Everything Cookies and Ice Cream Sandwiches (Vegan)

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Everything Cookies

I love “everything” about these Everything Cookies! I had to promise myself I wouldn’t make them again for a month… because… I have difficultly controlling myself around them. I keep sneaking back into the kitchen for “one more”.

Well, I only waited about a week and then I got the idea to make the cookies into Ice Cream Sandwiches.  I can’t decide which version is more delicious, but I have several ice cream sandwiches calling to me from my freezer so I have plenty of opportunity to try them again.

Everything Cookie Recipe
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2 ripe bananas, mashed
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup peanut butter (or any nut butter- or Sunbutter), unsweetened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup carob chips or chocolate chips (or raisins)
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped (or other nuts or dried cranberries)

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mash the bananas in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the maple syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla.

You can either mix the dry ingredients separately (as you “should”) or you can do less dishes like me and just mix them all in together in one bowl!

Scoop level tablespoons of batter onto the baking sheet. The cookies don’t spread so you can place them fairly close together.

Bake the cookies on the middle rack for about 12 minutes. Check the cookies at 8 minutes, and if the bottoms are already golden, move the baking sheets to the top rack for the last few minutes.

Place the cookies on a cooking rack promptly after removing from the oven.

Makes about 24-30 cookies.

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Ice Cream Sandwiches
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When making the cookies:

* omit the macadamia nuts and carob chips
* spread the scoops of batter flat before baking (and consider using more batter for each cookie if you want bigger sandwiches)
* after they cool put them in the freezer

Making the Ice Cream

* Make the vanilla ice cream base from my cookbook and add 1/2 cup of peanut butter to the saucepan after adding the other ingredients. Stir thoroughly. You will need to freeze the ice cream for several hours after it is made to get it firm enough for making sandwiches.

OR

* Use a store-bought ice cream and let it get slightly soft for scooping.

Making the Sandwiches

* Assemble sandwiches and roll the edges in chocolate chips or carob chips.
* Freeze for an hour or more until firm. (Although I always let them get a bit soft before I eat them because I like softened ice cream.)

Makes about 10 sandwiches (depending on how big you make them).

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I am sharing this recipe on Whole Food Fridays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend,

Grain-Free Bread and Crackers: Elana’s Pantry

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I have chosen to feature one of my favorite blogs, Elana’s Pantry, for Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger this month.

Elana’s Pantry is one of the first three blogs I started following. I love her recipes- they are always succinct in both the ingredient list and the instructions. I have never made one of her recipes and had to throw it in the trash. Odd compliment I know, but I hate having ruined food.

In addition to her blog, Elana wrote two cookbooks (I have her third per-ordered).  I enjoy both of her books. Check out these coconut lime cupcakes I made from her gluten-free cupcake book.

elanacupcakes

And her Paleo Bread is outstanding- I keep some in my freezer in case I “need” bread.

elanabread

My kids like this bread too, so I made it cute, along with gluten-free pretzels, oranges, pistachios, cheese (my kids are occasionally eating dairy cheese these days), and carrots.

elanabento

I also tried out Elana’s Multi “Grain” crackers. They were great with tuna salad. I only had black sesame seeds so mine are more blue than hers. I also needed less water than the recipe called for.

elanacrackers

And I made her Cinnamon Breakfast Bread. I omitted the honey completely and served them with dinner. I used less cinnamon because I have very strong cinnamon. They were delicious. My kids even fought over the last piece, despite it having no sweetener!

Elanabreakfast

Elana is an inspiration for health and cooking. All of her recipes are grain-free, and many are dairy-free. Check her recipes out for yourself sometime, and come back here for more recipes soon!

