Gluten Free Macadamia White Chocolate Cookies

These GLUTEN FREE MACADAMIA WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES are irresistible and delicious. After the photo shoot, we had a few, and then some more. The taste lingered in our mouths and we finally had to wash it down with lemonade and some sugarless coffee. That’s how amazing these cookies are! These cookies, in fact, are my friend Daniela’s favorite, and even though she didn’t request them gluten free, I couldn’t resist the challenge (I can actually taste them if gluten free!).

My friend Daniela was moving this week and she found herself in a sea of boxes with her brand new closets unfinished. In fact, there were many other unfinished items at her new dwellings – including a missing stove top and a kitchen sink. Her plan is to have morning smoothies and salad takeout for the next five days…and now cookies. Yay!

These cookies have all the nice crunch of the macadamia nuts and the white chocolate chips, but they are soft and chewy as they never truly flattened while they were baking. They looked kind of funny at first, but once we bit into them, we loved them all the same. The major TRICK here is to mix the nuts and the chocolate chips in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch right before they get folded into the cookie dough. You can also use powdered sugar if you have that handy. This way, the chocolate is “protected”and it doesn’t melt, and the nuts hold their weight atop, never falling (and burning) to the bottom of the cookie.

Happy move, Dani!

Don’t miss the beat with this super easy Macadamia White Chocolate Cookies that are gluten free and delicious.

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 22

Save Trees: Print the Recipe Here

Ingredients:

• 3.5 oz of raw macadamia nuts (slightly chopped)
• 1 cup and 2 tbs of all purpose gluten free flour
• 1.5 tsp of xantham gum
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 75gr of white sugar
• 82gr of coconut palm sugar
• 4 tbs of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 oz of white chocolate chips
• 1 tsp of cornstarch

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven at 325 degrees. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and slowly add both sugars. In a large bowl, mix well the gluten free all purpose flour, the xantham gum, the salt, and the baking soda. Add half of the dry ingredients mix into the butter and sugar mix, beating at a low to medium speed. Then, add the egg, and slowly again finish adding all your dry ingredients. The dough will be thick and sticky.
2. In another bowl, mix the macadamia nuts with the white chocolate chips, and add the corn starch. Mix well. The cornstarch will help the chocolate and the nuts not to drop to the bottom of the cookie, once in the oven. When you are ready, fold these into the cookie dough batter, and mix well with a rubber spatula.
3. The dough needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and make tiny balls (around 1 inch) with the cookie dough (wet your hands if it’s still too sticky!). Make sure you don’t crowd them on the sheet.
5. Once in the oven, the cookies will be done in 10-15 minutes. You can remove them once a light golden color appears. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, and then move them onto a cooling rack.

What is your secret baking tip when making cookies?

Gluten Free Paleo Chocolate Glazed Donuts

Gluten free chocolate glazed donuts that are also delicious and happen to be Paleo, too? Hello. Yes. I’ve been craving something sweet and indulgent to have with my Nespresso macchiato during weekend afternoons, and donuts came to mind. Could there be a donut out there made with no grains, no gluten and also able to satisfy my “bad treat” cravings? Maybe. I think these hit the spot!

These donuts are not fried, but baked. Plus, for all of us health nuts and enthusiasts out there, the main ingredient is almond flour (a friendly nut!)- not even a pinch of rice, potato, or tapioca. So it’s 100% paleo, and I’m okay with that! (And fewer ingredients make me VERY happy.)

Ingredients:

For the donuts (makes around 8 in a medium-size donut pan)

• 2½ cups almond flour (I’m liking Honeyville)
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 large eggs at room temperature

For the chocolate glaze:

• 1/4 melted coconut oil
• 2 oz vegan chocolate chips
• 1 tsp Stevia
• Sprinkles are not paleo! (But I couldn’t help myself for the pictures. Oops.)

Directions:

Ready? This is my favorite part. Pour all ingredients in your blender, and mix them well, until the batter looks airy.

Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees, then grease a donut pan. Pour the batter almost (but not really) to the rim, being careful not to cover the opening for the whole. Then hit the pan down against the countertop to release any air bubbles and make sure the donuts rise evenly and beautifully.

Once you have the donuts baking, prepare the glaze. Put the chocolate chips in a microwaveable-safe dish, add the coconut oil and the Stevia, and microwave for 2 minutes at 40% power. Once done, remove from the microwave and give it a good stir.

The donuts will bake for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven. After you are done, remove from the oven, and let them cool for five minutes before placing them on a cooling rack. Once the donuts are completely cold to the touch, glaze them and wait around 10 minutes for the glaze to set.

