If you're like me, you love coconut in pretty much anything. From coconut milk in Indian dishes to southern coconut cake, I am coo coo for coconut! A craving hit me quite suddenly tonight, so I was motivated to make coconut cookies. Gluten free baking can be a challenge, and I am still learning the different personalities of the various flours out there, but I think these treats are pretty tasty.
Soft Coconut Cookies (makes: about 27 cookies)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder (optional, but it does make the cookies fabulously tender)
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1/3-1/2 cup xylitol (or regular sugar), see notes below
pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 and line a cookie sheet with parchment.
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add vanilla.
2. Combine flour, coconut, baking soda, powder and salt in medium bowl.
3. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir (by hand) until well combined.
4. Using a teaspoon or small scooper, place the dough balls onto the cookie sheet in a 3x4 grid.
5. flatten balls slightly with the heel of your hand or a spoon.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
NOTES: If you use sweetened coconut, I would suggest using 1/3 cup of sugar to limit the sugar exposure. If you use unsweetened or want sweeter cookies, use the 1/2 cup. This is one case where I wouldn't use a liquid sweetener. If you do, please leave a comment and let me know how it goes.
If you want somewhat chewier cookies, leave out the baking powder.
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Sweet Treats
Going G2F doesn't mean saying goodbye to sweets, even baked goodies. I have a fairly serious sweet tooth, and while I am seriously restricting my sugar exposure, I know that the key to any sucessful life change involves incorporating habits you can actually keep. Swearing off sugar completely, isn't reasonable for me at this point. I can get rid of artificial sweetners, and I was never one for diet beverages, so refined sugar is the area I really have to work at. The first step was tossing out the white stuff. That was easy enough to do, but the question was, how do I make my baked goods sweet? I am a big fan of honey, and it can serve it's purposes, but it is not the most frugal choice. Besides, it does a lovely job of hiking up your blood sugar quickly. I have settled upon Xylitol and Agave nectar. Not too thrilled about Xylitol because the name sounds odd and some how artificial, so I am being careful with it. Also, it causes a bit of a cooling sensation on the tongue, which isn't always desirable. At any rate, Below are two great recipes.
Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Normally people only associate this treat with Valentine's Day or Mother's day, but neither of those holidays actually falls during strawberry season. The strawberries are never as sweet, so they kind of need all of the confectionary coatings people subject them to in order to taste good. Chocolate covered strawberries should be a summer treat, when the berries themselves can actually provide all the necessary sweetness. Instead of white chocolate and milk chocolate, which are the two most commonly used coatings, I am going with dark chocolate. Use the darkest possible chocolate to control the amount of sugar. If you're doing this when strawberries are in season, they should be sweet enough to comfortably allow you to use 70% or more cacao content without it being too bitter. Flax seeds add a nutritional punch. If you love your honey, you want them healthy!
Strawberries (make sure they are ripe and in season! organic if possilbe!)
Dark dark chocolate chips
Olive Oil
Flax Seeds (whole or ground)
1.) Place the chocolate in a microwavable bowl, add 1 T oil per 1/2 cup of chocolate.
2.) Microwave for a minute. Stir. Microwave at 15 second intervals until all chocolate is melted and shiny.
3.) Wash the strawberries and dry them extremely well. Absolutely no water can be on the berries! Place a wax paper on a plate or cookie sheet.
4.) Roll the strawberries in the chocolate, coating well. If they have been properly dried, the chocolate will stick.
5.) lay the strawberries in rows on the wax paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the flax seeds.
6.) Put the coated strawberries in the refridgerator and allow the chocolate to set. Enjoy!
Pairs well with a nice dark roast coffee, espresso or a lovely robust, red wine.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 cups almond meal
1/4 coconut flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup Xylitol
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/3 cup melted butter
2 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1.5 cups dark chocolate chips (the darkest you can find)
Preheat oven to 350 and line a pan with parchment paper.
1.) Whisk together almond meal, coconut flour, xylitol, flax seeds and baking soda in large bowl.
2.) In medium bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour into the flour mixture.
3.) Add chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
4.) drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Flatten slightly.
5.) Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Since each oven is different, I would check the cookies at 7 or 8 minutes.
