You will notice that this recipe uses a number of different gluten-free flours. I usually like to keep things simple and stick to one or two for my recipes, however, I found that this particular combination works wonders for shortbread cookies. My boys find that the quinoa flour is slightly bitter for their tastes, which is interesting because they normally eat a lot of bitter greens. Quinoa flour is very light and fine, and lends a very good texture to these cookies, which is why I use it. You can replace it with brown rice flour if you are concerned about the aftertaste, though I don't notice it at all.
This shortbread cookie recipe would also be great to bake during Christmastime using holiday-themed cookie cutters. Or Valentine's day....or Easter! Have fun with this recipe! I hope you like it at as much as we do. :)
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Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies (egg-free, refined sugar-free)
By Unknown
It's not easy coming up with a whole food-based frosting that is as nutritious as it is tasty, but way back in 2010 I came up a sweet potato icing recipe based off of the ingredients I was using in the liquids for this Buckwheat Cinnamon Roll Recipe. I've made a number of different variations on this theme and included some in my cookbooks. I have even made this into a chocolate sweet potato frosting! Below you will find a delicious dairy-free sweet potato buttercream that you can use to frost your cakes or cookies.
Use this frosting to make sandwich cookies using my Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookie Recipe, or use it to frost your favorite cupcakes. Using orange-fleshed sweet potatoes will create a beautiful orange frosting (perfect for fall holidays), while using white-fleshed sweet potatoes will create a gorgeous white frosting (to replace those sugary vanilla frostings).
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Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Buttercream Frosting (refined sugar-free, vegan)
By Unknown
Today I have a special recipe to share with you. This grain-free tigernut cookie recipe comes from a new book called The Autoimmune Fix, which I actually developed all of the recipes for! Dr. Tom O’Bryan wrote an incredible book on the current epidemic of autoimmune diseases. As a skilled functional medicine practitioner, he discusses the root causes of autoimmune disease, and in essence, all diseases. Dr. O’Bryan has spent the last few decades lecturing around the globe on how gluten contributes to disease, but now expands on that topic in his new book with the culprits and causes of autoimmunity: Genetics, exposure, and intestinal permeability.
You may be thinking, I'm fine and healthy. I don't have an autoimmune disease, though you may know someone with lupus, eczema, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, psoriasis, or celiac disease. But, did you know that you can have autoantibodies, or "messengers from the future" as Dr. Tom likes to call them, slowly degenerating part of your body without you even knowing it? And that this can go on for years and years with no symptoms or with only mild signs of autoimmunity, such as joint pain, weight gain, brain fog, gut imbalances, depression, mood disorders, and fatigue? Tom's book is essential for everyone to read because he explains, in his eloquent story-telling style, how this process happens and what you can do now to test for autoimmunity before the full-blown cascade of decline manifests in your body.
It is estimated that there are 70 to 80 million people with autoimmunity right now in the United States. That's about 22% to 25% of our population. But only about 24 million of these people have been diagnosed. That's a whole lot of people walking around not feeling well and not knowing why! I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Autoimmune Fix to better understand, prevent, and treat both hidden autoimmunity and full-fledged autoimmune disease.
Here is my recipe for spiced tigernut cookies, which can also be found in The Autoimmune Fix on page 276. Tigernuts are actually small tubers that are ground into a delicious flour, which is perfect for baking. Tigernut flour is high in prebiotic fibers that feed beneficial microbes in the gut. It's one thing to take a probiotic or eat fermented foods, and another to actually feed them everyday with fibers that we can't digest....but they can! Good bacteria in the gut will grow into healthy colonies with the right foods. These gut bacteria enjoy the fibers and resistant starches from tubers, root vegetables, legumes, plantains, and other plant foods, and then release, through their own digestion, short chain fatty acids (which then nourish the cells lining the gut), B vitamins, the amino acid tryptophan, and digestive enzymes to break down other parts of your meal! Beneficial gut microbes regulate immune cell function to help your immune system stay calm and not overreact (such as in autoimmunity). So each and everyday, remember you are not only nourishing your body with good foods, but also your microbial colonies that live in your gut. What have you eaten today to nourish your microbes? :)
Read more »Spiced Tigernut Cookies (gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free)
By Unknown
In need of a healthy treat for road trips this summer? These date-sweetened, flourless almond butter cookies pack well and are adored by children...a treat you can feel good about giving!
I have not tried this recipe using other nut or seed butters yet. It's possible the recipe might work using roasted cashew butter or roasted sunflower seed butter. I've also only made these with eggs but since the recipe uses just one egg you might be able to replace it with a "chia egg" (1 tablespoon finely ground chia seeds whisked with 3 tablespoons of warm water).
