One of my favorite childhood memories was making chocolate chip cookies with my mom. We used to make the traditional Toll House recipe off the back of a bag of Nestle chocolate chips. While things have changed dramatically in our house from those day (no flour, no white sugar and I use organic, fair trade dark chocolate chips) I still cherish those memories, and l love sharing that tradition with my three little boys.
I have both of Danielle Walker’s Paleo Cookbooks: Against All Grain & Against All Grain: Meals Made Simple and to this day, they are two of my favorite cookbooks that I own (I have a slight cookbook addiction). I originally started making her real-deal chocolate chip cookies, but over time, just adapted it to better suit our families taste and to simplify – in my world, less steps and less dishes are always better. If you have never checked out her cookbooks, you should. She has lots of fun recipes and they are great inspiration.
A few of the changes I made was that I use coconut oil instead of palm shortening (which I don’t typically have on hand). I cut out the honey (you can add it back in if you want sweeter cookies, but if you do, omit the extra tablespoon of coconut oil – it was only added to add in a little extra moisture). I have made them adding in an extra egg, and no honey or extra tablespoon of coconut oil, and that variation works well also. I like this version best with just the coconut sugar, because it is just lightly sweetened. I also just mix the cookies by hand, my food processor is dying, and I found that I didn’t need to pull out an extra appliance.
Another thing to note is that these cookies don’t have a great self life, so if you plan to keep them a few days, throw them in the fridge. They do freeze well though.
Our Favorite Cookie – Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Adapted from Against All Grain Cookbook
Serves: 24
Ingredients
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp of melted coconut oil
1/2 cup of coconut sugar
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups blanched almond flour
4 Tbsp. coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. celtic sea salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla and eggs, until smooth.
Add in the almond flour, coconut flour*, baking soda and sea salt and mix again until combined.
Once well mixed, stir in chocolate chips
Roll into balls and slightly flatten on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Bake 9-12 minutes until slightly brown on the edges.
*with coconut flour, I use a spoon and swirl mine through a mesh strainer to eliminate any clumps.
**if you would like to make your cookies sweeter, you can add in honey, (1 – 2 Tbsp). If you do add honey, omit the extra tablespoon of coconut oil.
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One of the great things about these cookies is that they are simple, quick and I literally always have all the ingredients on hand (most of these ingredients I buy from bulk sources anyway)
Chocolate is the weakness in our house. The other night we were craving a quick dessert and I am always trying to find new ways to incorporate grass-fed gelatin into our diets. So I whipped up a quick pudding and it was loved by everyone in our house, especially my two year old! The ingredients are pretty simple and can be easily found at any grocery store (with the exception of the grass-fed gelatin) Our favorite is Vital Proteins. If you need a quick chocolate fix, try this one out!
Paleo Chocolate Pudding with Grass-Fed Gelatin
Ingredients
1 can full-fat coconut milk
2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 c. gluten free, dairy free chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
3 Tbsp high-quality gelatin
2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Heat the coconut milk on medium-low in a heavy-bottomed pot. You want to warm it enough to dissolve the gelatin but not boil. Add the chocolate and whisk constantly until it melts.
Once the chocolate has melted, whisk in the gelatin by slowly pouring as you whisk. If you just dump the whole tablespoon in, it’ll get clumpy.
Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
Pour into your desired glasses or cups and chill for at least 2 hours or until set.
Instructions
Heat the coconut milk and almond milk on medium heat, until warm.
Add in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips until melted.
Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin and vanilla.
Gelatin will clump if you don’t pour it in slowly, I cheat by pouring my entire pudding mixture into my vita-mix and blending on low.
Pour into pint sized glass and chill in the fridge for at least one hour or until it sets up.
As summer came to close, so did our fabulous season of zucchini. I decided I needed to create one last baked item with our remaining supply. Chocolate is always a favorite in our house and a cake sounded just perfect. This is a pretty quick and easy recipe, the steps can look like a lot, but they are easy to follow. This cake is pretty similar to a traditional Texas sheet cake, but it is altered to work with a gluten-free flour blend. I prefer King Arthur’s Gluten-free flour blend (I buy mine from our local Earth Fare), but most gluten-free blends will work. What I love about the combination of zucchini in this recipe, is that it helps keeps the cake moist, which can be a common problem with gluten free baked goods. This recipe also freezes really well.
I am one of those people who loves spring. I barely survive winters in Indiana and can not wait for green grass, blossoms on trees and signs of life spouting out of the ground. Along with spring and early summer comes an over abundance of two of my favorite foods – strawberries and rhubarb.
We grow strawberries along the side of our house (below are some pictures from last years harvest). They are obviously not ready yet for this year, but there has been a lot of really tasty strawberries on sale recently at our local Earth Fare. So I picked up some fresh strawberries and rhubarb to satisfy my early spring cravings.
If you have read previous posts on my blog, you know I create a lot of crisps, because they are so easy to make and you don’t have to be exact. Typically in gluten free baking, being exact really matters and honestly, I don’t really like to measure things. This recipe is a simple combination of pecan pieces, gluten free rolled oats, tapioca starch and coconut oil. Many celiacs can not tolerate oats, but I can in small amounts as long as they are not cross-contaminated. I use Bob Red Mills certified gluten free oats in my baking. This recipe is also pretty tart as I like to highlight the rhubarb and keep my sugar content lower.
