Creative paleo and gluten-free recipes
Yesterday I really wanted something sweet. I’ve had good success so far making paleo treats sweetened with honey, but you’re not allowed to have honey during the Whole30. I thought there was nothing I could do to satisfy my sweet tooth, but then I remembered reading some of the fine print down at the bottom of the Whole30 site, where it said that fruit juice could be used as a sweetener. At the time, I hadn’t been able to imagine how fruit juice could make an adequate sweetener. But, in my time of desperate sweets craving, I started to think maybe I could do something with this.
These cookies are sweetened with apple juice and dried apricots. They don’t taste like apple, but they do have a nice apricot flavor and a fun subtle orange hue. They are, not surprisingly, not very sweet. I won’t judge you if you want to add a couple of tablespoons of honey. If you do, you might want to add a little more almond flour as well (or less apple juice) so the batter won’t be too wet.
If you like a moist, rich cookie that’s guilt-free, these are for you. The vanilla bean seeds, butter, and almond flour provide lots of great flavor and texture to make up for the cookies not being overly sweet. And, with only five ingredients plus salt, these cookies couldn’t be easier to make! However, I’m not going to lie to you: they are not crispy at all. I haven’t figured out how to make gluten-free cookies crispy. If you have the secret, please share it! If you’re looking for a sweeter cookie, check out the “You might also like” section at the end of this post.
Ingredients (makes about 15 cookies):
1/2 cup dried apricots, soaked in warm water for 10-20 minutes
1/2 cup apple juice
1 cup almond flour
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 325, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drain the dried apricots and place them in a food processor with the apple juice. Process, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until the mixture has a jam-like texture with very small pieces of apricot.
Add the almond flour, butter, and salt, and scrape in the vanilla bean seeds. Process until well combined. Spoon tablespoon sized balls of batter onto the prepared sheet and flatten them slightly (cookies will not spread as they bake). Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then carefully transfer to a rack to cool completely.
This is it! My new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Even if I weren’t doing a month of paleo, I would still make these. They are SO good–a little chewy, super chocolaty, not too sweet, with a good dose of vanilla. In other words, perfect.
Several months ago, my friend Audrey emailed me a recipe for chocolate chip cookies with almond flour, which she said she liked better than the real thing. I was a little skeptical, but finally tried it. The cookies were delicious, but the recipe had no egg, and I found that the cookies fell apart easily and were a little too flat. I tried again with a couple of eggs, which resulted in much sturdier cookies that were also delicious, but very cakey.
Hoping to strike a balance between too cakey and too flat and fall-aparty, I tried a third time. As often happens, the third time was the charm! I hope you make these cookies. You won’t miss the flour or the sugar (and they don’t taste like honey). They are really easy to make, and not that bad for you! Do it!
Note: the main reason I chilled the dough here is because I wanted to leave the kitchen before I started preheating the oven (it’s 100 degrees today!). So, you can stay mostly cool and still make these cookies. Try them! You know you want to.
Ingredients (makes about three dozen small cookies):
8 tablespoons grass-fed butter
1/2 cup honey
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups almond flour
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (paleo chocolate exists, but I couldn’t find any…so technically my cookies are just ALMOST paleo)
In a large bowl, cream the butter with a fork until smooth. Add the honey, vanilla, and salt and stir until very smooth, then add the egg and stir to incorporate. Add the baking soda, almond flour, and chocolate chunks and stir until combined. Refrigerate the dough for up to 30 minutes if possible.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper (or if you don’t have three, like me, bake in batches–just be sure to let the cookie sheet cool between batches). Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the sheet, flattening them a little if you like a flatter cookie. They don’t spread much while they bake, and will be adorably domed if you leave them alone, but I flattened some because I am planning to make ice cream sandwiches.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown on top but not burned on the bottom. The cookies will be unstable, and need to cool on the pans for at least five minutes. After that, carefully transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Okay, this is it! My best cupcake ever. If you haven’t jumped onto the salted caramel train yet, now is the time. These are light and delicious vanilla cupcakes (my new favorite white cake recipe) filled with salted caramel sauce, topped with salted caramel buttercream, and sprinkled with a little more sea salt to finish. They’re amazing! I recommend that you make them right now. If you prefer, you can use chocolate cupcakes as the base–I tried that, too, and it’s also amazing.