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Cinnamon-Date Almond Butter Cookies (grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free)
By Unknown
This healthy little cookie recipe came to me in a flash the other day....all written out in my mind. I knew I had to get busy in the kitchen and make them. They turned out great the first time! Living in the Pacific Northwest we have an ample supply of hazelnuts so I like to use every opportunity I get to incorporate them into my recipes. If you don't have hazelnuts on hand try using raw organic almonds instead.
I use pastured eggs in all of my cooking. These types of eggs are one step up from organic and usually have a much darker, orangish-colored yolk. Pastured means that the hens had ample space outdoors to roam and peck around for bugs, ate organic vegetable scraps and a minimal amount organic grains. You can find pastured eggs at your local health food store, farmer's market, or even your neighbor! Just make sure that any grain that is fed to the hens is organic and GMO-free!
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Chocolate-Hazelnut-Goji Berry Cookies (grain-free, gluten-free)
By Unknown
Try making these healthy, vegan, gluten-free cookies on a rainy afternoon with your children. They will surely brighten your day! Recipes made with freshly ground buckwheat flour (from raw groats) do not require the addition of xanthan gum in order to hold together without crumbling. Buckwheat is a grain that is quite often cross contaminated with gluten grains so be sure to purchase your groats from a certified gluten-free mill, such as Bob's Red Mill.
I use the dry container of my Vitamix to make homemade buckwheat flour. It quickly grinds up into a soft, non-gritty flour. You can use a coffee grinder too if you don't own a high-powered blender. Store the flour in a glass jar in your pantry for up to 3 months, or freeze it for longer storage.
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Buckwheat Pecan Thumbprint Cookies (vegan + gluten-free)
By Unknown
Or shall I call them Gingerbread Hazelnut Cookies since they are made primarily with hazelnut flour? Our children have so much fun cutting out and decorating these lovely gluten-free Christmas cookies! Just look at that photo, what is not to love? I am sharing this recipe as part of a wonderful blogging event called Home for the Holidays....Gluten-Free Style hosted by Shirley from gluten-free easily! Twenty-four bloggers were asked to create and share recipes that meant both home and holidays to them. In addition to the recipes, we’ll also be hosting giveaways of the resources you value the most....cookbooks, resource books, apps, and the grand prize, a Vita-Mix!
You can view yesterday's post from Heidi at Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom. She shared her Gluten-Free Fritter recipe. Tomorrow Sunny from And Love it Too will be sharing a holiday recipe. So be sure to go check their sites as well.For me, Home for the Holidays takes me back to baking gingerbread and sugar cookies with my mother. My brothers and I would decorate dozens of cookies with beautiful colored sprinkles and bright white icing. I wanted to share that experience with my own children, only with a healthier, gluten-free version, and thus this recipe was born (actually the recipe came to me in a flash one night). It uses coconut sugar as the main sweetener, along with a powdered coconut sugar icing. Although coconut sugar is definitely a low-glycemic sweetener, it is still sugar, and these cookies are to be considered a sweet treat.
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Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookie Recipe
By Unknown
These cookies certainly don't have that toothsome sugary bite even though they use naturally sweet ingredients and a little stevia to help boost the sweetness. My children are not accustomed to really sugary treats so they love these cookies and will devour the whole batch in one day if I let them. If you are accustomed to treats being a little on the sweeter side you may consider replacing 2 tablespoons of the applesauce with 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup or honey.
These flakey, flavorful cut-out cookies can be used for just about any holiday. Here we have used Easter cookie cutters and colored the icing with natural food colorings. In the past to color the icing I have used turmeric powder to create yellow, beet juice for pink, and spirulina powder for green. This time I thought we would try something new. I used Seelect plant-based food coloring in these photos. Once the cookies are baked and frosted they are best frozen until ready to serve. This keeps them crispy and flakey and the icing set in place. They will thaw out in a matter of minutes. This is also nice if you don't have a large family and would like to store your cookies for a longer period of time.
Note: I have only tested this recipe twice. First with 1 cup each of the almond meal and shredded coconut and the second time with 1 1/4 cups each. Both ways worked, however using 1 1/4 cup of each resulted in a little more fragile cookie but with great flavor and texture. You can decide how much to add. If you get a chance to leave me some feedback in a comment that would be very helpful, thanks!
Dry Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/4 cups almond meal (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 to 1 1/4 cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients:
6 tablespoons virgin coconut oil (I use Nutiva)
4 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring
30 to 35 drops liquid stevia
Place the dry ingredients into a food processor fitted with the "s" blade. Pulse the ingredients until combined and ground fine, about 60 to 90 seconds.