Pecan Oat Stawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Gluten Free)
Author: The Sprouted Life
Ingredients
8-10 cups of strawberries (cut is halves)
4 cups of chopped rhubarb
1/8 – 1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar (depending on desired sweetness)
1 1/4 cups gluten free rolled oats (I grind to coarse in my Vita Mix)
1 cup chopped pecan pieces (finely chopped)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or butter
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
later chopped strawberries and rhubarb in a 13 x 9 pan
sprinkle with an 1/8 of cup of evaporated cane sugar
in a different bowl, mix together coarsely ground rolled oats, pecans, tapioca, coconut sugar stir.
slowly pour in coconut oil and vanilla and incorporate until topping starts to clump.
sprinkle topping evenly across the strawberry rhubarb layer.
bake for 10-15 minutes at 400 (watching to make sure it doesn’t burn topping) and then reduce the heat to 300 and bake for about 45 minutes, until topping is lightly brown and strawberry rhubarb layer is bubbling.
**you can increase sugar amounts if you do not like the tartness of rhubarb.
**you can also add in additional add ins, like chia seeds, ground flax seed or even coconut. if you do you may need to increase the coconut oil slightly so everything is fully incorporated
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two of the notes that I put in the recipe:
**you can increase sugar amounts if you do not like the tartness of rhubarb.
**you can also add in additional add ins, if you do you may need to increase the coconut oil slightly so everything is fully incorporated
I change up our crisp recipes all the time, sometimes I toss in some chai and flax seed, especially if I am going to give it to my kids as breakfast, (I want the higher fiber content) or add coconut, or almond flour etc. You can be pretty flexible.
I can’t wait to see what this year’s garden harvest of strawberries brings!
I get asked a lot how we handle the holidays being gluten-free. Let’s face it, most holiday memories include big fat crescent rolls, sugar cookies, casseroles, pies and many more gluten filled items.
My new motto: simplicity.
I simply do not try to recreate all those items…I find that all that does is stress me out, leaves me in carb and sugar shock and a lot of the items will never compare to their gluten- filled counter parts. So instead, my husband and I came up with a simple holiday menu that included items that we could prep the night before.
I thought I would share what our Christmas day menu looked like. It was fresh and not over-loaded with carbs, but yet included items like a paleo date-pecan cinnamon roll that my three boys absolutely loved. We ate a late breakfast and an early dinner, cutting our meals down to two instead of three. And I ran out Christmas Eve afternoon to our local Earth Fare to get any remaining fresh ingredient. We has ordered their holiday deal that featured a beautiful cut of fresh standing rib roast, so we had to run in already to pick that up.
Breakfast was fully prepped on Christmas Eve and included a breakfast casserole and paleo cinnamon rolls.
Potato-Egg Breakfast Casserole:
The breakfast casserole was made with shredded potatoes, instead of bread. I first boiled the potatoes, chilled them and ran them through my food processor with the shredder blade. I layered the potatoes on the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan and topped with 12 whisked eggs, 1 cup of almond milk, 2 cups of shredded cheese, bacon pieces and chopped green onions. All I had to do Christmas morning was pop it into the oven at 350 for about 45-50 minutes.
this is what my youngest son, thought of the cinnamon rolls!
Paleo Date-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls:
*Recipe below.
We also made these the night before and had them on a baking sheet in the fridge ready to pop into the oven.
Dinner Menu:
Standing Rib Roast
Grilled Zucchini and Asparagus
Roasted potato wedges with Italian herbs
Sparkling cider just for fun
We have made it a tradition to buy a nice cut of meat; either steaks or prime rib and either grill veggies or roast them (depending on Indiana weather). It makes dinner, simple, yet full of flavor.
What a “gluten-free” holiday looks like in our house + paleo date-pecan cinnamon rolls
Recipe Type: Dessert/Pastry
Author: The Sprouted Life
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Dough:
2 cups of almond flour
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of sea salt
Filling:
6-8 large Dates, Soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
½ cup finely chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Instructions
Soak your dates in hot water for about 30 minutes.
Add hydrated dates a few teaspoons of date water and cinnamon to a mini food processor and puree. Set aside.
Whisk together the wet ingredients (egg, coconut oil & vanilla) in a medium bowl.
Add the combined dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt) and stir well to combine.
Roll out the dough on parchment paper and create a long rectangle.
Spread the date and cinnamon mixture evenly across the rolled out dough and sprinkle with finely chopped pecan pieces.
Using the parchment paper to help, carefully roll up the dough into a log.
Using a sharp knife cut 1-inch thick rolls.
Preheat oven to 325
Place sliced cinnamon rolls on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
Bake for about 15-18 minutes until begin to lightly brown*
Remove from oven and drizzle with glaze and more finely chopped pecans. (For the gaze, I just whisked a little almond milk with coconut sugar).
Best served warm!
*Our rolls took a little longer to bake, because I refrigerated them over-night and put them into the oven still cold.
**These will not rise and puff up like a traditional cinnamon roll.
Hi, I am Jennifer and I am a Functional Medicine Health Coach that is passionate about helping busy moms simplify their family & athletes’ health through clean eating & meal prep
