in my gluten-free life, and they tasted very much like the original – light, fluffy, and deliciously cinnamon-y.

And then Matt changed his mind.

Normally we don’t do last-minute changes, particularly when things like live crabs were purchased. It’s just not that easy – someone still has to cook up perishible foods like that. But in this case, it was an easy switch. He wanted to make chocolate chip cookies instead. I thought, and realized I had all of the ingredients for some version of a chocolate chip cookie. But which recipe would I choose? I’m notorious for never making the same recipe more than once when it comes to baking – I love to experiment. I hadn’t yet perfected a relatively healthy, yet still chewy and delicious chocolate chip cookie. Elana’s recipe has been my favorite so far, but I was still on a quest. And while I love that cookie, it’s not exactly as familiar as a traditional gluten-y and sugary cookie. This time around, I wanted to allow Matt to make cookies like he was used to – the kind of cookies he loved.

So I scoured the internet a bit. It didn’t take long, because my favorite trustworthy TV “chef” had a solution – a gluten-free chewy cookie. That’s right, Alton Brown went gluten-free! (Okay, just for this recipe. Admit it though, I had you going for just a split second, right?) I made minor changes, making it also dairy-free, and we were on our way to making chocolate chip cookies.

To be straight, this is NOT a healthy cookie. Nope. Not at all. But was it chewy? Oh yes. Was it slightly soft in the center, with slightly crispy edges? Most definitely. Was it full of chocolatey goodness? Indeed.

I had to hide them from myself until the kids took them home, once I had my cookie. They were addictively good. Definitely a treat – not something I could keep around the house. But they also delighted the kids – so they were indeed a success!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted from Alton Brown

8 oz vegan butter, such as Earth Balance

11 oz brown rice flour (about 2 cups)

1 1/4 oz potato starch (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 oz tapioca flour (about 2 tablespoons)

1 t guar gum

1 t kosher salt

1 t baking soda

2 oz sugar (about 1/4 cup)

10 oz dark brown sugar (about 1 1/4 cups)

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

2 T non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut beverage)

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

12 oz non-dairy semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the vegan butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

In a medium bowl, add the brown rice flour, the potato starch, the tapioca flour, guar gum, salt, and baking soda. Whisk together and set aside.

Add to the melted butter the sugar and brown sugar. Cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture gradually until well combined. Add in chocolate chips and stir.

Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheets, no more than 6 to a sheet. Place oven racks on the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and place one baking sheet on each. Bake for 7 minutes, and then swap the baking sheets and bake for an additional 7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a minute or two, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 2 dozen LARGE cookies.

posted on Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free,Kid-Friendly 12 Comments

 The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Panna Cotta. That simple, yet oh-so-satisfying cream-based dessert. It stands the test of time. It’s a go-to recipe for anyone who wants to delight their dinner guests, and it’s relatively uncomplicated…until you go and throw that whole dairy-free thing in there.

But alas, this is why I joined Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks – to not only take on the challenge of making something new, but also to make it gluten and dairy-free. It hasn’t always been a complete success, but sometimes, it’s that whole “thrill of the chase” thing that keeps me coming back for more. And honestly, the panna cotta was not any more difficult to make non-dairy.

This month, I opted to take a risk and share the (hopefully) successful fruits of my challenge with my sister and her husband. They arrived on a Saturday afternoon, twin girls in tow, ready for an evening filled with grilled pork chops topped with sauteed apples, onions, and melty colby-jack cheese (made by my brother-in-law, with Daiya on mine instead of cheese – sweet-and-savory deliciousness!), a simple spinach salad, mashed sweet potatoes, and this roasted cauliflower dish. Glasses of inexpensive zinfandel were filled, and filled again. Warm, comfortable conversation was made in between baby feedings, rounds of Mario Bros. on the Wii with Brittany (who decided to spend the weekend with us), the debut of a new little video camera, and an occasional attempt at distracting a slightly grumpy, teething baby. And dessert.

Charlie and Zoe, 7 1/2 months old

 We sweetened the end of the meal with creamy, rich, dairy-free panna cotta with a peach-thyme gelee, and an overabundance of gluten-free, dairy-free florentine cookies. The panna cotta was made with coconut milk and almond milk instead of cream and milk. The gelee was inspired partly by the lonely bag of frozen peaches leftover from last summer, and this jam recipe. It was a lovely blend of rich and sweet, but not overly so – the fact that I kept it refined sugar-free definitely helped to keep the sweetness at a more natural level.

The florentine cookies, on the other hand, were definitely sweet. In spite of my use of dark chocolate, they still were still plenty sweet – although not cloying. While I’d never enjoyed this cookie before – a lovely oat-y sandwich, filled with chocolate – I knew it would be a favorite.  It was definitely well-received by my sister and brother-in-law. As I know my limitations on self-control around good cookies, and they were both so excited about them,  I sent them home with the rest.

It was a good day.

These two recipes were lovely – and I was excited to finally get around to making panna cotta. The cookie stole the show, however. A big thanks to Mallory for this month’s challenge!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Panna Cotta with Peach Thyme Gelee

1 c unsweetened almond milk (I made my own using this recipe - it’s really easy!)

1 T (1 packet) unflavored gelatin powder

2 cans coconut milk (not light)

1/3 c honey

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean

Pour the almond milk into a bowl and sprinkle gelatin over evenly. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.