Add the wet ingredients and process until a dough ball forms. It will be soft but you should be able to form it into a ball. Place the dough into a bowl sprinkled with a little arrowroot powder. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then remove from refrigerator and roll out in between 2 pieces of wax paper or parchment paper to about 1/8 inch of thickness. Cut out with your favorite cookie cutters (they should all be fairly equal in size).
Bake for 10 minutes and watch carefully as timing and temperature may need to be adjusted. If they cook fast and brown then turn oven temp down to just over 325 degrees. Cool on a wire rack.
Icing:
1/2 cup raw cashews
6 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons coconut nectar, honey, or agave nectar
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon flavoring
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Place all ingredients for the icing into a high-powered blender and blend until ultra smooth, stopping the machine if necessary to scrape down the sides. Spoon icing into individual small bowls and add a tiny amount of natural food coloring if desired. We used chopsticks to ice each cookie, then sprinkled them with shredded coconut or natural sprinkles. Freeze the cookies for at least 20 minutes to set the icing. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com
More Easter Dessert Recipes:
Oatmeal Cut-Out Cookies
Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clusters (stevia sweetened)
Raw Chocolate Pie
Mango Coconut Pudding
Stevia Sweetened Sugar Cookies (sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, vegan)
By Unknown
This past evening we celebrated Martinmas, the day of St. Martin, with a lantern walk. My daughter's kindergarten class all made their own lanterns using watercolor paper and tissue paper. With their candles burning bright, we headed out into the cold, starry night to walk the wooded trails, singing our lantern songs. This time reminds us to bring light into the world at a time of year when the Earth is beginning to turn inward. We carry this light with us as we journey deeper into the colder, darker winter months.
Typically, the end of the lantern walk is celebrated with hot cider and sugar cookies cut into the shapes of stars and moons. Our kindergarten classes opted out of this part of the festivities this year but my other daughter's 3rd grade class will be needing a gluten-free, egg-free recipe to accommodate everyone in her class. So I created this recipe for the next lantern walk coming up in a few days.
This is another xanthan gum-free recipe. It is also egg-free and can be made dairy-free as well. I used organic butter in my test batches. To make this dairy-free and vegan, I would consider using Earth Balance buttery sticks in place of the butter. Another thing to note: you can use either organic cane sugar or coconut sugar in this recipe. If you use coconut sugar, or even Sucanat, be sure to give it a whirl in your dry Vita-Mix container, food processor, or coffee grinder to create a finer, more workable texture for cookies.
Gluten-Free Almond Spice Cookies
These cookies are speckled with currants and a hint of spice....a perfect pairing to a mug of hot apple cider on a cold starry night. I have kept the sugar to a minimum but you can add up to 1/4 cup more per batch if you feel like having a sweeter cookie is important. I grind my raw almonds in the dry container of my Vita-Mix, though a coffee grinder would work too, but you would need to grind them in batches. Make sure to grind them as finely as you can without turning them all into nut butter!
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups finely ground raw almonds
3/4 cup superfine sorghum flour
3/4 cup superfine sweet rice flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
3/4 cup softened organic butter or Earth Balance
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
1/4 cup currants
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk together well. You may need to use your hands to sift though and crumble any ground almond clumps. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add the chia seeds and hot water. Immediately whisk together well. Then add applesauce, sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and almond flavoring. Beat together using an electric mixer. Add dry ingredients to wet and beat again or use a large spoon to combine ingredients. Fold in currants.
Place dough onto a long piece of wax paper. Gently form it into a 11 to 12-inch log (the dough will be soft) and roll the wax paper around it to help form the shape. Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or in the freezer for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove log from your fridge or freezer and place onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/2-inch rounds. Place cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. You can bake half of the batch and keep the other half of the log frozen until ready to bake....how convenient! Source: www.NourishingMeals.com
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:
Peanut Butter Cookies
Oatmeal Heart Cookies
Flourless Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk together well. You may need to use your hands to sift though and crumble any ground almond clumps. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add the chia seeds and hot water. Immediately whisk together well. Then add applesauce, sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and almond flavoring. Beat together using an electric mixer. Add dry ingredients to wet and beat again or use a large spoon to combine ingredients. Fold in currants.
Place dough onto a long piece of wax paper. Gently form it into a 11 to 12-inch log (the dough will be soft) and roll the wax paper around it to help form the shape. Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or in the freezer for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove log from your fridge or freezer and place onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/2-inch rounds. Place cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. You can bake half of the batch and keep the other half of the log frozen until ready to bake....how convenient! Source: www.NourishingMeals.com
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:
Peanut Butter Cookies
Oatmeal Heart Cookies
Flourless Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Subscribe to this Blog via Email
Gluten-Free Almond Spice Cookies for Martinmas!
By Unknown
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