haha...just kidding.
How's everyone doing? Are we detoxing from the holidays? lol Again....KIDDING!!
Well, kinda. :) I know I ate lots of delicious food and had p-l-e-n-t-y of spirits over the holidays! haha
And Happy New Year!!! How did you celebrate? Did you watch the ball drop? I don't know about you, but it's just not the same without Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve.
So as promised, here are my delicious cookies! These are sinless...seriously. They're protein packed, sugar free, and insanely good.
And it's a tale of three cookies! You can make three different cookies out of the same "dough!"
My favorite, are the meringue clouds! They're made with just egg whites and honey!
Next, are my crunchy almond cookies! Again, just egg whites, almond flour, and honey!
And finally, my chewy almond cookies! Again, just egg whites, almond flour and honey!
Here's what you need: (Makes about 40 one-bite cookies)
Base:
5 Egg Whites
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Additional:
3/4 + 1 Tbsp almond flour
Optional:
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put your honey and vanilla extra in a small saucepan and heat until it becomes liquidy. Careful - it bubbles up when it boils, and is molten hot!! Once it is hot, carefully pour it into a Pyrex measuring cup (with a spout so you can safely pour it into the stand mixer.)
In the stand mixer, whip your egg whites until frothy. Then, add your cream of tartar and beat for about 7 minutes on high until they form stiff peaks. After about 4-5 minutes and they have tripled in size, slowly pour in the hot honey mixture. Let the stand mixer run for about 1 1/2 more minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare three baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
This is where you have the different options.
MERINGUE CLOUDS:
Spoon about 2 Tbsp worth of the mixture onto your baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the tops begin to turn golden brown. Then, turn off the oven, and allow them to cool/dry out in the oven with the door closed for about 3-4 hours. They will be wonderfully chewy -- like pillows.
ALMOND COOKIES
To the honey/egg white mixture, gently fold in your almond flour and cinnamon, so as not to deflate the egg whites. Spoon this mixture into a piping bag, or a gallon ziplock bag with the bottom corner snipped off. Then, squeeze about 1 Tbsp of this mixture onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. For Chewy Almond Cookies, remove immediately from oven.
For Crunchy Almond Cookies, bake for 15 minutes, and then turn the oven off and allow to dry in the oven for 2 hours.
These cookies were seriously amazing. When you're on the Specific Carb Diet, or gluten free for that matter, the holidays can be tough because there are all these delectable looking treats lying around, and you can't have any! So, I whipped these up and I was a happy camper all through the weekend.
The Meringue Clouds were light as air and chewy. These were my mom's favorite ones. And by allowing them to dry out in the oven, bits of them become a little crunchy like a meringue.
The Crunchy Almond Cookies were my favorite. They had the consistency of a delicate graham cracker with the honey and subtly note of cinnamon.
They were crunchy and wonderfully sweet.
Finally, the Chewy Almond Cookies were melt-in-you-mouth good. They were chewy in the center with slightly crisp golden brown edges. Careful though - they can leave your fingers a little sticky!
What a treat for a grain/sugar free gal. These cookies were a life saver. They're gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, SCD friendly, and Paleo! (Say that 5x fast!!)
For dessert on Christmas, we had berries with cream. I made coconut cream for mine by reducing a can of coconut milk on the stove for about 30 minutes with 3 tsp honey. I then topped it with crumbled crunchy almond cookies and a meringue cloud. Guiltless and positively delicious!
I may just have to make these "bad boys" again while I'm home and have an stand mixer at my disposal!! :D
Happy New Year!!!!!!
Want more GFHT? You can now get my e-cookbook, The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy
for only $2.99 on Amazon!
Hi Caralyn,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes with us. These cookies sound wonderful and I plan to make them. I have a question, though. When you say beat them for 7 mins. and then add the honey mixture and then beat for an additional 4-5 mins - are you meaning a total of 12 mins. Or do you add the mixture at the 5 minutes - for a total of 7 mins? Just wanted to be sure so I don't ruin the recipe. Thank you!
Hello! Sorry for the confusion...beat the egg whites on high for about 4 minutes until they form medium peaks and have tripled in size. Then, slowly drizzle in the honey and beat for another 2 minutes...so for a total of about 7 minutes. I hope that clears things up. Thanks for stopping by! Happy baking!
DeleteThx! Also check this great recipes www.paleo99diet.com
ReplyDeleteWhat a great, easy recipe! You've inspired me to use egg whites (I just always use the whole egg). They look so yummy. Happy New Year Caralyn.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Amber:) I'm all for easy recipes! Especially for cookies...the sooner I can get them on the table, the better!! :) I hope 2014 is off to a great start for you! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThanks for the clarification, Caralyn! We have yet another snow day tomorrow here in MI so I will try making these tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteCan you leave out the Cream of Tartar since it is SCD illegal?
ReplyDeleteHello! You can leave it out, but the egg whites will not hold their shape as well and deflate. I have not tried it, but you can give it a shot! I did not have an Issue with the cream of tartar, but try at your own risk! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!
Delete3 Studies SHOW Why Coconut Oil Kills Belly Fat.
ReplyDeleteThis means that you literally kill fat by consuming Coconut Fat (including coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut oil).
These 3 studies from big medical journals are sure to turn the conventional nutrition world upside down!