To make these, you’ll need to some salted caramel sauce. You might want to make a double recipe so you can stash some in the fridge or drizzle it over ice cream. If you make a single recipe, it should be just enough to fill the cupcakes and make the frosting.
You’ll also need cake flour. I know, I also wish all-purpose flour could really be used for all purposes, but this time you’re going to need the cake flour. It makes the cupcakes really light and gives them a nice fine crumb. If you don’t have any cake flour but you do have cornstarch, use this post from Joy the Baker and turn some of your regular flour into cake flour.
I made these for an event we had at my Quaker meeting last night. Every Wednesday in the summer, my meeting hosts a Wellesley Wednesday cookout, where everyone brings something to share and then someone presents on an interesting topic. Well, yesterday, the interesting topic was THIS BLOG! I had so much fun telling everyone all about A Calculated Whisk and how it all works–some of them did not even know what a blog was!
After the discussion, we made frosting together! I showed everyone how to stuff a cupcake with salted caramel, and how to use sugar, butter, a little milk and salt, and flavorings to make a delicious small batch of buttercream. I brought all kinds of fun things for people to flavor their frosting: grenadine, vanilla, vanilla beans, cinnamon, cocoa, almond extract, peppermint extract, salted caramel, and lime and lemon zest. We had a blast!
Salted Caramel Cupcakes Recipe
Yield: 20 cupcakes
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients for the cupcakes (adapted from this recipe at Cookies & Cups):
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, cut into chunks
4 eggs
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup salted caramel sauce, for filling
Ingredients for the frosting:
1 cup salted caramel sauce
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 and line your muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a mixer to beat the mixture on low speed for about a minute to make everything light and fluffy.
With the mixer still on low, add the butter a couple of pieces at a time. Mix until it looks like coarse sand. Slowly pour in the milk and vanilla and mix until combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing all the while and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Raise the mixer speed to medium and beat for about two minutes until the batter is really smooth.
Fill your cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are puffed and set, but not browned, and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove to a rack to cool. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before you fill or frost them.
To fill the cupcakes, use a small paring knife to cut a small cone-shaped piece out of the top of the cupcake, making sure you don’t cut too close to the bottom of the cupcake. Spoon salted caramel in to fill the cone.
To make the frosting, mix all ingredients by hand or with a mixer until smooth. Spread or pipe onto cooled, filled cupcakes.
If desired, drizzle some salted caramel and sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on top of the frosted cupcakes.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Guess what? In only 20 minutes, you can have rich, chewy chocolate almond cookies with no gluten, no butter or oil, no egg yolks, and no dairy! It sounds too good to be true, but these cookies are really delicious!
You’ll end up with a couple of egg yolks, which you could save for ice cream.
The bad news is that my bag of almond flour is now almost gone! I’ll definitely be buying more. From financiers to mocha brownies to these cookies, it’s my new favorite healthy baking ingredient. Go get some and make these today!
Note: You won’t taste the coffee in these cookies–I just added it to bring out the chocolate flavor. You can leave it out if you want a decaf cookie :0.
Ingredients (adapted from Heather’s Dish):
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 rounded tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon finely ground coffee (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the egg whites, vanilla, and almond extract and stir until the dough comes together.
Drop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the parchment paper, and flatten the tops slightly with your hand or a spoon (the cookies will not spread much at all while cooking). Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crisp on the outside but not burned on the bottoms. Cool on a wire rack.
Yesterday I got some almond flour and blue cornmeal in the mail from Bob’s Red Mill. I was super excited to try some chocolate baked goods with the almond flour. Did you know it’s just ground-up almonds? Amazing. Full of heart-healthy fats and protein instead of the empty carbs in flour.
I decided to try these flourless brownies, adapted from this recipe on Om Nom Ally. They are really good! The coffee and almond flavors are subtle, but add an extra richness to the chocolate flavor. The brownies are really fudgy and moist, which makes them very satisfying. Just one is enough (until the craving strikes again an hour later…).
These brownies are not overly sweet. I actually added extra sugar, because the original recipe only called for 2 tablespoons and I didn’t want a bitter brownie. I think my version came out great, but I would have dusted them with some powdered sugar if I hadn’t been out.
Ingredients (makes 9-12 brownies):
1 cup almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1/2 cup cocoa, plus extra for dusting
1-3 teaspoons finely ground coffee, to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the pan
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish and powder the bottom and sides with cocoa.
In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, cocoa, coffee, salt, and baking powder.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and extracts. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares.
