Author Archives: Dawn Allen

Coconut Cashew Sandwich Cookies

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Sandwich Cookies

I was playing with a recipe from Gluten-Free Easily, and she (Shirley of course) referred to their “Samoa” taste (as in Girl Scout Cookies). One thing lead to another in my mind and I started thinking of the sandwich cookies that the Girl Scouts sell. Thus these Coconut Cashew Sandwich Cookies came to be. You might read this recipe and feel tempted to add chocolate. (Believe me, I always think of adding chocolate.) I personally encourage you to try them as they are… these are very tasty, not too sweet, cookies.

Cookies

Making them cute… Did I phone it in? I just didn’t have a brilliant idea, so I hand shaped them into … shapes!

Coconut Cashew Sandwich Cookie Recipe
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3/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
2/3 cup almond meal/flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour (*if you omit this the cookies will not have a lovely soft texture)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (brown sugar for substitution)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons coconut oil, liquid
Cashew butter, for filling – stirred and refrigerated a day in advance so that it is not too soft

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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toast your coconut shreds until light gold. This goes very fast, I stir them every 1.5 minutes. Set aside.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift the almond meal, coconut flour, salt, and coconut sugar, into a mixing bowl. Add honey, oil, and shredded coconut. Combine.

Using your hands, create small balls of dough, set them on the baking sheet and press them flat. Repair any cracks or loose crumbs with your fingers. The cookies will not spread and will stay in the shape you make them.

Bake for 5-9 minutes. You are looking for a slight gold color starting at the edges. Set out on a cooling rack. The cookies will be fragile and should not be moved until they are completely cooled.

Spread cashew butter in between the cookies to make sandwiches.

Note: I really like this best with cashew butter. If you try to use almond butter I think you might want to mixing in a touch of honey.

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I am sharing this recipe on

Creative Mom

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candy

My kids typically don’t eat sugar, but on special occasions they do eat a little. What they absolutely don’t eat is food coloring. This 4th of July we are going to the parade in our neighborhood and the kids in the floats always throw out candy. So… I made these little treats to trade for the artificial stuff. Marshmallows*, cut in half, dipped in chocolate and colored with beets, turmeric, and red cabbage. (And I poured the leftover chocolate into a Hello Kitty mold.) We never did food coloring, but now we are being strict on a whole new level because we are starting the Feingold Program.

*Not just any marshmallows, these are vetted by the Feingold program and contain only pure ingredients.

On another topic… My daughter was recently diagnosed with Amblyopia (lazy eye). The eye moves with the other eye, so you can’t specifically tell that it is “lazy”, but the vision is extremely poor in that eye. So, now she has eye glasses and she needs to wear a patch to force her “bad” eye to work. At her age there is still time to get her brain to recognize the eye, but if it goes untreated her brain could stop recognizing images from the left eye. The ophthalmologist was insistent that we  needed to use the stick on patches but Sierra had a reaction to the glue and her skin was very sore. So I looked online and found eye-glass cozies. I can sew… so Sierra and I designed one for her and made it right then and there! So much more comfortable but we need to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t “cheat and peek”.

eyepatch

Grain-Free Travel Cakes

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travelcakes

I really want to participate in a monthly blog sharing called, “Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten-Free“, and the due date for the recipe is tomorrow. I have already write the recipe, tested it, and photographed it. That’s not the problem. The problem is this write-up. I need to crop the photo, type in the recipe and publish it. The issue being, I have a concussion! And I feel… not so great. I bonked my head on my husband’s roof rack when borrowing his car. Not fun. The doctor said I would get better when I got better- today is day 4. I already went to the chiropractor and tomorrow I have craniosacral. A few minutes ago I decided chocolate and sugar would make me feel better so I had some Food for Life chocolate chips. FYI: chocolate chips do not mitigate the symptoms of a concussion (I think we all saw that coming).

Back to the bars… They can be cut with cookie cutters…

travelshape

And baked as cupcakes too…

travelcute

So what do they taste like?

Soft and nice like a cake, a bit dense and moist- so they don’t fall apart. Sweet but not really a dessert. I consider them in the snack category rather than a treat, but they aren’t savory.

I realize you might not have egg white protein powder and I really don’t know how to sub for that. I use it a lot in recipes, so if you buy some you will have more opportunities coming up to use it. Rice protein or whey protein may work… or some coconut flour- but none of those ideas have been tested.

So, in my opinion these cakes are delicious and they travel nicely. Here are two variations:

Grain-Free Travel Cakes Recipe
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3/4 cup mashed banana (about 2)- ripe but not too soft
1/2 cup cooked mashed Hannah Yam (white sweet potato, I don’t know how the orange ones would be but most likely fine)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sunflower butter (unsweetened)
3 tablespoons egg white protein powder- plain, packed (NOW brand is gluten-free)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt

Variation 1: 2 tablespoons of cacao nibs (and/or other nuts and dried fruit)- add to batter at end
Variation 2: zest of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries – ground into dust- stirred into the batter

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan- round or square with parchment paper and grease.

