Grain-Free, Gluten-Free Oreos

Yes. Grain-Free, Gluten-Free Oreo sandwich cookies. I get all giddy inside just looking at that picture. As a kid, I loved oreos. I, along with the rest of the world, used to separate each cookie - one plain chocolate wafer and one with cream - and lovingly dunk them into a large glass of milk. I daresay my favorite part was drinking the milk at the end, when all of the chocolate wafer pieces would be in that last sip. Yum. So, you can imagine my excitement when homemade oreo recipes started popping up all over the place. It seems like so many food blogs have their own version of the perfect chocolate sandwich cookie. But, unfortunately for me, none of these recipes were Kristin-approved. After some very fun experimentation, I have come up with this delicious, completely grain-free recipe. 

The chocolate wafers are refined sugar free as well as dairy free. The creme is another story. I will update as I continue to experiment with that. After many batches of these, the hubby and I decided the most delicious and oreo-like cookies were the ones that were not as crunchy. We like the cookies firm, but not too crisp. The creme is the perfect match for the wafer. These taste just like Oreos, but without all the chemicals. A grain-free Oreo cookie. Two years ago, I didn't think this was possible! Now that I have written about how wonderful these are, I think I may have to go make another batch now!

A few tips:

1. Don't skip the freezing step. If you do, it will end in disaster (or just ugly cookies).

2. Watch the cookies very carefully while they are in the oven. Rotating your cookie sheet 180 degrees is very important. Seven minutes for each rotation was perfect in my oven. 

3. Allow your cookies to cool completely. Don't get too excited! It's worth the wait! 

4. I highly recommend using a pastry bag to distribute the creme onto the cookies. I tried spreading it on with a knife, and it was very difficult. The pastry bag was so much easier, and the cookies looked prettier too.

Grain-Free, Gluten-Free Oreos

3/4 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup coconut sugar

1 egg

1. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine grapeseed oil, coconut sugar, and egg, and mix on medium speed until combined.

3. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add in the dry ingredients until all are incorporated.

4. Transfer dough to wax paper, and roll into a log about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter. Flatten the ends, and wrap wax paper around dough and freeze for at least 3 hours.

5. Once dough is frozen, cut dough into very thin slices - 1/8" - 1/4" each, and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. 

6. Heat oven to 375. Bake cookies for 6-8 minutes, then rotate cookie sheet 180 degrees and bake for another 6-8 minutes. The cookies should be firm, but still give just a little. If they give too much, bake them for 1-2 minutes longer.

7. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before adding the creme.

8. While cookies are cooling, make the Oreo filling! (See below)

Creme Filling

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup shortening (I use organic palm shortening)

2 cups powdered sugar (make sure it is organic and corn-free!)

2 tsp vanilla extract (make your own!)

1. Mix together butter and shortening on medium-high speed until fluffy. 

2. Reduce speed to medium-low, and gradually beat in the powdered sugar.

3. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla.

4. Increase speed to high until fluffy.

To assemble the cookies

1. Fill pastry bag with creme. I did not use a tip on my pastry bag; just cut about 1/2" off the bottom. 

2. Turn cookie upside down, and pipe a large dollop of creme onto the cookie.

3. Place another cookie (equal in size) on top of the creme to create sandwiches.

4. Continue with remaining cookies.

4. Eat and love.

Makes 12 cookie sandwiches

Sugar Cookies

Christmas is my favorite time of the year! I love the excitement and anticipation, the brisk, cool air, the Christmas carols playing everywhere, the decorations, and all of the Christmas cheer! I decorate my Christmas Tree on the day after Thanksgiving, with the Mariah Carey Christmas album blaring (who doesn't love singing "All I Want for Christmas is You" at the top of their lungs?). My favorite Christmas album, though, is Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb of God," which tells the story of advent through song. I love the opening phrase of the album:

"Gather 'round, ye children, come

Listen to the old, old story

Of the power of death undone

by an Infant born of Glory.

Son of God, Son of Man"

My family loves celebrating together with sweet treats, singing, laughter, and the joy of the true meaning of Christmas. One of our "sweet treat" traditions are Christmas tree sugar cookies from my Aunt Kathy. I don't know what she does to those cookies, but they are AMAZING. So this year, I decided to make a gluten-free version of these delicious cookies so I won't miss out on all the Christmas tree cookie fun. These gluten-free sugar cookies are dairy free and refined sugar free. They taste great with or without frosting! And the best part is, they taste so close to my Aunt's classic cookie that my cousins might not know the difference!

Sugar Cookies
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder (make your own!)
3/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 egg
1 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (make your own!)

1. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, egg, coconut sugar, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined.
3. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is incorporated.
4. Form the dough into a disc, and wrap in wax paper, and then in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Place dough between two sheets of wax paper. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness, and cut with cookie cutters. (You will not need to flour the dough if you roll between wax paper.)
7. Carefully transfer cut dough to parchment lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for 7 - 9 minutes, being careful not to over bake.
9. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.
10. Cool completely before serving or frosting.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Sugar Cookie Frosting
This frosting is taken from All Recipes. I used Almond Milk and India Tree natural food coloring,  so it is dairy free! I highly recommend using natural food coloring over regular food coloring, which contains harmful chemicals. I also used Spectrum Organic Shortening, which is dairy free and soy free! Instead of soy oil, it is made with palm oil.

