Chocolate Chip Cookies (Paleo, Vegan)

Every food blog needs a chocolate chip cookie recipe, right? Well, I thought it was about time to post one. This recipe is incredibly easy to make, and requires only seven ingredients. These cookies taste incredible! They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a perfect balance of salty and sweet; pure egg-free, dairy-free, grain-free goodness!

Need I say more?

Makes about 16 cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour (not packed)

¼ tsp + a pinch sea salt

¼ tsp baking soda

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

¼ cup maple syrup

1 Tbs vanilla extract

¼ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1.     Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2.     In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, salt, and baking soda.

3.     In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.

4.     Mix the wet into the dry until the dough forms, then stir in the chocolate chips.

5.     Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and scoop the dough onto the sheet using a cookie scoop (or a tablespoon, for slightly smaller cookies). Make sure to space the dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the sheet, then flatten them out with the palm of your hand.

6.     Bake on the second-to-upper rack of the oven for 11-15 minutes. Remember that the thicker your cookie, the longer it will need to bake for.

7.     Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for  a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack, then repeat this process with any remaining dough. Serve the cookies, and enjoy!

Three-Layer Paleo Cake: Maple-Almond, Coffee-Chocolate Chip, and Vanilla

Happy birthday to me! And to celebrate, cake!  Not just a maple-almond cake. Not just a coffee- chocolate chip cake. Not just a vanilla cake, but ALL of them combined, and topped off with a luscious chocolate frosting!

Seriously, people! This cake wants to be in your mouth. And you know you want it. Do you want to know the most tempting thing on the face of this earth? A giant slab of this cake just sitting there, on your counter, all. day. long. I speak from experience.

Three layers of paleo cake are just a necessity for any proper birthday celebration. Okay, fine: one or two layer cakes are awesome, but this cake is just special; three layers, each containing a different flavor and texture. This is the best cake I’ve ever (and ever will) have.

I know, I know, this cake seems a bit labor intensive; it is. But I made my cakes over the course of two days, and froze the cakes once they had cooled. Then, I took them out of the freezer about two hours before we were going to eat them, and then frosted them.

Easy as pie! And delicious as cake.

Ingredients:
For the maple-almond layer:

114 grams (about 1 cup) blanched almond flour

7 grams (about 1 Tbs) coconut flour

21 grams (about 3 Tbs) tapioca or arrowroot flour, plus more for dusting

½ tsp baking soda

1 pinch salt

2 large eggs

½ cup maple syrup

2 Tbs almond milk

2 Tbs coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing

1 tsp almond extract

½ tsp vanilla extract

112 grams (about 1 cup) shaved almonds

Directions:

1.     Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease a 9” round spring form pan with some coconut oil. Dust the bottom and sides with some tapioca flour.

2.     In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.

3.     In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.

4.     Stir the wet into the dry, then fold in the almonds.

5.     Let the batter sit for 10 minutes so the coconut flour can absorb the liquid, then give it a gentle stir.

6.     Pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake for 16 minutes.

7.     Let the cake cool fully before handling, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until assembly.

Ingredients:

For the coffee-chocolate chip layer:

96 grams (about 1 cup) blanched almond flour

24 grams (about 3 Tbs) tapioca flour or arrowroot flour, plus more for dusting

8 grams (about 1 Tbs) coconut flour

2 tsp finely ground espresso

1 pinch sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

2 large eggs

1/3 cup honey

2 Tbs coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing

3 Tbs almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1.     Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease a 9” round spring form pan with some coconut oil. Dust the bottom and sides with some tapioca flour.

2.     In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, espresso, baking soda, and salt.

3.     In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.

4.     Stir the wet into the dry, then fold in the chocolate chips.

5.     Let the batter sit for 10 minutes so the coconut flour can absorb the liquid, then give it a gentle stir.

6.   Pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake for 16-18 minutes.

7.     Let the cake cool fully before handling, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until assembly.

Ingredients:

For the vanilla layer: 

88 grams (about ¾ cup) blanched almond flour

31 grams (about ¼ cup) tapioca flour or arrowroot flour, plus more for dusting

14 grams (about 2 Tbs) coconut flour

½ tsp baking soda

1 pinch salt

2 large eggs

1/3 cup honey

2 Tbs coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing

2 Tbs almond milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1.   Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease a 9” round spring form pan with some coconut oil. Dust the bottom and sides with some tapioca flour.

