Salt "n" Pepper Chocolate Cookies

I served these cookies as a whole food treat at our Winter Solstice Celebration, they were a hit and I promised I’d pop them up on the site…here you are Denise xx

Ingredients

1⁄3 cup / 80ml coconut oil
1⁄3 cup / 80ml brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons water or milk of your choice (nut, seed, rice, goat)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
21⁄2 cups / 250g gluten-free rolled oats
1⁄2 cup / 75g coconut sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 cup / 70g chopped organic dark chocolate (80% or higher)
Flaky sea salt

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F / 162°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Whisk in the brown rice syrup, water, and vanilla. Remove from the heat.

3. Blend the oats in a food processor until you have a rough flour. Transfer it to a large bowl and add the coconut sugar, salt, pepper, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir to combine. Add the coconut oil mixture to the dry ingredients and fold to combine. Fold the chocolate into the batter.

4. Spoon out balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches / 5cm between them (they spread a lot!). Garnish each cookie with a few flakes of sea salt. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven, let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Store the cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Pecan Pie.... a nutritious version

My partner LOVES pecan pie, he has requested it often!!! I’ve resisted, as in it’s traditional form it’s not so great for us, full of sugar and crappy fat as well as a wheat filled pastry crust. I found this version on Bakerita.com and loved it’s dairy and gluten free wholefood bent, it contains healthy fats and has less sugar than it’s traditional cousin. Not something for everyday but a lovely special treat. This Fathers Day he got his Pecan Pie…
The crust recipe is great and can be used for any number of dishes

Ingredients

For the pie crust

• 2 cups almond flour

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/3 cup coconut oil Solid, chopped into little chunks

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar

• 1 egg beaten

For the filling

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar

• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

• 2 eggs room temperature

• 1 tablespoon almond flour

• 1 tablespoon almond or any non-dairy milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups pecans, roughly chopped (you can save some whole to place on top but not necessary)

Instructions

For the pie crust

In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut sugar and salt. Add in the coconut oil and using a fork (or your fingers), cut into the almond flour until the coconut oil is in mostly incorporated. Stir in the egg until the dough is slightly moist and forms a ball. There may be streaks of coconut oil running through your dough.

1. Press the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling, or place in the refrigerator if not using immediately (can keep in fridge for up to 1 week).

2. When ready to bake, roll out your dough in between two sheets of parchment into a 12-inch circle. Lay dough into a 9-inch pie dish (not deep dish).

For the filling

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. In large bowl, beat the eggs until slightly foamy. Stir in the maple syrup, coconut sugar and coconut oil. Whisk together until fully combined. Stir in the almond flour, almond milk, and vanilla. Add the pecans and stir until they are fully coated.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie dough. Bake in the preheated oven at 325°F and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top no longer jiggles in the center. Cool completely in the refrigerator before slicing and serving.

Cherry Pecan Biscuits

The search for decent lunchbox fillers is on, something yummy, wholesome and kid approved. Can't have a stack of preservatives, colours, flavours or weird frakenfood oils. Not too much on the shelves that fits the bill, if it you find something it often costs a bomb (whilst sometimes the prices are ridiculous often it is because real food costs more than cheaper products made with cheap inferior ingredients). Here is a biscuit that I reckon is fab, so many wonderful fats, vitamins, minerals and very little in the way of sugar.
Argghh Sugar!!!! I could write pages on it's pitfalls, people have made movies (That sugar movie, really really worth watching) to distill it all down…added sugar is no good, too many natural sugars are no good, no good, as in NOTHING good will come out of eating them apart from the joy of eating aspect, of course.
I’m lucky in that the school my kids attend is populated by fairly like minded people when it comes to food. The school policy is nude food and vegan (Daylesford Dharma School). Even so there is a growing expectation from my kids, for something that I consider a treat....everyday! and gone are the days when a dried fig would suffice. I’m in a quandary I’m happy to bake something but it’s still sweet even if it is organic and baked with love. I don’t want them to fall into the trap of a sugar fix every few hours to deal with the first sugar intake low that comes after the high. Home made, reduced sugar, whole foods with good quality fats are a fabulous option, the fat content will reduce the the sugar spike to a degree and help us feel satisfied hopefully stopping us from reaching for more sugar but the question is do we really need a treat everyday? How do we educate our kids palates?
This biccy will at least provide nutrition along with a subtle sweetness and my kids don’t have to be the kids with the weirdo Mum that doesn’t give them “anything”!!! yummy AKA sugary crap

Makes approx 15

200g/1.5 cups toasted pecans
140g/1.5 cups rolled oats (find gluten free oats and this could be a gluten free recipe)
35g/.25 cup brown rice flour
.5 teaspoon aluminium free baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
60ml/.25 cup extra virgin olive oil or melted extra version coconut oil
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
.25 teaspoon sea salt
80g/.5 cup unsweetened dried cherries, I've used blueberries and sultanas in the past

Preheat oven to 160 Degrees and line a baking tray
Roughly chop or break up 140g/1 cup of the pecans into large pieces pop to the side
Place remaining 60g/.5 cup pecans and 45g/.5 cup of the oats in a food processor (I use my spice grinder) and blend till finely ground
Transfer to a medium bowl and add remaining oats, brown rice flour, baking powder and cinnamon, stir to combine.
In another bowl, whisk together oil, rice syrup, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Pour into oat/nut mixture and stir to combine. Mix in chopped nuts and cherries.
Shape biscuits into approx 3 tablespoon mounds and pop 1cm apart on tray, you can flatten a little if you like. Bake for 15 mins, or untill you see the edges lightly browning. These biscuits are crumbly until they cool, so leave it a while before you transfer them to a cooling rack.
another fabulous recipe by Amy Chaplin

What are your healthy lunch box favourites?