Almond Flour Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have thought about trying to make a GAPS chocolate chip since the very early days, but since chocolate wasn't strictly legal back then, and since I hate to waste a lot of food on experimenting, I never did get around to it. Thankfully, the folks over at Our Nourishing Roots did the job instead. I tried their recipe (linked below), but I used unsweetened chocolate in lieu of the cocoa butter/cocoa mixture. I'm not sure if that is why my chocolate came out sort of chewy, like a stiff caramel, or whether it's because I kept adding honey until the chocolate tasted bittersweet to me. Either way, it turned into a delicious and functional chocolaty substance. I left it to cool overnight at (Pacific Northwest, winter, unheated) room temperature. The next day, I cut it into strips and kept it refrigerated. I really needed to work quickly with this stuff to prevent its melting, but it held together beautifully in the cookies.

Do try the coriander. It is a secret little trick that I used to use with my old white flour recipe.

Did I mention they're delicious? They are only very lightly sweet, but my recently off-the-wagon kids gobbled them up as happily as they had done with premium conventional ice cream merely days before.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups almond flour
1 tsp. ground coriander (optional)
1/4 tsp. baking soda (optional)
2/3 cup GAPS chocolate chunks, cut into small pieces

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut up butter and place it in an oven-proof bowl, and melt butter in oven while it heats. When butter is melted, remove bowl and add honey. Carefully mix in honey. At this point your bowl will probably be cool enough to touch. Blend in egg and vanilla. Add in salt and mix. Add in almond flour and optional coriander and baking soda. Stir well. Dough will be slightly stiff. Add in chocolate chunks and stir through. Place heaping tablespoons of batter onto a cookie sheet and press to flatten* (and round if necessary). Bake for about 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Using a very thin offset spatula, carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Once they are cool enough to touch, eat them and enjoy. They hold up well, at this point. When they are thoroughly cooled, I recommend storing, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator.

*This dough does not spread, so you can place them close together, but you need to make each round as flat as you want the finished cookies to be, keeping in mind that if they're too thick, they won't cook through. I go for about 1/2 an inch high.

Almond Flour Brownies

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Dr. Campbell-McBride had decreed that cocoa powder was OK for us advanced GAPSters. Then imagine my sadness when I discovered that there were zero decent almond flour brownie recipes out there on the internet. Of course I had to fill the void. Some things are worth a little trial and error! I believe I have finally got it right. These babies could definitely give the old gluten-laden variety a run for their money. I made these today, and there is one left (only because I don't think anyone else realizes it!).

These make a dense, moist, chewy, chocolaty brownie.

So here it is in all it's simple glory :)

Ingredients

2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa (I used raw cacao)
1/4 tsp. baking soda (this can be omitted)
1/4 tsp. sea salt (omit if using salted butter)

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix honey, butter, vanilla and eggs until smooth. (If omitting baking soda, beat eggs until foamy before adding in other wet ingredients.) Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt. Stir to blend. Pour into greased 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until center no longer jiggles and top feels cakey.

Cool on a wire rack at least until sides pull away from the edge of the pan before cutting.

Lemon Cardamom Cashews

Not to toot my own horn, but these are unbelievably good!  I can't have many cashews because of the oxalate levels but these are worth suffering for :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
1/3 c honey
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 cups of cashews (preferably soaked and dehydrated)

METHOD:

Dry toast the cashews in an iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat until they are slightyl browned and crunchy.

Add the butter, allow it to melt, then add the other ingredients.  Stir them to combine and cook until the liquid has bubbled for about 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper and allow to cool.

Store in an airtight container preferably in the refrigerator.

Chili almonds

These are sweet and spicy and make a nice gift.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
3 T honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chipotle powder (or cayenne powder)
2 cups almonds (preferably soaked and dried)

METHOD:

If the almonds are not crunchy, dry toast them in an iron skillet (or other heavy-bottomed pan) on medium heat until they reach desired level of crunchiness.

Add the butter to the nuts and allow it to melt, then add the other ingredients and thoroughly stir them together. 