Have you heard of colony collapse disorder? My friend Jesi, an artist based in Vermont, is working on a participatory project with a large installation about colony collapse disorder and the plight of the honeybee. The coolest part is that she’s creating a canvas for each person who sponsors her project, in different sizes depending on the amount you donate, and sending them out to her supporters after the show! Her art is amazing and I can’t wait to see what she creates for this show.
Jesi asked me to post a honey cookie recipe that she could bake to show her thanks to supporters who pledge $25 or more. Her project only has one more day left on Kickstarter! You can read about the project and donate here. You should consider giving! Even if you don’t have $25 to give, give any amount and then make yourself these cookies! Jesi and the honeybees will thank you.
Note: I hadn’t used my honey in a while and it was totally crystallized! Don’t worry if that happens to you. Just spoon out your honey into a glass jar and heat it in a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until it’s clear and liquefied. If you do this, let the honey cool down a little before you add it to the dough.
Ingredients (makes one dozen; adapted from this recipe on Lulu the Baker):
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed (or use unsalted and add 1/2 teaspoon salt)
1/2 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons honey, plus extra for brushing
Flaky sea salt (I use Maldon), optional
Add the honey and vanilla bean seeds and pulse just until combined. Use your hands to pat the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for half an hour or so. Try not to eat all the dough at this point. It’s delicious!
Preheat the oven to 325.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter or round jar, cut out cookies about 2 inches across. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are starting to brown around the edges.
Brush the cookies with honey while they’re still warm, and sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt if desired. I love the salty and sweet combo, so I highly recommend it!
Ingredients (makes enough for 12 cupcakes):
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients and beat on high speed until smooth.
(function() {
var li = document.createElement(‘script’); li.type = ‘text/javascript’; li.async = true;
li.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https:’ : ‘http:’) + ‘//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js’;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s);
})();
This is my first attempt at making soufflé. I like to cook breakfast pretty much every weekend morning, and was in the mood for blueberry muffins. Unfortunately, I was out of frozen blueberries and too lazy to go to the store. I had baby spinach, lots of eggs, and a hunk of Parmigiano Reggiano. Also, I had two four-cup soufflé dishes that had only held lemon mousse so far. Right now, they’re living up to their name since they’re filled with spinach parmesan soufflé. This recipe is adapted from Bon Appétit.
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese2 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing dishes6 tablespoons flour1 1/4 cup buttermilk3 cups baby spinach6 egg yolks8 egg whites, at room temperature1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)Salt and pepper to tastePinch of nutmeg (optional)
I love cupcakes! I love them so much that I
named a kitten after them (she was the size of a cupcake when I found
her, so it totally makes sense). To go with my lemon kick, I decided to
create these lemon coconut cupcakes. The bird’s nest idea comes from
Martha and can be found here, and the recipe is inspired by Ina’s in the Barefoot Contessa cookbook and Gaby’s found here.
I know this may not be getting out there in time to be part of your
Easter dinner, but with regular decorating these could be enjoyed
anytime.
Ingredients (makes 18 cupcakes):
1/2 lb butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 teaspoons lemon juice
5 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting (makes enough for 18 cupcakes):
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp
8 oz. Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese), at room temp
Zest of one lemon
1/8 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
To fill and decorate:
1 cup lemon curd(about half a recipe)
1 cup toasted sweetened shredded coconut
1 recipe cream cheese frosting
Cadbury mini eggs or other candy eggs
To make the cupcakes:1. Preheat the oven to 325. Cream the butter and sugar in an stand
mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, add the
eggs one at a time, then add the lemon zest and juice.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to to the mixer in three parts, alternating with the coconut milk, and mix just until combined.
4. Fold in the coconut.
5. Divide the batter among the cupcake cups, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
To fill and decorate:
When the cupcakes are done, cool them completely. Use a paring knife
to cut a cone-shaped piece out of the top of each cupcake, making sure
not to cut all the way down to the bottom. Use a small spoon to fill
the empty cones with lemon curd (and have fun eating the little
cone-shaped pieces of cake! No one is going to miss those!).
Transfer the frosting to a large ziploc bag, and cut off the tip of one corner to make a dime-sized hole. Pipe a circle of frosting onto the outer edge of each cupcake. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top to cover. (To toast coconut, cook it in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Don’t turn your back on it because it burns easily.) Then, place 3 Cadbury mini eggs in the middle of each nest.
