No Bake Cookies! Perfect for the Busy Mommy.

I love, love, love, LOVE no bake cookies of almost any kind!

When I’m in a rush, they are my go-to dessert.

The best part? You can make them entirely allergy free.

For your kitchen tools, all you will need is a sauce pot, a spoon for stirring, parchment paper, plastic wrap and a cookie sheet.

First, add 1 cup honey, 1/2 cup coconut oil and 8 Tb unsweetened cocoa to your sauce pot.

On the stove, turn the heat to medium high and bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly. Continue to stir as it simmers and thickens for about three minutes.

Next, remove the mixture from the heat and add 1 cup peanut or other nut butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 to 2 cups gluten free old fashioned oats (gf quick oats will work too) and 1 cup shredded unsweetened raw coconut. I ran out of coconut, so we’ll just have to make believe we have some here. Stir well until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet, drop mixture by spoon fulls. Go ahead and make them whatever size you want. No bake versions break all the rules.

Cover with plastic wrap if you’re a complete, nerdy clean freak like me. If not, still cover the cookies. It’s gross if you don’t.

Place the entire sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes or the fridge for at least an hour.

The rest of the instructions are listed below.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some no bake cookies and a cup of green tea calling my name!

No Bake Cookies. Free of most major allergens.

• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or another unrefined oil, extra light is best)
• 8 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut (preferably raw)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups GF old fashioned oats (You’ll know you have too many oats if mixture becomes hard to stir. For this reason, add oats gradually to desired consistency.)

Bring honey, coconut oil, and cocoa to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for three minutes or until thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla, coconut, and oatmeal. Drop by small to medium spoon fulls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until set. If you really want those cookies ‘NOW’, put them in the freezer for fifteen minutes. If you have any left (HIGHLY DOUBTFUL), Store in a ziploc bag or airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Happy No Baking!!!!

Strawberry Milk – Healthy Style

I don’t know about you (well, I probably don’t even KNOW most of you!), but I am trying to avoid sugar at all costs.

I was entirely sweetener free for a year (including honey, agave, stevia, you name it) and it’s amazing what we DON’T need sugar for! For that year, everything was sweetened entirely with fruit, and I learned to like it. A lot!

Since that time, whenever I bake, the sugar is always reduced, and even then, some things are too sweet.

However, over the cold, bitter winter, I let myself slip and began consuming sugar again little by little.

And I don’t like how it makes me feel.

Neither does my family.

But that’s a little personal, so we’ll just keep moving on.

Getting used to ‘no sweeteners’ takes time; but with perseverance, it becomes the preferred way to go.

That being said, I love fruity smoothies, sweetened with only fruit. And I love strawberry milk, sweetened only with ripe, red strawberries!

This is how I do it:

In a blender, place 6 very ripe CHILLED strawberries, MOSTLY hulled (the leaves are actually good for you). Then take a picture. No, I’m just kidding. You don’t really have to take a picture.

Next, add your choice of  COLD milk. (I used Original Unsweetened Silk Almond.)

2 Cups is just the right amount for one serving.

At this point, if you like a little more sweet, add a Tablespoon of honey or agave. But not too much: you don’t want to mask the strawberries.

Blend well on medium high speed or on the ‘smoothie’ setting.

Pour into your glass and enjoy!

You really don’t need sugar, honey or agave to make things taste good! We Westerners were just raised to *think* that we do.

Strawberry Milk

• 6 very ripe, chilled strawberries – mostly hulled
• 2 cups your choice milk
• If desired, 1 Tb honey or agave

Place all ingredients into the blender. Blend well on medium high or on the blender’s ‘smoothie’ setting until combined.

Serve chilled.

Happy Being Sugar Free!

Good Bacteria in a Cup

Forgive me, my two faithful readers, for my long absence.

I’ve been busy with strep throat, basketball games for the kiddos (four thousand and fifty four games, I’m sure of it), and a fun weekend away helping at our church’s College and Career camp.

Suffice it to say, I’ve been a leeeetle busy.

But not so busy that I didn’t discover a new yummy almond milk yogurt (hence the gross title to this post):

 

I have tried other brands of almond milk yogurt, but so far, this one is my favorite.

Made by Almond Dream, it hosts a variety of good bacteria and also leaves out some ingredients that never agree with me, such as chicory root.

For breakfast, I love to combine the yogurt in a bowl with this:

 

Lifestyle Granolas are the perfect compliment to yogurt. While not all of the varieties are gluten free, several of them are. And they are sweetened with only honey (with the exception of some of the added ingredients, such as cranberries, which are sweetened with sugar), making it just right.