Continue heating and stirring until the liquid bubbles for about 5 minutes, then pour the mixture out onto a cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper and let it cool.

Store in an air-tight container, preferably in the refrigerator.

Hazelnut Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

I just turned 40. I wanted to have a special cake to celebrate. This one was a hit with everyone. There was only one piece left over, and I had to hide it to keep it safe ;)

Ingredients for cake

2 2/3 cups hazelnuts
8 Tbs. honey
8 large eggs, separated
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Method

Lightly toast hazelnuts in a 350 degree (F) oven. This takes about 15 minutes. They will just start to smell fragrant when ready. Allow to cool slightly. Place hazelnuts in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove most of the skin. This does not have to be perfect. Discard skins. Finely grind skinned hazelnuts in a food processor. Use the pulse function to avoid over-processing (you don't want hazelnut butter).

Set oven to 300 degrees (F). Butter two nine inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper as well.

Combine egg yolks, two tablespoons honey, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until thick and smooth, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in ground hazelnuts and set aside. Make sure this mixture stays at room temperature.

In a clean dry bowl, with clean dry beaters, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add 6 tablespoons honey. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and mixture is glossy.

Fold two tablespoons egg white mixture into hazelnut mixture. Continue gently folding in whites a tablespoon and a time.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Smooth tops. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Slide knife around edge of pan and gently pry up parchment paper. Turn out first layer onto platter. Thinly frost with coffee buttercream. Top with second layer, and frost more thickly with additional buttercream.

Ingredients for Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-4 Tbs. honey
1-2 Tbs. strong espresso, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Method for Frosting

Cream butter and lesser amount of honey until light and fluffy. Taste. Add more honey, if desired. With mixer running, slowly beat in lesser amount of espresso. Taste. Add more espresso, if desired. Beat in vanilla. Must be used at room temperature, but may be stored in refrigerator.

Layered Popsicles

I'm always looking for a way to make food that is fun and interesting for my kids.  Sometimes it's about making things in fun shapes, other times it's about presentation, and other times it has to do with color.  Popsicles are fun, but they had lost their novelty for us, so I came up with this version.

You can make as many layers as you want in as many colors as you want.  Layers can be either fruit/veggie juice, like popsicles, or can be ice cream.  You can use coconut ice cream, peach ice cream (which can be made with other fruit such as pear or mango), or kefir cream ice cream. 

I found that layers work best with both a strong flavor as well as an ingredient to give it a bright color.  Here are some ideas for layers:

orange/carrot
lime/kale or other leafy green, or celery
raspberry or strawberry/beet
lemon/golden beet

If you want to sweeten the layers, heat the juice just enough to dissolve some honey in it (to taste).  If you put a layer of vanilla ice cream between two orange layers, it's like a creamsicle.

To make the popsicles, pour a layer of juice into the bottom of each mold and let it freeze.  Once the bottom layer is frozen (or nearly frozen), then pour another layer of juice or spoon a layer of ice cream in.  Continue this process until you have created all of your layers.  Inserting the stick or handle can be a bit tricky since you can't stick it into an already frozen layer.  The molds that I have have a handle with a small stick, so it just got frozen into the last layer.  If you do it this way, you have to be very careful when removing the popsicles from the molds or they can come apart at the layers.  It would work better to put long sticks in that go through each layer, and have some way of holding them up, such as covering the molds with plastic wrap or foil that will hold the sticks in place.

Tomato Melts

This was a quick and oh-so-delicious impromptu lunch the other day and it would lend itself to so many variations!  The first batch (pictured here) were simply slices of tomato with provolone cheese melted on top in the broiler to a nice brown.  We later experimented with "pizza toppings" such as green olives and mushrooms, but this could also be faux-mexican (with taco meat and cilantro) or an open -faced version of many sandwiches, such as ham and swiss or a tuna melt.  There are just so many possibilities!

Amoreena's Peanut Butter Fudge

This simple and absolutely delicious recipe was given to me by my friend Amoreena, and has been a favorite snack for the past week.  It is also a great way to eat coconut oil for those who don't enjoy eating it straight.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c coconut oil
1/2 c peanut butter
honey to taste
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD:

Melt the oil in a saucepan on very low heat. 

