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Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies (grain-free)

Posted on November 17, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | 2 Comments

Modified from The Spice House’s Ginger Spice Cookies

Take a break, have some tea and cookies! I discovered crystallized ginger “nibs” at The Spice House months ago, but just now got around to adapting their recipe for ginger spice cookies to a grain-free version. I wanted a slightly chewy, soft cookie with bursts of ginger flavor from the ginger nibs, and that’s what we got!

If you don’t have ginger nibs, you can finely chop crystallized (candied) ginger for the same effect, or make the cookies with only ground ginger. But what would be the fun in that?

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
~2.5 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1/4 cup almond or walnut oil
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup ginger nibs (or crystallized ginger, chopped)

Chewy gingery goodness!

In a medium sized bowl, combine the first seven ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger).

Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, cream cheese, oil, and butter until fluffy. Add egg, molasses, and vanilla. Mix well. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl. Stir in the ginger nibs and mix well. Scrape down the dough in the bowl to form a ball of dough, then cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

When ready to bake cookies, preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form the dough into balls (around 1 1/4-inch in diameter), and place on parchment paper, spacing them around 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 12 minutes. Cookies will be cracked on top, but still soft. Cool on a baking rack, and store in an airtight container.

These cookies are so good, have to keep them under lock and key! For some other sweet stuff, check out a few pop classics! First up, the long-awaited The Smile Sessions from Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. The legendary “lost” album that nearly drove Wilson insane. Contains one of the best loved Beach Boys songs, “Heroes and Villains”. Enjoy!

Second up, a record named for Brian Wilson’s description of his masterwork, Pet Sounds, Teenage Symphonies to God by the Velvet Crush. One of my favorite power pop records, this sounds like the Byrds, the Beatles and garage rock all mixed together…wonderful!

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Posted in For the Sweet Tooth

Tagged almond flour, candied, cookie, cookies, crystallized, dessert, ginger, gluten free, grain free, nibs, primal, recipe, sweet, The Spice House

Paleo Magic Cookie Bars

Posted on October 28, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | 19 Comments

Grain-free and “dairy-optional”

Remember Magic Cookie Bars? Those gooey clusters of graham cracker crumbs covered with milk chocolate chips, nuts, sweet coconut flakes and drenched with sweetened condensed milk. Neither do I….ha! I’ve been in major denial of this particular obsession, but no longer. Today we have Paleo-friendly, Magic Cookie Bars with no grains, no processed sugar, and no dairy (if you use coconut butter instead of pastured butter). I’m not saying these bars are “lite” by any means – plenty of richness here with dark chocolate, nuts, and coconut oils – but they are far better for you than the original cookie bar recipe.

These are a great “treat” for Halloween!

Ingredients:

Crust

1/2 cup (heaping) ground almonds or almond meal
1/2 cup (heaping) ground walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons pastured butter or coconut butter, melted

Toppings

6 ounces dark chocolate chips
3 ounces unsweetened coconut flakes, lightly pulsed in food processor
4 ounces coarsely chopped pecans or almonds
1 15.5 ounce can coconut milk (full-fat)
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tablespoons coconut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sweetened Coconut Milk

Preheat oven to 350F. In a heavy saucepan, heat the coconut milk and sugar over medium heat, stirring often, until coconut milk begins to boil. Lower heat to simmer and reduce by 1/3 to 1/2, stirring often to prevent the sugar from scorching. (If thicker, caramelized sugar begins to form on sides or bottom, use a whisk to reincorporate it.) When it reaches the desired consistency, in around 30 minutes, add 2 tablespoons coconut butter and vanilla. Stir well and remove from heat. You should end up with a little over a cup of caramel-colored, sweetened coconut milk.

To make the crust, melt the butter/coconut butter in an 8×8 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the ground almonds, ground walnuts, and cinnamon. Sprinkle nut mixture over the melted butter and stir until the butter is evenly mixed with the nuts. Using your fingers, press the mixture down in an even layer, covering the bottom of the baking dish.

Ready for the oven!

Sprinkle the chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and coconut flakes evenly over the crust. Pour the sweetened coconut milk over everything. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.

Here’s the hard part: Do not eat it now! Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the cookie bars will set. Otherwise they will be a mess coming out of the pan – cookie crumbles are much less festive.

Cut into bars and serve! Feel decadent!

Celebration day here at SCHC, for a new Tom Waits record has arrived! His first studio record in seven years, Bad As Me is great, and full of the musical stew that only Tom can make. Featuring an all star group of musicians including Keith Richards, Flea and Marc Ribot, this is primo Waits.