6.) Cool on wire wrack. Cookies should be soft and slightly chewy. They will look a bit darker than their wheaty counterparts.
Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Normally people only associate this treat with Valentine's Day or Mother's day, but neither of those holidays actually falls during strawberry season. The strawberries are never as sweet, so they kind of need all of the confectionary coatings people subject them to in order to taste good. Chocolate covered strawberries should be a summer treat, when the berries themselves can actually provide all the necessary sweetness. Instead of white chocolate and milk chocolate, which are the two most commonly used coatings, I am going with dark chocolate. Use the darkest possible chocolate to control the amount of sugar. If you're doing this when strawberries are in season, they should be sweet enough to comfortably allow you to use 70% or more cacao content without it being too bitter. Flax seeds add a nutritional punch. If you love your honey, you want them healthy!
Strawberries (make sure they are ripe and in season! organic if possilbe!)
Dark dark chocolate chips
Olive Oil
Flax Seeds (whole or ground)
1.) Place the chocolate in a microwavable bowl, add 1 T oil per 1/2 cup of chocolate.
2.) Microwave for a minute. Stir. Microwave at 15 second intervals until all chocolate is melted and shiny.
3.) Wash the strawberries and dry them extremely well. Absolutely no water can be on the berries! Place a wax paper on a plate or cookie sheet.
4.) Roll the strawberries in the chocolate, coating well. If they have been properly dried, the chocolate will stick.
5.) lay the strawberries in rows on the wax paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the flax seeds.
6.) Put the coated strawberries in the refridgerator and allow the chocolate to set. Enjoy!
Pairs well with a nice dark roast coffee, espresso or a lovely robust, red wine.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 cups almond meal
1/4 coconut flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup Xylitol
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/3 cup melted butter
2 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1.5 cups dark chocolate chips (the darkest you can find)
Preheat oven to 350 and line a pan with parchment paper.
1.) Whisk together almond meal, coconut flour, xylitol, flax seeds and baking soda in large bowl.
2.) In medium bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour into the flour mixture.
3.) Add chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
4.) drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Flatten slightly.
5.) Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Since each oven is different, I would check the cookies at 7 or 8 minutes.
6.) Cool on wire wrack. Cookies should be soft and slightly chewy. They will look a bit darker than their wheaty counterparts.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
I'd rather eat cake
Somehow, I've managed to land a job as a baker. Of all things, a baker! It's not a bad job, and can lend itself to creativity. My sweet tooth is quickly decaying. I've never been a fan of cookies, I just don't see the point in their existence. How...HOW can a cookie be more or just as satisfying as a slice of pie or cake? I dare not even put them in the same sentence as cupcakes! Cookie recipes are fairly easy to manipulate, so it's a great way to combine lots of random flavors with little effort, but that's about all cookies have going for them...unless they're covered in frosting. Frosting makes everything better.
Anywho, I got to work on a huge order this week and made 350 cookies. In the pictures are the following types of cookies:
Walnut-chocolate chip
White chocolate orange
Cranberry orange w/orange glaze
Soft molasses
Peanut butter
Oatmeal raisin
Cowboy
Enjoy...I ate about a bite out of one of the white chocolate-orange cookies that fell apart. Eh...still a cake woman.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Give me some of that sweet potato love
I love, love, LOVE baked/roasted sweet potatoes! They have got to be one of the healthiest, tastiest, simplest foods around. Seriously, all you have to do to enjoy the yummy-goodness of the orange tuber, is wash the outside well with warm water. If needed, scrub the skin and remove any growths. You may also need to trim off the ends. I'm a big fan of naked roasting or baking...naked referring to the potato...not the cook (if that's your thing, though, we won't judge you). Covering a potato with foil before roasting, really isn't necessary. For a white potato, you can just stick it in the oven, but since sweet potatoes tend to ooze a sugary syrup while baking, you should at least put it on a cookie sheet or pie tin. If you're roasting your potato, add a nice drizzle of olive oil (virgin or dirty girl, doesn't matter). Crank the oven up to 400, and let it hang out for 15-20 mins, though I'd keep checking on it since the temp is so high.