For this recipe, I used (click on the images to find out more information and consumer reviews on Amazon.com):

Print the Recipe: Healthy Almond Bites Gluten Free, Vegan, Paleo

Ingredients:

Makes around 22 bites.

• 12 pitted dates (soak them in warm water 30 minutes before getting started)
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/3 cup tahini
• a pinch of sea salt to taste
• 1.5 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon of coconut nectar (you can replace with maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions:

In a food processor, chopped the almonds (they should look gritty, but not pasty or too fine). Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the sesame seeds), and mix well.

With a tablespoon, carefully lift some of the sticky mixture, and make a ball with the palms of your hands, then roll into the 1/4 cup of sesame seeds until totally coated. Set aside.

Nutritional Info: For 1 serving. Calories 55; Total Fat 3.9g, Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 5mg; Total Carb 5.2g; Dietary Fiber 1.1g; Sugars 3.2g; Protein 1.5g.

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Almond Healthy Bites Gluten Free, Vegan and Paleo

It’s Monday! Pack extra energy today with these amazing ALMOND HEALTHY BITES. Do I love them just because they are non-bake, easy to make, gluten free, vegan, and also Paleo? Oh no, not just because of THAT. I love them because they are delicious with a salty and sweet satisfying combination – and at only 55 CALORIES a pop. What are you waiting for?

This recipe calls for tahini, which you can easily find at the peanut butter and honey section of Whole Foods. Did you know tahini is actually made of sesame seeds? I didn’t! As I also didn’t know the following cool health benefits of tahini.

5 Really Cool Health Benefits of Tahini

1. It’s rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron.
2. Packed with calcium, vitamin E and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15.
3. Helps to maintain healthy skin and muscle tone.
4. It has 20% complete protein, making it a higher protein source than most nuts.
5. It’s easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content, which is great for assisting in weight loss.

Ta-dah. These ALMOND HEALTHY BITES are not only tasty, but packed with good stuff. And who doesn’t want good stuff on a Monday?

Save trees: Print the recipe and see the nutritional info.

Ingredients:

Makes around 22 bites.

• 12 pitted dates (soak them in warm water 30 minutes before getting started)
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/3 cup tahini
• a pinch of sea salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon raw coconut nectar (you can replace with maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions:

In a food processor, chopped the almonds (they should look gritty, but not pasty or too fine). Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the sesame seeds), and mix well.

With a tablespoon, carefully lift some of the sticky mixture, and make a ball with the palms of your hands, then roll into the 1/4 cup of sesame seeds until totally coated. Set aside.

Refrigerate for up to 4 hours for best taste and consistency (I do eat all the food processor bowl goodness and it’s great, but nothing tastes like the actually bite right out of the refrigerator).They are great to pack for lunch or when you are out and around. And now one of my new favorite treats!

Check out Mind Body Green for more information on tahini and health. 

More on tahini:

• Elana’s Pantry Sesame Cookies
• Make your own tahini
• Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing

For this recipe, I used (click on the images to find out more information and consumer reviews on Amazon.com):

Print the Recipe: Gluten Free Cookie Dough Cake

Ingredients:

2 8” round vanilla GLUTEN FREE cakes (I made mine using CRAVE BAKERY’S vanilla cupcake recipe. Other alternatives? GLUTINO’s Old Fashioned Cake Mix)

Filling

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons all-purpose GF flour
• 1/2 cup condensed milk hack (click here for recipe)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extrack
• 1/8 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting

Adapted from Magnolia: Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey’s Home Kitchen

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6-8 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

GF Chocolate chip cookies (I made them from scratch too. Here’s the recipe)

Directions

I assume you have your vanilla cakes ready to go. I made them the night before as I didn’t want to be in the kitchen for more than 1 hour at a time!

Start with the filling. Cream in high speed the butter and the sugar with a mixer. About 2 minutes. Add the GF flour, the condensed milk hack, and vanilla. Mix in medium until well blended. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Next, tackle the frosting. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and half the sugar, a drop of milk and the vanilla. Beat on medium to high speed until creamy (around 3 minutes). Gradually add more sugar, a little bit more of the milk, and so forth. Until you get the right consistency. As we will use 3/4 of the frosting unpiped, I recommend keeping it slightly on the creamy side.

Now, you are ready for the most fun part: assembly. Get your cake plate ready. Set one of the first cakes. Spoon in and frost with the buttercream filling (use 1/3 of it). Set aside. Get the cookie dough filling out of the refrigerator and create tiny cookie dough balls. Very tiny ones. Set on top of the frosting until you cover it completely. Set aside.Get the second cake. Turn it upside down on another plate. Spread a thin layer of frosting. Flip and sandwich in the cookie dough balls in between the two frosted sides of the cake. Press lightly. Save some frosting for decoration (fill a piping bag). The rest, drop it onto the cake, and spread evenly to cover the whole cake.