Pour the oil and remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour this mixture into an 8 x 8 pyrex dish (or similar glass dish), and place in the freezer.

This fudge is best stored in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Carrot Cake

This cake is good. My non-GAPS friend said, "It tastes just like a store-bought carrot cake!" It tasted even better today than it did yesterday. I would prefer it with walnuts, but I didn't think the birthday boy would have, so I didn't include them. I will for Easter though!

Ingredients

1 cup honey
1 cup butter
12 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 1/8 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda*
5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 a whole nutmeg, grated
3 cups shredded carrots (about 6 medium)

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 13x9x2 inch pan, and line bottom with greased parchment paper or a greased paper towel.

Melt honey and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cool. Lightly beat eggs. Add vanilla and blend. Add coconut flour, sea salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg, and beat until well blended, scraping down sides as necessary. Add shredded carrots, and stir lightly to incorporate.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely and invert onto a tray. Remove paper.

Top with cream cheese icing, if desired.

*Not allowed on GAPS, but is SCD legal.

Coconut Macaroons

This is a simple and tasty way to use up extra egg whites.  These are also essentially the same as "normal" macaroons so make a nice snack for non-GAPS visitors.

INGREDIENTS:

6 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c honey (you can use much less if preferred)
1 1/2 T vanilla extract OR 1 T vanilla extract and 1 tsp almond extract
3 c shredded coconut

METHOD:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add the salt, honey, and extract slowly as you continue to beat until stiff.  Fold in the coconut or add while the mixer is running (if using a mixer).

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-40 minutes, until lightly browned but not scorched.

Let cool slightly before removing from parchment.  Once cool, store in an airtight container.

The Creamiest Ice Cream Ever!

This ice cream is made from kefired heavy cream and is so incredibly luscious and creamy.  The richness out-does Hgen-Daaz but with the tangy flavor of frozen yogurt.  This has become one of our favorite ways to get good fats and probiotics into diet.

To make the ice cream, kefir pure heavy whipping cream for at least 24 hours and strain out the grains (I would use between 2 and 4 pints).  Mix honey and vanilla into the kefired cream to taste, several egg yolks if you want (I add at least 3), and pureed fruit if you want.  Then freeze in an ice cream maker.  This also makes creamy popsicles with the "feel" of a fudge-sicle. 

Jam

This is a very simple way to make GAPS-legal jam.  It is a bit runnier than "normal" jam, but still works well.  You can adjust the level of sweetness to suit your preference.  I made my jam not very sweet at all, figuring that I could always mix honey in later for flavor.  Also, if you make it less sweet, then you can use it in savory sauces and dishes (such as apricot-rosemary turkey breast).

I used apricots, but pretty much any fruit that you would normally make jam from would work.  I simply cut up the fruit into large pieces- probably into quarters or eights- and then put it in a large stock pot.  I covered the fruit with cold filtered water and brought it to a boil, then turned it down to a simmer.  I think I added the honey at this point- I'm not sure it matter exactly when you add it. 

Simmer the fruit for several hours until it thickens and cooks down to a consistency you like (keeping in mind that it is thicker when cool).  Keep a close eye on it while it cooks so it doesn't scorch, and add more water as needed.  Once it has thickened, remove a little and let it cool enough to taste, and add more honey if desired.


Once the jam is done you can either can it or freeze it in small containers or ziploc bags.  I suggest making large batches in the summer when the fruit is in season and less expensive, but many of us on GAPS don't have as much control over when we are ready for certain foods.  You can easily make this in smaller batches during the winter as well.  Even though it may be more expensive, it can still be cost effective compared with purchasing SCD-legal jam online.

This jam is delicious on toast, in sandwiches, on pancakes or french toast, in crepes, or as a filling in desserts.