This yogurt/granola combination has become my new favorite breakfast.

Along with bacon and coffee, of course.

Fine. My second favorite breakfast.

But yogurt and granola are easier to prepare. And healthier.

 

Happy Getting Friendly Bacteria!

Allergy Free Peach Crisp? Bring It On.

Can’t have oats? No problem.

Can’t have flour? Again… no problem.

Can’t have almonds? Uhhhh….this could be a problem. But you could just switch out one ingredient. Problem solved.

Peaches which are crisped.

Peach Crisp: No Gluten, Oats, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Etcetera

• 8 cups fresh peaches, sliced (I strongly recommend fresh, home frozen or home canned peaches.)
• 1 Tb cornstarch or other thickener, such as tapioca starch
• 2 Tb agave /or/ 3 Tb your choice of granulated sugar
• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar or 1 Tb. raw agave
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 (scant) tsp cinnamon
• 4 Tablespoons Earth Balance

In a large bowl combine the peaches, cornstarch and 2 Tb agave.

Grease a 9×13 glass casserole dish.

Transfer peach mixture to dish.

Rinse out the bowl and once it is dried, combine the almond meal, vanilla, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and Earth Balance. Mix well with a mixer to combine. Don’t be afraid to plunge your hands into the mixture to get it thoroughly blended if the mixer doesn’t do the trick. 

Spread topping evenly over peach mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until topping is golden and the peach mixture is bubbling.

Cool for at least 15 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

And don’t forget the Rich Whip! Or you could use chilled canned coconut milk. Just refrigerate the can, drain off the liquid and whip the solid milk.

 

See? Rich Whip is just like the real deal! Healthy? No! Delicious? YES!

Serve your peach crisp warm with a dollop of your favorite whipped cream replacer. Or just eat the crisp all by itself. It’s that good!

Happy Warm and Yummy Deliciousness!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake. It Makes Winter Bearable. But Your Jeans Unwearable.

Sorry about that title.

But it is the truth. Why not just tell it like it is?

But it’s so good, so decadent, you won’t be able to resist. So just hit the gym a little more often and you’ll still be able to fit into those Levi’s. Or Lawmans. Or Hash Jeans. Wait. I’m dating myself.

Shall we begin?

My oldest daughter requested this delightful treat the weekend after her heart stopping accident (see previous post). Not being able to find one that fit our allergy specifications, I found a recipe in my old Pillsbury cookbook and revamped it to be allergy free and also to contain less sugar.

Excuse me while I take a moment to get down with my bad self. *clap clap clap*

And this is what we came up with:

Allergy Free/Vegan/Low Sugar Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

• 1 1/4 cups gluten free flour
  
• 2/3 cup sugar (I used evaporated cane crystals. You can use coconut sugar, date sugar or even 1/2 cup agave.)
• 2 Tb. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup almond or other milk (I used unsweetened – highly recommended here)
• 2 Tb melted Earth Balance spread
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar (This recipe will work best if you use some form of crystallized sugar rather than agave for this step.)
• 2 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder
• Dash salt
• 1 1/3 cups very hot water (120-130 degrees F)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 Tb cocoa, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend in almond milk, Earth Balance and vanilla. Mix well. 

Spread batter in an ungreased 8″ square baking dish. Your batter will not resemble traditional cake batter at all. It will be more like a dough.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tb cocoa and dash salt. Mix well to combine. Sprinkle evenly over cake batter. Pour hot water evenly over sugar mixture.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until center is set and firm to the touch.

And for the love of Green Acres, serve it warm! With coffee! 

This is extra good with dairy free whipped cream (such as Rich’s or refrigerated canned coconut milk) or vanilla ice cream (such as Coconut Bliss).

Be aware that even though the sugar is reduced in the recipe, it is still quite sweet. So take a small serving to begin with. And then you can, of course, take another small serving after that. I think that’s reasonable.

What your cake should look like when it is done. (Yes, I doubled mine. I have two seventeen year old man children).

Happy Warm and Cozy Dessert Days!

Last Minute Christmas Dinner Preparations

It can happen just like *that*!

“I need one more dish! Aunt Gertie asked me to bring one more covered dish! Aaaaauuuggghhh!!!”

*wrings hands furiously*

Never fear. Here are a few ideas:

Green Bean Casserole: No gluten, dairy, egg or yeast (recipe created by my daughter, Courtney)

• 1 box Imagine Foods Creamy Portobello Mushroom (the ingredients on the internet sometimes say this is made with soy milk. However, the boxes I purchase at my local grocer never have any soy. So if you are allergic to soy, go check it out at the store. I think Imagine may be a little behind the times on their ingredients update)
  
• 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch plus enough water to thin starch
• 1 – 16 oz bag of frozen, french cut green beans, thawed
• 1/4 cup shredded Daiya mozerella
• 4 green onions, chopped finely
• 2 Tbs sunflower (or your favorite) oil
• Dash salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Grease a medium casserole dish. Set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, blend with whisk the soup and starch until smooth. Add Daiya and green beans.