Pour the almond milk into a saucepan and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat until hot, but not boiling. Whisk a few times during this process. Next, add the coconut milk, honey, and pinch of salt. With a small knife, carefully cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the saucepan. Making sure the mixture doesn’t boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the honey has dissolved, 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Then pour into glasses or ramekins. (I used 5, but you could easily make this a 6-serving recipe.) Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.

(If you want to layer the gelee on top, allow the panna cotta to firm up for a few hours in the fridge first. If you wish to top with another layer of panna cotta, as I did, you have to reserve some of the panna cotta, and wait for the gelee to firm up before carefully layering the remaining panna cotta on top.)

Peach Thyme Gelee

3 T water

2 T (2 packets) unflavored gelatin powder

1 lb peach slices (can use frozen), chopped finely

1/4 t fresh thyme leaves

2 T honey

pinch of salt

Sprinkle gelatin over water. Place fruit and honey in a small saucepan and simmer until honey has dissolved. Mix the gelatin mixture into the fruit and stir until gelatin has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Puree in a blender. Once panna cotta is sufficiently gelled, carefully spoon gelee over top. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Florentine Cookies

2/3 c vegan buttery sticks (I used Earth Balance)

2 c gluten-free quick oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

1 c granulated sugar

2/3 c gluten-free flour mixture (3.5 oz – I used 1 oz teff flour, 1 oz potato starch, and 1.5 oz sorghum flour)

1 T combination of chia seed meal and flax meal, plus 1 T boiling water, mixed into a slurry

1/4 c agave nectar

1/4 c almond milk

1 t vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 1/2 c dairy-free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat. Melt vegan buttery sticks in a small saucepan and remove from heat. Add oats, sugar, flours, chia/flax slurry, agave nectar, almond milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop by the tablespoonful, three inches apart, on the baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your spoon. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheets.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (I use a stainless steel bowl large enough to sit on top of a small saucepan with an inch or so of simmering water) until smooth. Place the cookies upside down and spoon a bit of chocolate into the middle of each, and place another cookie on top to make a sandwich.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

posted on Sunday, February 27th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free 6 Comments

Just a quick note to give you a little sunshine in your late February day. These little cookies have a lovely lemon flavor that will brighten any dreary, cloudy, or otherwise less-than-sunny day. They’re not overly sweet, they’re not rich, and they’re perfect with a cup of hot tea (yes, Earl Grey would be a great option here). They’re also great to bring to work and push off on your coworkers, which is what I did. After all, a cookie in my kitchen is a cookie begging for me to eat it – and I’ve already had more than my fair share!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Lemon Earl Grey Cookies

1/2 c sweet white rice flour

1/2 c quinoa flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/2 t guar gum

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

leaves from 3 bags of Earl Grey tea, crushed fine

1/2 c vegan buttery sticks, softened

3/4 c sugar, plus 1/4 c more for rolling

1 egg

1/2 t vanilla extract

zest of 1 large lemon

2 T fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, potato starch, guar gum, baking powder and soda, salt, and tea leaves. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add buttery sticks and sugar. Beat on medium until fluffy and pale (about 2-3 minutes), and then add egg. Beat on medium until egg incorporates, and add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat until incorporated. Turn speed to low and add in flour mixture, and allow to beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed.

Place the remaining sugar in a small bowl, and using a tablespoon (and another spoon if needed), scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough, and roll them around in the sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheets, 2-3 inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are just barely starting to brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen.

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays over at Gluten-Free Homemaker.

posted on Thursday, February 24th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free,Quick and Easy 17 Comments

It’s officially the holiday season, and I’m starting to prepare the holiday sweets – cookies, candies, and fudge (yes, dairy-free fudge! Coming soon!). The other day I shared one of my new favorite treats, and here’s another. These cookies were more of an experiment, resulting from some cranberries that I bought and for whatever reason, didn’t use. I opted to make a fresh cranberry cookie. These were delightful – the whole grains remind me of oatmeal cookies, but the combination of cranberry and chocolate definitely makes them something special. When I baked these cookies, I could hardly wait until they were cool enough to eat. And then, I had to will myself to stop at 2. They definitely were tasty, to say the least. Maybe not the flashiest cookie on the holiday table, but sometimes, those “ugly ducklings” are the true gems!

So if you’re looking for another treat to round out your holiday cookie platter, these might be a great gluten-free, dairy-free option!

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Multi-Grain Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

½ c tapioca starch

¼ c teff flour

¼ c buckwheat flour

¼ t salt

¼ t xanthan gum

½ t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

¼ t allspice

2 T ground flaxseed meal

1/3 c palm shortening

¼ c coconut oil

½ c sucanat or evaporated cane juice

¼ c sugar

¼ c honey

1 large egg

1 t vanilla extract

1 c quinoa flakes

1 c dark chocolate chips (dairy-free)

1 c coarsely chopped fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets.

In a medium bowl, combine tapioca starch, teff flour, buckwheat flour, salt, xanthan gum, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and flaxseed meal and whisk. Set aside.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream shortening, coconut oil, sucanat, sugar and honey together. Add egg and beat in until combined. Add vanilla extract and beat in. Turn speed to low and slowly add flour mixture. Once combined, add quinoa flakes. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries.

Scoop onto prepared baking sheets into balls about 2 inches in diameter, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes or just until the edges are browned. Remove and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes or until set enough to transfer to a rack. Allow cookies to cool completely on rack.

Makes about 2 dozen.

posted on Monday, December 20th, 2010 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Vegetarian 16 Comments