Cherry Chip Almond Cookies, Gluten Free

It’s time for summer fruit to take center stage... Cherries!

These little cookies are so tasty, they won’t last a day!  Luckily since they are low in sugar so you can have more than one.

• ·       1 ½ Tbs. grass-fed Ghee (or increase Coconut Oil to 3 ½ Tbs.)

• ·       2 Tbs. Coconut Oil

• ·       1/4 c. Pure Maple Syrup or raw Honey

• ·       1 hi-Omega3 organic Egg

• ·       ¼ tsp. pure Vanilla Extract

• ·       ¼ tsp. pure organic Cherry Extract

• ·       1 c. + 2 Tbs. blanched Almond Flour

• ·       1/3 c. Sorghum or Coconut Flour

• ·       2 Tbs. Flax Seeds, freshly ground (opt.)

• ·       1 tsp. Xanthan Gum

• ·       Pinch of Sea Salt

• ·       ¼ c. organic mini Dark Chocolate Chips, or chopped 80% dark Chocolate Bar

• ·       3 Tbs. fresh organic Cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 325°.

Line baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper.

In bowl of a standing mixer (or use hand mixer) whip the butter, coconut oil, syrup/honey, and egg until frothy. Add extracts.

Continue beating on low and add flours, flax, xanthan gum, and salt. Beat on medium until well mixed. Remove bowl from stand and stir in chocolate chips and cherries.

Dampen your hands slightly and roll dough into 12 – 14 balls and place on cookie sheet 2” apart. Press down with tines of a fork in crisscross pattern to 2/3” thickness.

Bake for 14 – 15 minutes. Allow to cool on wire rack. Cookies are delightfully chewy.

~ Cheers! ♥

The Most Delicious Non-dairy Ice Cream!

Two new yummy words: ASHTA and MASTIC GUM.

Ashta is the creamy foundation of many Lebanese Desserts. It is made with either dry milk, or for a richer flavor half and half. It is used as a filling in shredded phyllo desserts, and in pastry. It is also served as a dessert with nuts, or frozen.

Lebanese Ice Cream

Lebanese ice cream contains mastic gum, which lends it a gelato-like texture. It comes in a myriad of flavors and is served in narrow cones.

Mastic Gum

This is a resin made from the pistacia lentiscus tree. The mastic plant originated in the Mediterranean nations in the south of Europe, northern portions of Africa, and the Middle East. The gum has a variety of uses in cooking, art, and alternative medicine.

For cooking, mastic gum requires boiling in hot water or another liquid, because the hardened resin will not dissolve in cold water. It comes in 'crystals' and can be crushed into a powder to add to puddings.

mastic gum

• 1 pint organic Vanilla Plant-based Ice Cream

• 1/4 c. Orange Blossom water

• 1/4 c. Rose water

• 1 c. finely chopped Pistachios

• 1/2 tsp. crushed Mastic gum

Crush the Mastic gum in a mortar and pestle till it becomes very fine (powdery).

Transfer ice cream to a bowl.  Add the flavored waters, mastic and 3/4 of the pistachios.

Mix well, but quickly so as not to melt the ice cream.

Transfer to a glass baking dish. Sprinkle remaining pistachios on top. Cover with wax paper and freeze for 2 hours or overnight.

You may cut into squares and store in a freezable container. 

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie

oatmeal cran cookie

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie

• 1/2 c. Oat flour

• 1/2 c. Barley Flour

• 1/2 tsp. Psyllium Husk Powder

• 1 tsp. Baking Powder

• 1 Tbs. freshly ground Golden Flax Seeds

• 1/4 c. Virgin Olive Oil

• 1/2 c. Barley Malt Syrup *

• 1 large Pasture-Raised Egg

• 1 tsp. pure Vanilla Extract

• Generous 1/2 c. organic Rolled Oats (not quick-cooking)

• 1/2 c. dried Currants, Cranberries or Blueberries

Preheat oven to 350º F (175C).

oatmeal cran cookie

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, Psyllium and baking powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, syrup, egg, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture, and stir to combine. Mix in oats and currants.

Using 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, roll into balls or drop onto baking sheet lined with parchment (or lightly coated with Coconut Oil), about 1-1/2 inches apart.

Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.

Cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 3 days or refrigerate.

* Barley malt syrup is considered to be one of the healthiest sweeteners in the natural food industry. Made from soaked and sprouted barley, which is dried and cooked down to make a thick syrup, barley malt is a sweetener that’s slowly digested and gentler on blood sugar levels than other sweeteners.

~ Enjoy! ♥

My Favourite Fruit Crisp

Peaches and Blueberries have a Glycemic Index of 30 per average peach and 33 per cup of blueberries, they're well below the 55 threshold.  There isn't quite anything like cooked sweet peaches served hot with cinnamon. 

Blueberry-Peach Crisp

• 6 -7  ripe organic Peaches or Nectarines, sliced                                       

• 1 c. organic Blueberries

• 2-3 Tbs. Arrowroot Starch                     

• 1/2 c. organic Rolled Oats

• 1/3 c. Sorghum flour (or Brown rice flour)             

• 1/2 c. Almond flour

• 1/2 c. Xylitol (3 tsp. Stevia or 1/8 tsp. Monk Fruit powder)

• 1 tsp. organic Cinnamon                                       

• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

• 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder                                          

• 6 Tbs. cold Coconut Oil

• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract                                              

• 1 - 2 Tbs Lemon Juice

• 1/2 c. pecans (opt.)

  Preheat oven to 350º (175º C).

Mix the vanilla and lemon juice into the peaches (use less if the peaches are very juicy) and place in a glass baking dish. Mix in arrowroot starch to thicken a bit and set aside.

Mix together the sugars, oats, flours, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder and blend well with a whisk or fork.

Add the cold coconut oil and work with your hands to until it's crumbly.

Add nuts and mix. Sprinkle this mixture liberally over the peaches. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Let it cool for 15 minutes until the juices firm up. Enjoy warm with a scoop of non-dairy ice cream!

~ Bon Apetit! ♥

Decadent Dairy-Free Mousse - Vegan + Sugar Free

Minted Chocolate Tofu Mousse

I love the combination of mint and chocolate.  If you don't, you can substitute orange zest or Rum extract for the mint.

• 10 oz. (1-1/4 c.) organic Silken Tofu

• 1 c.  Dark Chocolate, in pieces (I used 75% dark)

• 1/4 c. organic raw Cocoa powder

• 1/4 c. Green tea or Water

• 1 Tbs. Almond extract

• 1/2 c. Birch Xylitol or 4-5 packets Stevia

• 1/4 c. fresh organic Mint leaves, chopped  ( or 1 tsp. dry mint)

Place chocolate, cocoa, water, extract and sweetener in pot over medium-low heat (or in a double-boiler over simmering water). Stir until chocolate pieces melt and mixture is blended.

Remove from heat.

In a food processor, whip tofu until smooth.

Add chocolate mixture and process until shiny and well blended. Add mint leaves and pulse 4 - 5 times just until mixed.

Scoop into dessert cups or bowl. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Your mousse will be thick, rich and oh-so-good!  Sprinkle additional chopped mint on top for garnish.

~ Bon Apetit! ♥