I know people love to accessorize their sweet potatoes...marshmallows, pecans, brown sugar, etc., but sweet potatoes, like women, are beautiful all by themselves...no need to adorn them with anything. Seriously, you need to try eating a sweet potato plain. The flesh is creamy and rich, the skin (yes, I eat the skin) is practically sweet enough to be candy! Did I mention how healthy sweet potatoes are? They're packed with fiber, beta-carotene, Vitamins A & C, and Potassium. All that, in one tasty, low-fat package. What could be better?!
One last thing...sweet potatoes are fairly easy on the pocket, and once baked, can be stored in the freezer for about 3 months. So my challenge to you is to go out, and show sweet potatoes the love and respect they so richly deserve!
Love, peace and bacon grease, y'all!
I know people love to accessorize their sweet potatoes...marshmallows, pecans, brown sugar, etc., but sweet potatoes, like women, are beautiful all by themselves...no need to adorn them with anything. Seriously, you need to try eating a sweet potato plain. The flesh is creamy and rich, the skin (yes, I eat the skin) is practically sweet enough to be candy! Did I mention how healthy sweet potatoes are? They're packed with fiber, beta-carotene, Vitamins A & C, and Potassium. All that, in one tasty, low-fat package. What could be better?!
One last thing...sweet potatoes are fairly easy on the pocket, and once baked, can be stored in the freezer for about 3 months. So my challenge to you is to go out, and show sweet potatoes the love and respect they so richly deserve!
Love, peace and bacon grease, y'all!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Sweet child of mine
I'm experimenting with different ways to sweeten things. I've grown weary of the unhealthy, mundane habit of adding white, processed sugar to everything. Thanks to a trip to Homestead Heritage back in December, I've been introduced to sucanat. This unrefined cane sugar. Its brown, grainy and has a completely different taste than it's processed white cousin. It's not quite as sweet, and has a noticeable molasses flavor. It brings a nice depth to whatever dish you're trying to sweeten without being overpowering. BE WARNED: sucanat will add color as well as flavor, so if you're trying to make a white cake or anything of the sort...use a white sweetener.
That brings me to the other sweetener that has been gracing my spice cabinet as of late...fructose. This is the sugar found in honey and fruits..."fruit sugar" as it is sometimes called. Medicinally, it is also used as an intravenous nutrient. It is far sweeter than cane sugar, so if you're going to use this in a recipe it's 2/3 cup of fructose for every 1 cup of white, granulated sugar. It has worked beautifully in all of the baked goods I've made.
Dry sweetening has it's advantages, but I've discovered the joys of using simple syrup. You make simple syrup by boiling 1 cup water with 1 1/2 cup sugar (less for fructose, obviously) until it gets slightly thick. You use this mainly to add to drinks or dry things that need moisture as well as sweetening. Certain cake recipes call for adding simple syrup to each layer for extra flavoring. Adding spices or zests can make a nice flavored syrup for sweet tea. I made vanilla flavored simple syrup using sucanat and fructose for some hot chocolate and it was to die for!
Anyway, I hope I've inspired you to go beyond the norm, and look into healthier, more natural ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Happy eating
That brings me to the other sweetener that has been gracing my spice cabinet as of late...fructose. This is the sugar found in honey and fruits..."fruit sugar" as it is sometimes called. Medicinally, it is also used as an intravenous nutrient. It is far sweeter than cane sugar, so if you're going to use this in a recipe it's 2/3 cup of fructose for every 1 cup of white, granulated sugar. It has worked beautifully in all of the baked goods I've made.
Dry sweetening has it's advantages, but I've discovered the joys of using simple syrup. You make simple syrup by boiling 1 cup water with 1 1/2 cup sugar (less for fructose, obviously) until it gets slightly thick. You use this mainly to add to drinks or dry things that need moisture as well as sweetening. Certain cake recipes call for adding simple syrup to each layer for extra flavoring. Adding spices or zests can make a nice flavored syrup for sweet tea. I made vanilla flavored simple syrup using sucanat and fructose for some hot chocolate and it was to die for!
Anyway, I hope I've inspired you to go beyond the norm, and look into healthier, more natural ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Happy eating
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