Transfer soup and green bean mixture to casserole dish. Place in oven and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat oil. Add garlic, salt and chopped onion. Saute until onion begins to caramelize. 

Top casserole with green onions after the 15 minutes are up. Then bake for an additional 10 minutes or until casserole is bubbly.

• And if you simply want to bring a dip along with some veggies, never fear!

Simply click on this link to see my recipe for a quick, easy ranch dressing and dip.

• And if you are dying for a cheese and cracker tray, EASY!

Get on down to the natural grocer and buy a package of allergy free lunch meat, such as Hormel Naturals, this Daiya cheese and a box of allergy free crackers, such as Mary’s Gone Crackers. Arrange on a cute little plate and hoard it all to yourself at the family gathering. Unless there are other food challenged people there. Then share, and you’ll be the star of the night.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Snowballs! Minus the Snow.

Snowballs have long been one of my favorite Christmas cookies.

So I made them allergy free.

And now I will share the recipe with you!

Snowball Cookies

First, cream together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 cups (yes, I said 2 cups) Earth Balance and 3 tsp vanilla.

Next, add 2 cups GF flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend well, then add another 2 cups GF flour. Blend.

Your mixture will resemble coarse crumbs. That’s exactly how you want it to look.

Next, add 1/4 cup almond milk (or your choice milk) and blend. Your dough will still resemble coarse crumbs, but you should be able to grab a small handful and press it together, like so.

The next step is to form the snowballs. You won’t be able to roll them between your palms like you would a snickerdoodle: they’ll fall apart that way. Instead, simply take a bit of dough and form them much like you would a, well, snowball! Then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Put them in a 325 degree oven for 17 minutes. Do not over bake.

When the time is up, remove the cookies from the oven and let the sheet sit on a cooling rack for about two minutes. Using a small spatula, place one or two cookies at a time into a bowl of powdered sugar. Roll with the spoon until sugar coats the cookie, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Once cooled, enjoy these little spheres of joy with a cup of coffee or tea!

Snowball Cookies: No gluten, dairy, eggs, soy

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups Earth Balance
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups GF flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup almond or other milk
• Additional powdered sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 325.

First, cream together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 cups (yes, I said 2 cups) Earth Balance and 3 tsp vanilla.

Next, add 2 cups GF flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend well, then add another 2 cups GF flour. Blend. Your mixture will resemble coarse crumbs. That’s exactly how you want it to look. Next, add 1/4 cup almond milk (or your choice milk) and blend. Your dough will still resemble coarse crumbs, but you should be able to grab a small handful and press it together.

The next step is to form the snowballs. You won’t be able to roll them between your palms like you would a snickerdoodle: they’ll fall apart that way. Instead, simply take a bit of dough and form them much like you would a, well, snowball! Then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Put them in a 325 degree oven for 17 minutes. Do not over bake.

When the time is up, remove the cookies from the oven and let the sheet sit on a cooling rack for about two minutes. Using a small spatula, place one or two cookies at a time into a bowl of powdered sugar. Roll with the spoon until sugar coats the cookie, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Then go indulge and impress others with your allergy free baking skills!

Happy Playing in the Snow!

I Love Amy!!!!!

LOOK! Just LOOK at what she has made now!

I haven’t actually tasted it yet, but I almost ran my tongue over the computer monitor.

I am not making this up.

In fact, I’m looking for my car keys so I can go to the local freak food store in search of this tasty treat.

Sure, I can make my own. But it’s too much fun to buy a box of frozen something, like I’m perfectly normal in the area of food toleration like the other folks at the store. Sauntering with my cart, as I casually throw a frozen dinner into my basket, like I haven’t a care in the world what the ingredients say.

It’s like a little secret, held between Amy and me.

I will say that the one drawback to this lasagna is that it does contain tofu. Why they had to add that pesky little critter in there, I’ll never know. But if a small amount of soybean doesn’t bother you, you can be in on the ‘Amy and Me Secret’ too, with our clandestine grocery cart contents.

Thank you, Amy. And thank you Daiya. You have just brought a smile to this cold, blustery, winter’s day.

Happy Instant Gratification!  

Gingerbread. Allergy Free and No One Will Ever Know!