4 cups powdered sugar (make sure to buy organic for corn-free)
1/2 cup shortening
5 tablespoons almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring, if desired

Cream shortening, powdered sugar, and shortening until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes.
Stir in vanilla extract. Color the frosting in smaller batches.
Frost cookies with a thin layer of frosting.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Balls

I hope you and your family had a very happy and relaxing Thanksgiving, full of gratitude and blessings!

I first saw these pumpkin truffles on the Whole Foods recipe site. These little pumpkin bites are originally called truffles, but I think they taste more like cake balls. The Whole Foods recipe calls for graham cracker crumbs and gingersnap cookie crumbs, but the idea of pumpkin truffles sounded so good that I knew I would have to make some gluten-free adjustments. My family (even the gluten-eating ones!) loved these gluten-free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Balls, which I brought to our Thanksgiving celebration.

Tips:
-Double check ingredient list on cream cheese - almost all conventional cream cheese brands contain high fructose corn syrup, and even some organic brands have wacky ingredients
-The original recipe calls for orange zest, but I left that out. If you try this recipe with the zest, please leave a comment and let me know how it turns out!
-I used my cookie scoop to form the balls, and they were way too big. I recommend using 1/2 tablespoon of dough per ball, or aiming to make them each 1 inch in diameter.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Balls (based on Whole Foods Market's recipe)
1 10 oz package of white chocolate chunks
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup almond flour
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch ginger
pinch salt
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp coconut oil

1. Melt 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips (either in a double boiler or in the microwave), stirring frequently and being careful to not burn.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the melted chocolate, pumpkin puree, almond flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cream cheese. Stir until thoroughly combined - about 3 minutes. Mixture should be smooth.
3. Cover and chill until firm enough to form into balls, at least 3 hours.
4. Line a tray or glass baking dish with parchment paper. Form balls with the dough 1 inch in diameter (about 1/2 tablespoon of dough), and place on parchment paper. Freeze overnight.
5. After balls have frozen, melt remaining white chocolate chunks (about 2 cups) and coconut oil (either in a double boiler or in the microwave). Working quickly, drop the frozen balls, one at a time, into the melted chocolate, carefully coating entirely in a thin layer of chocolate. Remove any excess chocolate from balls before transferring back to the parchment paper. Repeat with remaining pumpkin balls.
6. Chill for at least one hour, then serve and enjoy!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Strawberry Cupcakes have been haunting me for months now. I’ve made countless batches – tweaking and changing things along the way to come up with the perfect version. My hubby has been kind enough to taste every one of these experiments, some of which didn’t taste like cupcakes at all! All of the experimenting was worth it though, because this Strawberry Cupcake is the amazing result. All of my taste testers (gluten-free and gluten-eating alike!) loved this cupcake.

These cupcakes are dairy free, refined sugar free, and of course gluten and grain free! I love using coconut sugar because it has a low glycemic index and is also full of nutrients. It is very similar in texture to refined white sugar, which makes it easy to use.

The strawberry frosting does contain refined powdered sugar as well as butter, but it completes the cupcake. I’ve been experimenting with vegan frostings as well as natural sweetener frostings, but am still working on it. For now, this strawberry frosting is the perfect addition to its cupcake counterpart. 

A few tips:

-Allow all ingredients to be room temperature before starting (especially eggs, almond flour, and coconut flour).

-Use frozen strawberries instead of fresh strawberries – the strawberry flavor is more concentrated.

-Use organic powdered sugar (sifted) for the frosting – it does not contain corn starch and produces a grain-free and more delicious frosting.

-The lemon zest brings out the flavor of the strawberry. I guess this is not a tip, but an FYI. :)

-Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing them. This is always difficult for me. I want to eat them right away. Trust me, it's better if you wait.

Strawberry Cupcakes

1 (10 oz) bag frozen organic strawberries, thawed

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder (I make my own so that it is corn free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup grapeseed oil

3 eggs, whisked

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with 8 cupcake liners.

2. Place strawberries into a food processor or blender and puree. Reserve 1/2 cup for the cake, and save 2 Tbs for the frosting.

3. Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, beat eggs and grapeseed oil on medium speed until combined.

5. Add coconut sugar and lemon zest to egg/oil mixture on medium speed.

5. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually incorporate the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything is evenly combined.

6. Stir in 1/2 cup of strawberry puree to batter.

7. Pour batter into prepared cupcake liners and bake for 27 - 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

8. Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

makes 8 cupcakes

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (based on this recipe)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted

2 Tbs strawberry puree

1. Beat butter on medium-high speed until fluffy.

2. With the mixer still on medium-high, slowly add the sifted powdered sugar. You may need more or less to get the desired consistency. Beat until well combined.

3. Turn mixer off and stir in strawberry puree.

Makes enough for 8 cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are THE BEST grain-free cookies ever! In my gluten-eating days, I made homemade chocolate chip cookies all the time - probably once a week. They were delicious, but they were making me sick! These gluten-free, corn-free, processed sugar-free chocolate chip cookies taste incredible, and are healthy too. I worked on this recipe for weeks to get it just right, and hope you enjoy it! (And just a warning, the cookie dough is amazing - don't eat too much or you won't have any cookies!)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1½ cups Almond Flour

½ cup Coconut Flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder (I make my own so that it is corn free)

1½ cups Coconut Sugar

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (Make your own!)

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life - they are soy free!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and coconut sugar on medium speed.

4. Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating on medium speed until smooth.

5. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

6. Stir in chocolate chips.

7. Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheet, 2 inches apart, using a cookie scoop. Flatten the cookies with your hand - they will not spread on their own.

8. Bake for 13 - 17 minutes.

9. Cool and serve.

Makes 2½ dozen cookies