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast Waffles

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stuffedfrenchtoastI hope you have a waffle maker… and if you don’t I hope you purchase one. I have three; a standard, a Belgian, and a waffle cone maker. I am an extreme waffle fan. This particular waffle is really nice. It has a slight oat taste- not all the way like oatmeal, but tasting in that direction. You can simply make the waffles and top them with fruit and syrup…

oatwaffle

…or you can take it all the way, stuff it with chocolate and cook the whole thing as French Toast. You could make the sandwiches the night before and cook the French Toast Waffle in the morning.

frenchtoastcute

I made them cute my cutting them with cookie cutters before “French Toasting” them. Then I served them with the leftover chocolate filling.

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast Waffles Recipe
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WAFFLE
1 1/2 cups oat flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free)- measure “loose” not packed
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey, agave or maple syrup
3/4-1 cup rice milk (or other milk)

FILLING
1/4 cup almond butter
1 tablespoon cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup (or other sweetener)
rice milk

FRENCH TOAST
2 eggs
splash rice milk
pinch cinnamon

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Combine the dry waffle ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. Then mix together. Add a bit of milk as needed to get a thick but pourable batter. Preheat a standard waffle maker. Make the waffles; it should make about 4.

Combine the filling ingredients. Sweeten to taste and add milk to achieve a thick spreadable chocolate spread (like Nutella). Spread generously on the waffles forming sandwiches. Cut on the “lines” into 4 pieces each.

Whisk the eggs, milk, and cinnamon together in a pie pan. Preheat a pan on medium-low with a thin layer of oil. Dip both sides of the sandwiches in the egg mixture and cook on both sides.

Serve hot as is or drizzle with maple syrup or try with raspberry jam.

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I am sharing this recipe on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays,

Fitting In

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Sugar is everywhere and I don’t want my daughters eating it. I have my reasons for believing sugar is making people unhealthy (science has reasons for it too).

kids

The teachers at school hand it out. The bank has a bowl of it. The physical therapist has a bowl too… Seriously I can’t think of many events- even small ones- without sugar. A few days ago we went for our weekly swim at the YMCA and they had a table full of cupcakes and cookies for sale. It’s everywhere.

We eat some sweets- as you might have noticed on my blog. But we keep the sugar content low and use less processed sweeteners (like honey). And the kids don’t have treats everyday. Currently I am nearly sweetener free altogether and feeling great (more on that another day).

So, at first I packed my daughter alternative treats, always had some handy, to be sure she wouldn’t be “left out”. That seemed like a good idea at the time and I still plan to do it for special occasions like birthday parties.

kids2

But here is the thing… The question I asked myself: Do I want to teach my daughters that fitting in is important? Do I want to teach them that they must have a treat every time someone else does? Or every time a treat is offered? For me the answer is NO to all of those! I would love for them to be confident enough to NOT do what everyone else is doing. To look after their own health above social acceptance. And I hope that gentle lessons now will translate in other peer pressure situations as teenagers.

People have said to me, “She is going to get older and eat whatever she wants soon enough.” (Their point: Why bother restricting now?) Well, do you just hand your 13-year-old a pack of cigarettes because soon enough they will sneak off and smoke with their friends? I hope not! Of course my daughters will eat how they please later in life. Now is my chance to influence their tastes, share my beliefs, and feed their growing bodies the best that I can.

Will I deliberately make my kids social outcasts? Of course not! But in small ways I hope to show them that it is OK to be amongst other people and not be the “same” as those people.

I know I am not perfect, and I certainly don’t mean to imply that other people are parenting “wrong” if they do things differently. Really I want to point out that it is our (parents) opportunity to teach our small children the beliefs we hold dear. Sometimes we get off track by peer pressure too. I am reminding myself that it is OK to NOT “fit in”.

Peanut Butter “Cookie” Cupcakes

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PBcupcakes

Imagine a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie topped with a peanut butter cup with creamy frosting on top of that. Then imagine promising yourself you won’t eat 10 of them!

PS. I created this recipe for an Earthbalance contest, so I featured their products but substitutions work just fine.