Baked Seed Crackers and Pizza Crust

I originally came up with this recipe as a pizza crust (which, by the way, I think is the best one so far), but quickly realized that it would also work well as crackers.  As a pizza crust, it's a little on the crispy side (which I like), and as crackers they are a little on the soft side.  If you like your crackers crispier, then simply leave them in the oven longer. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 c ground pumpkin seeds
1 c ground sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1 large or 2 small eggs
1-2 tsp olive oil
optional- crushed garlic, chopped parsley, dried Italian herbs, or any other ingredient for flavor

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ideally the seeds should be soaked in water overnight, then dried in the oven or dehydrator on a low setting.  Once dry, they can be stored in jars so they are ready when you want to cook.

Grind the seeds before measuring out 1 cup each.  I like to grind mine in a coffee grinder that I use only for seeds, nuts, and spices.  Blend all ingredients with an electric mixer in a medium bowl.  The dough will be very stiff.  Vary the amount of olive oil based on how dry the dough seems- if it is wet enough with one tsp, then omit the second one.  If you are adding herbs, garlic, or anything else for flavor, do it now.  For the batch in the photo, I added 2 cloves of garlic and a handfull of chopped parsley (additional flavors are good for both crackers and pizza crust).

Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle it with coarsely ground pumpkin seeds.  Pat the dough into a ball shape and place it in the middle of the cookie sheet.  Beginning in the center and moving outwards, squish the dough flat with your hands.  I suppose you could also cover it with waxed paper and roll it out with a rolling pin.  I try to get it to about 1/4 of an inch.  For pizza crust, you may want to make the edges slightly raised, for crackers, make it flat.

 For pizza- bake for 20 minutes (or longer if it looks very wet).  Remove from oven, top with sauce and toppings, then return to oven for as long as it takes for the toppings to get hot and cheese to melt if you are using cheese.

For crackers-bake 25-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them.  Cut them into squares with a pizza cutter.  If you left them in a long time to get crispy, you should cut them quickly while they are still a little soft.  Top with hummus, yogurt or kefir cheese, or any other topping you like.  If you made them on the softer side, you could cut them with cookie cutters to make them look fancy.

Raw Egg Nog

I've never actually made real egg nogg before and it was much better than I expected.  It's also pretty easy, and very nutritious.  This is something I plan on enjoying throughout the year!

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs (farm fresh if possible)
1 pint coconut milk or kefir or kefired cream
2 T - 1/4 cup honey, depending on taste
grated nutmeg
bourbon (optional)

METHOD:

Separate the eggs and beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  In another bowl, beat the yolks with the honey, just until frothy and well mixed.  I personally feel that egg nog needs very little sweetness to be delicious, so I use only a few T of honey.  If you are using kefir you may want to add more honey.

Gently fold the yolk mixture into the beaten whites.  Then fold in the coconut milk or kefir.  Fold in bourbon to taste if you are using it.  After you pour it into cups, sprinkle the top with nutmeg.

This recipe makes quite a bit and easily serves 4.

Bacon Cheddar Potted Cheese

When I was a kid, one of my favorite flavors of the holidays was those salty cheese spreads that came in the Christmas food packages.  I loved how they were so creamy and salty, and probably loved them partly because of the MSG.  A friend recently posted a recipe online for one of these spreads and when I saw it I knew I had to make it work for GAPS.  I think this is even better without the MSG.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T coconut oil
12 oz raw cheddar cheese
8 oz bacon (I used Organic Prairie brand)
2 shallots
1 T bourbon
1 cup kefir or homemade yogurt (you could probably use coconut milk if you don't have either)

METHOD:

Chop the bacon and cook in the coconut oil until crispy, remove and set aside.

Fry the shallots in 2 T of the fat left from cooking the bacon, until caramelized.

Chop the cheese into small cubes and put into the bowl of a food processor along with the bacon, and pulse until well blended.  Add the kefir, bourbon, and shallots and continue to blend until the mixture is creamy. 

At this point the mixture is a thick spread or dip, that would go well with veggie sticks, apple slices, crackers, or coconut bread or nut butter bread..  You can easily adjust the consistency by adding in more kefir, if you want a thinner dip.  For an extravagant salad dressing, or dressing for vegetables, you could thin this down a lot with oil and vinegar as well as more kefir.