2.   In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.

3.   In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.

4.   Stir the wet into the dry.

5.   Let the batter sit for 10 minutes so the coconut flour can absorb the liquid, then give it a gentle stir.

6.   Pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake for 16-18 minutes.

7.   Let the cake cool fully before handling, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until assembly.

Ingredients:

For the chocolate frosting:

1 cups coconut oil

2 cups chocolate chips

1 Tbs vanilla extract

Directions:

1.     In a double boiler on high heat, melt all of the ingredients until they form a smooth liquid.

2.     Pour the liquid into a large bowl, then place the bowl in the fridge so the mixture can harden.

3.     Let it harden for about 30 minutes, then remove from the fridge.

4.     Using a hand blender, mix the frosting until thick and fluffy. NOTE: If you don’t own a hand blender, an electric mixer works too, but you’ll probably

have to let the mixture defrost a little before mixing.

NOTE: if you want lots of frosting on your cake, and frosting around the whole edge, I recommend doubling the frosting recipe. The single recipe made enough for me, but I didn’t frost the edges.

To Assemble:

1.     Place the maple-almond layer of cake on your cake platter.

2.     Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of it.

3.     Repeat this process with the coffee-chocolate chip layer, then the vanilla layer,

       gently spreading a layer of frosting on each time.

4.     Place a topping on the cake, if wanted. I used this beautiful rose from Chocolate FX.

5.     Enjoy the cake!

 

Raspberry Swirl Marshmallows (All-Natural!)

Valentine’s day is almost here! Time for everything pink! Freeze-dried raspberries are my new favorite things for coloring food, and they add a great tangy-sweet flavor to everything they’re mixed with. To make raspberry powder, I simply grind up the freeze-dried raspberries using my mortar and pestle, then put it through my fine mesh strainer, to remove the seeds.

Since I simply had to use this technique for some treat, and since marshmallows may be the most delicious, fun-to-make things in the entire world, a few days ago, a light bulb went off in my head… BLING! Raspberry Marshmallows. A slightly tart, sweet, and gently fruity tasting marshmallow, with a lovely pink hue. These marshmallows are perfect for Valentine’s Day, or any day!

Though there are a few special pieces of equipment needed for this recipe, it is actually pretty easy to make. You must use a candy thermometer, a fine mesh strainer, a blender, and an electric mixer (a stand mixer works the best). However, once you have all the equipment, and some gelatin on hand, these can be made in no time at all. In fact, the only time-consuming part about these is the long amount of waiting time, while the marshmallows set.

This raspberry marshmallow recipe has only a few more steps than my honey marshmallow recipe, but the extra few prep minutes are very much worth it!

And now, for my haiku, Ode To Marshmallow:

O, my marshmallow;

So soft, so gently sweet

A pillow of yum…

Ingredients:

2 Tbs arrowroot or tapioca starch, for dusting

1 Tbs coconut oil, for greasing

3 Tbs unflavored beef gelatin (this kind is grass-fed)

¾ cup filtered water (split into a ½ cup and a ¼ cup)

¾ cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

1 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 pinch sea salt

½ cup freeze-dried raspberries, ground to a powder and seeds sifted out

Directions:

1.     Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper and grease it with the coconut oil. Sprinkle on the arrowroot starch to coat the pan.

2.     In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the gelatin over the ½ cup water and let it sit, so the gelatin can “bloom”.

3.     Place the frozen (or fresh) raspberries and the ¼ cup water in a blender and blend until smooth.

4.     Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the seeds out of the raspberry juice, and pour the now-seedless juice into a medium-sized pot.

5.     Put the honey, vanilla and salt in the pot with the raspberry juice and turn the heat to medium-high.

6.     Place a candy thermometer in the pot and remove the mixture from heat when the thermometer reads 240 degrees F. Do not let the mixture go over 240°!!

7.     Turn the stand mixer on low,  and very slowly, pour the hot raspberry mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer, in with the softened gelatin.

8.     Gradually (the mixture is very hot), increase the mixer speed to medium, then high. Let it whip for 10-12 more minutes, or until the marshmallow fluff is cooler to the touch, lighter in color, and has tripled in size.

9.     Scoop the fluff into the prepared baking sheet, and immediately pour the raspberry powder on top. Using a rubber spatula, swirl/spread it in circles on top of the marshmallow fluff. Smooth out the surface, then sprinkle the arrowroot on top. Gently pat the surface down.

10. Let the marshmallow set for 4-12 hours, then slice into squares or cut using fun cookie cutters. Store the marshmallows in a sealed bag or container at room temperature, or freeze for later use.