What are the holidays (or even winter, for that matter) without a warm serving of gingerbread?

Not much, in my estimation.

So I created a recipe that is both allergy and taste bud friendly so our winters and holidays won’t be filled with gingerbread-less gloom.

Here is what you’ll need (the sugar forgot to show up for the photo shoot, but he should be on the list):

First, grease a 9×13 pan and set your oven to 350.

Next, cream together 1/2 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup agave) and 1/2 cup Earth Balance.

Next, add 1 chicken or duck egg OR 1 TB ground flaxseed with 3 TB water (or Ener-g egg replacer works nicely as well), 1/2 tsp vanilla and 2/3 cup molasses (do not use dark molasses. That would be bitter.) Blend well.

Now, add 2 1/2 cups GF flour blend, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp ginger and 1 tsp cinnamon. Blend well.

And then your batter will look like this:

But don’t worry, because now you will add the 1 cup of hot water. And please, for the love of your kitchen ceiling, DO NOT BLEND IN THE WATER WITH THE MIXER! Hand stir it in. Please. Or you’ll be up until two in the morning cleaning your ceilings and everything else within a twenty mile radius. Or, you can simply hold a towel or waxed paper over the bowl while mixing on very, very low speed. If you dare.

When you’re done with that step, you’ll have a batter that looks very unappetizing. Ah, but looks can be deceitful!

Spread batter into your greased pan:

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for about 10 to 15 minutes on a wire rack.

Serve on paper plates. Really. I only put this piece on my grandmother’s china for you all.

And top with Rich Whip or coconut milk whipped cream (Refrigerate 1 can coconut milk for an hour. DO NOT SHAKE! Open the top side and scoop out the solid coconut. Add sweetener, if desired, and whip to your favorite consistency.)

And then gloat, because you get to have gingerbread just like everybody else.

Gingerbread: No Dairy, Gluten, Eggs or Other Funky Stuff

• 1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 cup agave
  
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance
• 1 chicken or duck egg OR 1 TB ground flax seed and 3 TB water, mixed together (Ener-g Egg Replacer works nicely as well)
• 2/3 cup light or original (not dark!) molasses
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups GF flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup very hot water

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 pan.

Cream sugar and Earth Balance. Add egg or replacer, molasses and vanilla. Blend well. Next, add gluten free flour, soda, cinnamon and ginger. Blend. Stir in hot water or cover bowl with towel or waxed paper and blend on the lowest possible setting. 

Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for ten to fifteen minutes. Cut into squares and serve with dairy free whipped cream.

Happy Indulging!

Espresso Peppermint Mocha Crinkles

This, my friends, is what Christmas tastes like.

WARNING! Before you make these, you may want to purchase the Insanity or Jillian Michaels workout videos. Because you’re going to eat them all. You won’t be able to stop! They are so devastatingly delicious.

Espresso Peppermint Mocha Cookies

• 2 cups GF flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (yes, you read that right) baker’s cocoa powder (such as Hershey’s)
• 2/3 cup white sugar 
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil (I used extra light olive oil)
• 1.5  Tablespoons espresso powder, ground super fine in a coffee grinder 
• 4  eggs OR the equivelent in egg replacer
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 to 1/2  teaspoon peppermint extract (Amount is depending on how ‘pepperminty’ you like it – the smaller amount will give a hint of peppermint while the full amount will definitely make the peppermint take center stage. Do not double your extract if you double the recipe or it will be too overpowering.)
• ¼ cup powdered sugar (for rolling the cookies)

Combine all of your wet ingredients and blend with a stand or hand mixer. Next, blend together your dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to wet ingredients. Blend until mixed well and ingredients form a dough.

* If using GF flour, you may notice that the mixture is a bit dry. Mine was, so I gradually added small amounts of  unsweetened almond milk until I felt it was the right consistency of cookie dough. Not too dry or wet but tacky to the touch.

Optional: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. I did not do this. I wanted to get at these cookies!

When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Do this step if you can. It’s a great kitchen tool!)

Roll the dough into 1 Tablespoon sized balls. Dip half of the dough ball into the powdered sugar, then place the ball onto the prepared cookie sheet, powdered sugar-side up. Place the dough balls at least 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet. When you have filled a cookie sheet, very lightly and gently press down on each ball, slightly flattening it.

Bake the cookies on the center rack of the oven for 8-9 minutes, until the cookies begin to crack on top, and the visible insides of the cookies appear gooey.  Do not over bake the cookies, as they will become dry and crumbly.  Let cookies cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack. 

And proceed to eat the entire batch. Not really. Yes, really. Really.

Happy Delicious Days!