Pipe the remainder frosting to decorate. I crumbled home-made chocolate chip cookies for the sides, and dropped a lot of chocolate chips in the center.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Eat!

 

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Print the Recipe: Chocolate Paleo Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

For 1 serving. This was inspired by the Paleo Banana Pancakes recipe.

• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1.5 tsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp coconut palm sugar, or stevia
• 1 tsp coconut flour
• 5 vegan chocolate chips
• A pinch of Kosher salt to taste

Directions:

With everything in one single container (minus the Kosher salt), use an immersion blender until frothy. If you don’t have an immersion blender, grab a fork, mash the banana, and then beat the rest of the ingredients (skip the chocolate chips).

In a medium pan at medium to low heat, cook SMALL silver dollar pancakes (small is key as these are a little bit tougher to flip versus other ones). Watch them like a hawk – they can burn in extra 3 seconds. Start with the heat at low and build from there. Around 2 minutes for the first side and 20 seconds for the other side.

Serve with maple syrup, or raw coconut nectar, and a pinch of Kosher salt. (That last thing does the trick!)

Nutritional Info: For 1 serving. Calories 259; Total Fat 9.3g, Cholesterol 164mg; Sodium 77mg; Total Carb 36.2g; Dietary Fiber 6.5g; Sugars 17.5g; Protein 9g.

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Print the Recipe: Sugar-Free Wet Coconut Truffles

Print the Recipe: Sugar-Free Wet Coconut Truffles

Ingredients:

For 12 truffles.

• 6 pitted dates
• 1 ripe banana
• 3/4 cup of coconut flakes
• 2 teaspoons coconut flour
• 1 pinch of Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (vegan, or gluten free)
• 2 tablespoons of almond milk

Directions:

Set the dates to rest in warm water for 30 minutes. This softens them and it makes them more food processor friendly.

Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees.

In your food processor, mix the banana, and the softened dates. Add the coconut flakes and the coconut flour and the pinch of salt until well blended.

With a spatula, make sure everything is well blended. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

I used a small espresso spoon to spoon out a little bit of the batter at the time. Make 12 small little balls in your hands and carefully set them on the parchment paper.

Bake them for at least 20 minutes. You will know they are done when the bottoms are very golden and you start to smell the coconut in your kitchen! It’s ok if they are a little wet or uncooked inside. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

In a microwave-safe container, melt the chocolate chips with the almond milk for one minute at 30% power. Remove and mix well until the chocolate is shiny. Drizzle the coconut balls to taste.

The truffles are best when refrigerated for at least a couple of hours, but they are delicious to eat at any stage (yes, I confess! I ate the raw batter too and loved it!)

 

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Sugar-free Wet Coconut Truffles

This is a quick and easy sweet snack you can even take on the go. The truffles are sweetened with dates and bananas, and they are under 65 calories per little truffle.  They are naturally gluten free, and paleo, too. But be careful! They are so yummy you will want to eat them all.

Tips:

• Soak the dates in warm water to soften them and make them easier to mash or blend with the other ingredients
• Coconut is great for your skin and your thyroid gland
• The most calorie-heavy ingredient here is the chocolate – skip it for naked truffles and save almost 50% of the calories!

Print the Recipe Here.

Ingredients:

For 12 truffles.

6 pitted dates

1 ripe banana

3/4 cup of coconut flakes

2 teaspoons coconut flour

1 pinch of Kosher salt

1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (vegan, or gluten free)

2 tablespoons of almond milk

Directions:

Set the dates to rest in warm water for 30 minutes. This softens them and it makes them more food processor friendly.

Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees.

In your food processor, mix the banana, and the softened dates. Add the coconut flakes and the coconut flour and the pinch of salt until well blended.

With a spatula, make sure everything is well blended. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

I used a small espresso spoon to spoon out a little bit of the batter at the time. Make 12 small little balls in your hands and carefully set them on the parchment paper.

Bake them for at least 20 minutes. You will know they are done when the bottoms are very golden and you start to smell the coconut in your kitchen! It’s ok if they are a little wet or uncooked inside. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

In a microwave-safe container, melt the chocolate chips with the almond milk for one minute at 30% power. Remove and mix well until the chocolate is shiny. Drizzle the coconut balls to taste.

Click here to see nutritional info.

The truffles are best when refrigerated for at least a couple of hours, but they are delicious to eat at any stage (yes, I confess! I ate the raw batter too and loved it!)