Grain-Free Chocolate Cake

Merry Christmas Eve! Here is a last-minute chocolate cake for you! It is based my recipe for chocolate cupcakes, so it’s also nut and dairy-free! I made this for my brother’s 16^th birthday yesterday and it was a HUGE hit! The cake is a bit denser than your average cake, but it is perfectly rich and chocolate-y. I frosted it with some lightly sweetened whipped cream and garnished it with berries, but you can frost it with this if you’re dairy-free. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday!

Makes a one-layer 9½” cake.

Ingredients:

½ cup coconut flour

½ cup cacao powder

½ tsp baking soda

8 eggs

½ cup coconut oil

2/3 cup maple syrup or honey

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

For the whipped cream:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs maple syrup or honey

1 small pinch sea salt

Toppings:
Raspberries, chocolate shavings

Directions:

1.     Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and liberally grease a 9½” cake pan (or springform pan).

2.     In a food processor, pulse together the coconut flour, cacao powder, and baking soda.

3.     Pulse in the eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup.

4.     Stir in the chocolate chips.

5.     Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

6.     Let the cake cool fully, before frosting.

7.     Using an electric mixer, whip together all of the whipped cream ingredients until a stiff peak forms.

8.     Frost the cake, and serve!

Paleo Gingerbread Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

A new invention has just been created: gingerbread cookies filled with a luscious lemon cream. They have a crispy, spicy cookie and a creamy, tangy filling; perfect for Christmas! And all holidays, really :). These cookies are insane. Really. And insanely easy to make. Just a few ingredients from your cupboard and… boom! You’ve got yourself some delicious dairy-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free cookies to be inhaled by your family! Below, at the bottom of the page, I have a few tips for you that will make these cookies even better. Enjoy, and happy Hanukkah, and merry Christmas!!!

Makes about 14 cookies. 

Ingredients:

For the lemon curd:

2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

6 Tbs (¼ cup plus 2 Tbs) fresh lemon juice, strained

2 Tbs fresh lemon zest

¼ cup honey

¼ cup coconut oil

For the gingerbread cookie:

2 cups blanched almond flour

1 Tbs coconut flour

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses

Directions:

For the lemon curd:

1.     In top of a double boiler, whisk (using a metal whisk) together all the lemon curd ingredients except for the coconut oil.

2.     Place the double boiler over high heat, and continue to whisk the mixture until it starts to thicken, about 8-10 minutes.

3.     Immediately remove it from the heat and whisk in the coconut oil until smooth and creamy.

4.     Spoon the curd into an airtight glass container and refrigerate while you make the cookies.

  For the gingerbread cookies:

1.     Preheat your oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2.     In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together all the dry ingredients.

3.     Pulse in the wet ingredients and process until it forms a dough.

4.     Form the dough into 1 Tbs–sized balls and place on the baking sheet.

5.     Make a deep thumbprint in the dough balls, and note that they will spread a bit.

6.     Bake for 10 minutes, them let them cool fully. The cooling will make them crispy and cool so the curd doesn’t melt.

7.     Scoop a dollop of curd into each cookie and enjoy!

·      When making the curd, make sure to whisk the mixture the entire time, so the egg whites don’t clump.

·      The cookie dough will stay together if, when you’re forming the balls, you squeeze the dough. That way, the coconut oil can hold it together. Also, make the thumbprint pretty deep, because the cookies spread slightly when baked.

·      The cookies only need to bake for ten minutes. Though they may seem under done when they come out, once they cool, they will crisp up.

·      Scoop the lemon curd into the cookies right before you serve them. Store all the leftover curd in the fridge.

Paleo Christmas Cookie Cut-Outs

The air is becoming cool, crisp; the houses are lit up with Christmas merriment; the trees shine brightly through all the windows; cheery music is in the air. It’s time to bake cookies. Warm, crispy, salty-sweet Christmas cookies that can be devoured by your whole family by the cozy fireplace. That’s December to me, and these cookies really bring that vision to life.

Makes one dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

1½ cups blanched almond flour

2 Tbs coconut flour

1 large pinch sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

¼ cup pure maple syrup

Directions:

1.     Using an electric mixer or a large bowl and a spoon, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.

2.     Stir in the vanilla, coconut oil, and syrup, and mix until thoroughly combined.

3.     Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

4.     With a rolling pin, roll the cookie dough out on a parchment paper-lined surface until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.

5.     Using your favorite, most adorable cookie cutters, cut out your dough, then place the shapes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

6.     Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, then cool the cookies and serve.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Peppermint Patties

It’s December, “The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year”! Yay! Time for my favorite treats ever. I have just returned from an incredible Thanksgiving trip to Mexico with my family and another awesome family, great friends of ours. I took a little break off baking over the vacation, but now I am back, and with lots of scrumptious goodies for all of you to devour this holiday season!

First up for this season is a refreshing and decadent peppermint pattie recipe. These cute little guys are super simple to make, super delicious, and sure to please all party hostesses greatly!

Makes about 16 peppermint patties.

Ingredients:

½ cup coconut manna/butter, melted*

½ coconut oil (not melted)

2 Tbs pure maple syrup

1-2¼ tsp peppermint extract**

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

 

1.     Place the melted coconut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and peppermint extract in a medium mixing bowl and stir until smooth.

2.     Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3.     Form the coconut mixture into balls (about 1" sized) with your hands, then flatten into patties with the palm of your hand.

4.     Place patties on a parchment paper-lined plate, then place in the freezer to harden for 30-60 minutes.

5.     While patties are freezing, melt your chocolate in a double boiler or a small saucepan over low heat.

6.     Place each frozen pattie on a spoon and dunk in the melted chocolate.

7.     Put each chocolate-covered pattie back on the lined plate, and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Remove patties from the freezer at least 5 minutes before eating, and enjoy!

*To melt your coconut manna, place the (tightly closed) jar in a bowl of hot water for 5-15 minutes, then stir and use.

**The amount of peppermint extract needed depends on the quality of the extract; the brand I used wasn’t strong, so I had to use a lot. If  your extract is strong, start with using just ½ a teaspoon, then add more to your liking.