Mix everything together- you know, start at the top of the list and work your way down.

Smooth the batter into the baking pan and bake for about 35 minutes. The top will be gold and still have some give when you touch it. I have found some pans – thin metal- bake faster than ceramic or glass. Just check it at 30 minutes and go from there.

Cool the cake completely before cutting and keep refrigerated after that.

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I am sharing this recipe on Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten-Free,

Waffles and Cornflake Chicken Nuggets

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chickenandwaffles

Chicken and waffles, a southern specialty, made gluten-free with Erewhon cereals, and a special curry twist! The Corn Flakes Cereal gives the chicken nuggets a super crunch. The curry flavor in the waffle is subtle, but just the right complement to the chili spiked maple syrup.

(I wrote this recipe for an Erewhon recipe contest. I have no specific agenda with the brand.)

Curry Waffles and Cornflake Chicken Nuggets Recipe
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CHICKEN
1/4 cup rice flour
1 egg
1 1/2 cups Corn Flakes Cereal, crumbled
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray

SYRUP
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 dried chipotle peppers (dried jalapeno pepper), split open- (typically my recipes are nightshade-free, you can of course just use maple syrup)

WAFFLES
1 cup brown rice flour (or white rice flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
2 eggs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup hemp milk (unsweetened)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup Crispy Brown Rice- Gluten Free Cereal

Garnish (optional)Cilantro

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Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Set out a bowl with 1/4 cup rice flour. Then a bowl with one egg beaten, and another bowl with the crumbled corn flakes. Finally set out a large baking dish and spray the bottom with cooking spray. Cut the chicken into nuggets. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip each nugget in the flour, egg, corn flakes, and then set in the baking dish. Repeat until all of the nuggets are coated. Spray the top side of the nuggets and bake in the oven until cooked through. (About 12 minutes.)

In a small sauce pan, combine 1/3 cup maple syrup and dried chiles (including seeds). Heat on low to infuse the maple syrup with flavor but not hot enough to reduce the syrup. When it reaches the spicy level that you like, strain the syrup and serve.

For the waffles, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices together in a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl combine the egg, oil, milk, and maple syrup. Whisk together then pour into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir then add the crispy rice cereal. Cook in a standard waffle iron according to the manufacture’s instructions. This recipe will make 4 standard sized waffles (as long as you don’t over fill the waffle maker).

Serve the hot waffles topped with chicken nuggets and maple syrup. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

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I am sharing this recipe on Allergy Free Wednesdays,

Squash and Corn Pancakes with Cilantro Dressing

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Squash pancakesOK, these just don’t look as pretty as I would like. Please  don’t hold that against the pancakes. Trust me, these are delicious and you will want a gallon of the dressing if you love cilantro as much as I do. In fact, if you don’t get around to making the pancakes, go ahead and make the dressing for your next salad.

bento

I cooked a bit of the pancake batter in the waffle iron to make mini buns. There are two mini hamburgers here- although the photo doesn’t do it justice- they really are quite cute. With little picks in them. And a bagel (from my cookbook) on the other side.

Squash and Corn Pancake Recipe
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Dressing
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt

Pancake
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup corn
1/3 cup rice flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup cooked smashed squash (Delicata, Acorn, Red Kuri)
1 egg

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Combine all of the dressing ingredients together in a food processor and blend until mostly smooth.

Combine all of the pancake ingredients together and cook as you would any pancake on a skillet over medium-low heat with a touch of oil. Flip them when they are cooked on the first side.

Serve the pancakes hot with dressing.

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I am sharing this recipe on

Rice and Bean Burritos

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Burrito

I love burritos. I know I have claimed several foods as my “favorite” but I really must tell you, burritos are so high on my list. It can be difficult to enjoy them without nightshades, i.e. salsa, but I still manage. This “suggestion” satisfies my burrito cravings, and I hope you enjoy it too!

I am referring to this as a “suggestion” rather than a recipe, because there is no need to be precise here.

Giraffe

And by the way, I have a pet donkey named Burrito. Just a coincidence really, as he came with the name. He is super cute don’t you think?

Rice and Bean Burrito Suggestion
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Crepes (There is a great recipe for gluten-free crepes in my cookbook- I just replaced the rice milk with hemp milk for the burrito.)

Basmati Rice, cooked

Sauteed onions and garlic with black beans and corn – salted

“Salsa”:
mango, chopped
cucumber, chopped
red onion, minced
lime, juiced

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So, basically just create each element, then put them all together wrapped up like a burrito. Enjoy!

I am sharing this recipe on