Peanut Butter “Cookie” Cupcake Recipe
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COOKIE
3/4 cup almond meal/flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup Earth Balance Coconut and Peanut Spread (or peanut butter plus 1 teaspoon coconut oil)
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons buttery spread or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

TOPPING
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup Earth Balance Coconut and Peanut Spread or peanut butter

FROSTING
1/4 cup Earth Balance Coconut and Peanut Spread or peanut butter
1/4 cup 100% vegetable shortening
2-3 tablespoons agave nectar

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare mini muffin tins with paper cups (about 24).

In a large mixing bowl combine the almond meal, baking powder, 1/3 cup Coconut and Peanut Spread, 1/4 cup agave, Buttery Spread, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine then mix in 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

Scoop one level tablespoon of cookie dough into each muffin cup. Gently flatten each one with your finger.

Bake for 6-7 minutes. Take them out just as the edges are barely starting to get color. If these over-cook they will be dry. (They will continue to cook in the hot pan after being removed from the oven.)

Place the muffin tins on a cooling rack until fully cooled.

Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a double boiler. Mix in a 1/4 cup Coconut and Peanut Spread. Pour the mixture over each cookie, filling the paper to the top.  Set aside until the chocolate is set (you can speed this up by placing it in the freezer).

In a mixing bowl combine 1/4 cup Coconut and Peanut Spread, shortening, and 2 tablespoons of agave. Whip the frosting with an electric mixer until smooth. Taste and add more agave if desired.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and serve or store covered in the refrigerator.

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I am sharing this recipe on Wellness Weekend, Whole Food Fridays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays,

Nightshade-Free Chili

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chili

I love bean chili. I had a version of this that I made with salsa which I made several times a month before giving up nightshades. This is is not only a great substitute for that chili but also well-loved by my daughter. I know this ingredient list is long, I apologize for that, but the flavor really needs to be developed, and thus the long list.

Nightshade-Free Chili Recipe
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1 (15-ounce) can black beans- including liquid
1 (15-ounce) can chili beans (I use Westbrae’s mix of three beans)- including liquid
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dillweed
1-2 teaspoons whole grain prepared mustard (not Dijon- use to your tastes)
1/4 teaspoon tamarind concentrate (adds a nice tang but optional because let’s face it- you probably don’t have any)
1 cup petite green peas (frozen- thawed)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt to taste

Serve with:
Basmati rice
Cashews

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In a large sauce pan combine all of the ingredients except the peas and vinegar. Bring to a simmer then add the remaining ingredients, salt to taste and enjoy!

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I am sharing this recipe on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesday, Wellness Weekend, Whole Food Fridays,

Peanut Butter, Caramel, Chocolate Bars

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Candy Bar

I love candy bars. I love Snickers Bars. I don’t eat them anymore. But I don’t mind, because I know how to make my own delicious chocolates! I use the chocolate recipe from my cookbook, but you can use melted semi-sweet chocolate. For the caramel, the recipe is also in my cookbook or you can use a different caramel recipe or purchase pre-made caramels. I purchased the chocolate mold at a local craft store- very inexpensive.

Here is a photo in progress to give you a sense of how these are assembled:

Chocolate Bar Recipe
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1/2 cup melted chocolate (approximate amount)
1/3 cup peanut butter (estimate) crunchy, lightly salted, all natural peanut butter
1/4 cup caramel (use the recipe from my cookbook in the Turtle recipe, but cook it for less time so it is looser)
peanuts

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Freeze the chocolate mold.

Pour a bit of chocolate into the mold and place it in the freezer for about 5 minutes to set.

Add about a teaspoon of peanut butter to each section. Press a divot into the peanut butter and fill that with caramel. (More caramel is tasty but messy… I go for maximum caramel personally!)

Place two peanuts on top of each section and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

Pour chocolate over everything and once again place it in the freezer to set.

I store these in the refrigerator and try not to eat them all in one day.

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I am sharing this recipe on