Cinnamon Nut Cookies

This is essentially a recipe that I found online but I don't remember where.  If it looks familiar please let me know who to credit :)  It's simple, my kids love it, and is a great way to use some of those egg whites that I always have left over from other things.

INGREDIENTS:

2 egg whites
2 cups of nut flour or nuts that have been soaked and dried
1/4 cup honey
1 T cinnamon

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the egg whites until frothy.

If using nut flour, fold it into the egg whites.  If using nuts, grind them into flour (I use a coffee grinder for this, or you can use a food processor too), then fold them in.  Fold in the other ingredients.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the batter onto a  cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned.

For variation, you can use different combinations of nut flour and spices as well as flavoring extracts or lemon or orange zest.  

Cracklins

Sorry if this grosses some of you out- it's an old time treat that has become one of my boys' favorite snacks.  It's so simple, and a great way to use more of our food and have less waste.  Between making these and broth with the bones, we pretty much use up the whole chicken these days. 

To make cracklins, simply heat fat or oil for frying in a large skillet and fry the skins on both sides until crispy.  I salt them as they are cooling down.  You can also shake on other seasoning if you like.  These are best eaten when still warm.

Trail Mix

It seems a little silly to post a recipe for trail mix as it's such a simple snack and one that is infinitely variable.  However, I came up with this particular blend that is a little more fancy than just peanuts and raisins and is really a treat.

Mix together:

2 parts nuts
1 part granola
1 part dried fruit (chopped if large fruit)
chopped GAPS "chocolate" coconut candy

When making the coconut candy for this, you can use the leftover bits from cutting it with cookie cutters, or you can roll it out and cut it into squares, than cut it into small pieces.  This is a replacement for chocolate chips so I was going for the equivalent size.  The coconut candy does get soft if not refrigerated so you may want to store this in the fridge.  I kept mine in the cupboard and didn't mind the softer texture.

When I made this, I used granola that had raisins in it, so for the dried fruit I added chopped dried apricots for variety.  I used peanuts but using different nuts and combinations of nuts would give this some variety.  My friend Chris was just saying that hazelnuts and dried cranberries are a great combination.  There are so many ways of varying this recipe, I'm sure you'll find your own favorite way to make it! 

You can make this ahead of time and put some in plastic baggies and you have a convenient "take along" snack food, just as convenient as the old snack bars and junk food that many of us probably used to keep around for convenient snacks on the go.  It is also delicious enough to go into a Christmas stocking as a treat, especially if it were in a small tin.

Lima Bean Hummus

It looks sort of grayish in the picture because I added black olives before I thought about how unappetizing that might make it look in the photo!  Honestly this tastes so good that my husband has wondered why everyone doesn't make hummus with lima beans.  This would work fine with other white beans that we're allowed on GAPS, but as they are higher in oxalates I decided to go with limas.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups soaked and cooked lima beans
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
3 T lemon juice
3 T olive oil (or more depending on how "wet" your beans are and the texture of hummus that you like)

METHOD:

Put all ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend to desired consistency.  Taste and adjust flavors.  You will undoubtedly find your own blend of ingredients that you like best. 

For variation, try adding olives, anchovies, roasted garlic, roasted peppers, dried tomato, or whatever herbs and spices you like.  If you find an especially tasty variation, please post it in the comments for us all to enjoy!

If you serve the hummus with sliced veggies for dipping it makes a nice side dish or even a light meal.

Candied Butter Pecans

This is basically the candied nuts recipe from Breaking The Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall.  I made this for Halloween along with some other candies it was by far my favorite.  It would make a great praline topping for ice cream if crumbled up.`

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound pecan pieces (or other nuts), previously soaked and dried
2 egg whites
1/2 cup honey pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (or more?)

METHOD:

Toast nuts in oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes on a large baking sheet.  Let cool.

Beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.  Slowly add in honey until well mixed in.

Fold in nuts and cinnamon.  Spread mixture on a large shallow pan, such as a jellyroll pan, that has been generously greased with butter or ghee. 

Bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees, turning nuts every 10 minutes.  Bake a little longer if the butter hasn't disappeared.

Let cool in pan, then break into bite-sized pieces.  Store in a covered container.