paleo cookies

cousin RM came over today and wanted to bake…so we made paleo cookies. i forgot how good these were. actually let me rephrase that: i gave her the recipe and she made the cookies. in my defense i was making dinner! i made paleo spaghetti..we kinda cheated because we added chicken hot dogs. either way it was super delicious!

here’s how we made it:

ingredients:

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey — (we used agave this time)
• 1/2 cup semi-crushed walnuts
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. combine dry ingredients.
3. combine wet ingredients.
4. pour wet ingredients except for the coconut oil into the bowl with dry ingredients using a wire whisk. a fork will work.
5. add the melted coconut oil and continue to combine.
6. fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
7. drop tablespoon balls of cookie dough on a lined baking sheet.
8. bake for 12 minutes.

pumpkin gingerbread cake with coconut-vanilla frosting

i bought a lot of canned pumpkin so i didn’t want it to go to waste. 🙂 i wanted to make something delicious before our olympic lifting class tonight and this was a good choice! the apartment smells like pumpkin gingerbread and the actual cake was amazing!

ingredients for the cake:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

ingredients for the coconut-vanilla frosting:

• 1/3 cup coconut butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• about 12 almonds

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. in a medium sized bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. pour into an 8×8 oven-safe baking dish. bake until completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.
3. place melted coconut butter and coconut oil in a mixing bowl. then add the honey, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. beat until fluffy. let it rest until the consistency thickens. this will happen when it’s cool enough.
4. this is where you need to make a decision:
   1. you can either cut the cake into squares and when the cake is completely cooled, add the frosting and a whole almond on each square like the picture below, OR
   2. you can drizzle the frosting on the cake and decorate the top of the cake with the whole almonds.
5. eat!…you may need a glass of coconut milk with this delicious treat. 🙂

pumpkin cheesecake

we were in charge of cooking for turkey day this year so i was looking for recipes online.  because i have a lot of paleo ingredients at home already, i looked for paleo recipes. of course PaleOMG never fails to amaze me. i made the cheesecake last night and OMG!!!

here is how i made it:

ingredients:

for the crust:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2/3 cup walnuts
• 1 heaping tablespoon coconut cream
• 1 heaping tablespoon raw honey
• pinch of salt

for the filling:

• 1 1/2 cups roasted, unsalted cashews
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the topping:

• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• pinch of salt

directions:

1. first thing’s first…the crust. chop walnuts in the food processor until it’s almost butter. add the rest of the crust ingredients in the fo-po and grind, chop, grind…
2. line an 8 x 8 baking dish with a plastic wrap and fill the dish evenly with the crust.
3. wipe out the fo-po (no need to scrub it) and chop the cashews until it’s clumpy. add the rest of the filling ingredients except for the coconut milk. chop, grind, chop.
4. add the coconut milk one tablespoon at a time.
5. when all the ingredients are mixed together, place on top of the crust and put it in the freezer for about an hour and a half. you want it to be hard. 🙂
6. when it’s almost hardened, add all topping ingredients to the fo-po and you know the drill. you want the consistency to be smooth and silky.
7. smooth on top of the cheesecake…then place it back in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
8. cut and enjoy!!!!!

pumpkin granola

it’s pumpkin season!!! so i like granola and i like pumpkins so when i saw this on PaleOMG and i HAD to try it. of course i made some tweaks to it. hopefully y’all will enjoy it as much as we did! it’s a perfect snack OR you can add coconut or almond milk to eat it like cereal. OM NOM! ….you also get the added bonus of filling your home with a holiday pumpkin scent…until the smelly puppy starts farting.

ingredients:

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup flax seed
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 8-10 dried dates, pits removed, then chopped
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup agave nectar (i’ve read in some places this isn’t paleo but i still think it is. you can use maple syrup or honey instead if you don’t believe in agave.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of salt

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. in a large mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, coconut oil, agave nectar, and vanilla extract) and all spices.
3. add the nuts, seeds, and dates.
4. place parchment paper on a large baking sheet and pour your granola mixture on top. make sure to spread out the mixture evenly so everything will cook evenly.
5. place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, moving the granola around half way through to be sure it doesn’t burn.
6. add the dried cranberries and mix.
7. LET COOL so it will harden up — i HATE waiting so this was the hardest part!
8. eat all by itself or top it off with coconut milk, almond milk, or even dairy milk (if you do that).
9. enjoy the crap out of this pumpkin goodness.

sweet potato brownies

these are a CFLJ favorite. i originally got this recipe from http://paleomg.com/ and made very minor tweaks to it.

ingredients: 

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup amber raw agave
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt

directions:

1. poke holes in your sweet potatoes using a for and bake them any way you wish: microwave for 7 mins or bake them 25-30 mins in a preheated 425 degree oven. i’m impatient so i always use the microwave.
2. preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. once the sweet potatoes are soft and mashable, mash them in a bowl peeling the skin off.
4. add the wet ingredients: eggs (make sure you whisk them first), coconut oil, agave, and vanilla extract.
5. add the dry ingredients: coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and salt.
6. mix well together
7. pour into whatever you want to bake it in: 8×8 baking dish or in muffin cups. i like to make muffin cups because they’re easier to share and bring with me as a snack.
8. bake for 30 – 35 minutes until it passes the toothpick test.
9. let it cool for a bit then devour.