Pina Colada Cookies! GF, V, SCD, Paleo & Raw!

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS: 12 DAYS!!!!

Wait a minute!! Rewind! Hold the phone!!  LESS than 2 weeks?!! Yikes!! Xmas is sneaking up on us, folks!

Aaaanywhoo... one of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to listen to Christmas music. I turn on Pandora and let Bing Crosby and Mariah Carey serenade me as I walk the streets of NYC - or more accurately, dodge shoppers and tourists/brave inclement weather/avoid sludge puddles/attempt not to get frostbite or get trampled by protesters....you get the picture ;)

Well, I was strolling away today, when one of my favorite --albeit "out there"-- Christmas tunes came on: Mele Kalikimaka! Maybe it was my fascination with Hawaii growing up, or my slight obsession with the Disney movie, Rip Girls, but I have always found that luau-tastic, tropical Christmas tune to be a welcomed delight!

So, with that tune stuck in my head, and envisioning Santa donning a Hawaiian shirt and board shorts, I came up with today's recipe.

You can call it a Hawaiian Christmas Cookie :)

Because you see, once I started to think about Santa on the beach...my mind only took me to one place.....................PINA COLADAS!! :D

Introducing, my Pina Colada Cookies!

Raw, Gluten and Grain Free, Vegan, Paleo, and Specific Carb Diet friendly....these babies are, in a word, DELICIOUS!!

Tropical little healthy cookie bites that take your taste buds to Hawaii:)  ((Sorry...I'm a little cheesy today)) lol

Here's what you need! (Makes 10 cookies) -- enough for 3-4 people ;)

5 dates, pitted
4 dried pineapple rings
12 almonds
12 cashews
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 Tbsp coconut butter (NOT oil)

Optional: melted dark chocolate (not SCD)

Put everything in the food processor and process for about a minute until everything is roughly the same size. (Like the size of peppercorns). Then, roll 1 Tbsp of dough into balls. Chill for at least 20 minutes, and enjoy.

(Tip: the dough may feel a bit wet when you roll it into balls initially, but that's just the heat from the food processor melting the oils in the coconut butter. This will go away and "firm up" after 20 minutes in the fridge.)

Optional: Melt about 1/4 cup dark chocolate in the microwave (do 30 second increments, stirring in between) or double boiler, and dip half of the cookie. (Do this after they've firmed in the refrigerator for 20 minutes).

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way.....oh sorry guys, you caught me day dreaming about my toes in the sand while chewing on these AMAZING COOKIES!!

They're so tropical -- it's seriously the cookie form of a Pina Colada! You've got the pineapple, you've got the coconut, you've got the sweetness from the dates....now all you need is rum!

But seriously, these are delicious. They're sticky and chewy, and the dark chocolate just takes them over the top.

Not to mention they look super elegant and "dressed up!"

I can't wait to share these at the next Christmas party!

And you don't have to tell anyone that they're secretly healthy!! :D

So Cheers to you, Old Saint Nick!

I'll take a Pina Colada over Eggnog any day! ;)

What's your favorite holiday tune?

See you soon!

Paleo Meringue Clouds & Almond Cookies! GF, Sugar Free, SCD, & Paleo!

Heeeeeey Party People!! :)

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!

My HealthiNation Episode is Up!

Hey Happy Tummies!

OK -- time for the big announcement I promised:)

My Episode on HealthiNation is up!

You can check out my episode for GF Coconut Raisin Cookies here ----> http://www.healthination.com/topics.php?page=gluten-free-tasty

Just click on the middle recipe (the picture of the cookies) and you can watch my episode!

I had a lot of fun filming this with HealthiNation! I'll let you know when the next episode come out:)

Alright...that's all for now! Have a great day!


Want more GFHT?  You can now get my e-cookbook, The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy for only $2.99 on Amazon!

Gluten Free Monster Cookies!

Hey Happy Tummies!

How was everyone's weekend?

I was spoiled this weekend. I got to go home to celebrate my mom and brother's birthdays!

Yep. So I got some quality family time. And loved every minute of it.

So, I wanted to do something special for my brother for his birthday. He has recently gone gluten free, so I thought...why not de-gluten-ize his favorite cookies and make him a batch!!! So that's exactly what I did.  And let me tell you...these were a hit.

Yep, everyone gobbled them up. By the end of the weekend, all 24 cookies had been devoured! And they're allllllmost good for you!!

And the best part: they're gluten free!!!

Here's what you need: (makes 24 LARGE cookies)

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup organic white sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 Tbsp corn syrup
2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 stick softened organic butter
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 1/2 cups certified gluten free oats
1 1/2 cups organic raisins
7 oz (1/2 a bag) sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 - 1/3 cup salted sunflower seeds


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in the given order in the largest bowl you have. The batter will be thick and sticky. Use an ice cream scoop and scoop 6 cookies on each parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 13 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. You'll think they're really underdone, but they're not. They'll firm up and be perfect. Makes 24 cookies.

So, I wasn't able to eat these, because they aren't SCD legal, but these used to be my all-time favorite cookie. These are seriously the best cookie on the face of this earth. I know,I know...that's quite a statement. But it is the absolute truth.

First of all, they're SO moist and chewy. Something magical happens in the center of these cookies. The butter, peanut butter and sugar create this caramel-like gooeyness in the center. Just this ooey gooey goodness that only can be achieved by under baking them:)

The raisins are sticky and chewy have an intense sweetness that is complimented perfectly by the salty sunflower seeds. And the coconut becomes all toasty in the oven and gives the cookie a decadent texture and flavor.

Finally, I think it goes without saying, but peanut butter is the food of the gods. Seriously. I mean, there's even a restaurant, Peanut Butter & Co. in NYC that is dedicated to it. And trust me, the peanut butter is the star of the show in this cookie.

And I don't think it's possible to describe how good the kitchen smells when these cookies are baking: peanut butter, sugar, toasted coconut -- Yankee Candle wishes it could replicate this heavenly smell.

Do yourself a favor: make these cookies. Give half away...or not. Just try and get them into the oven without eating all the cookie dough first. I may or may not have lost a few would-be cookies to batter snatchers:)

Want more GFHT?  You can now get my e-cookbook, The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy for only $2.99 on Amazon!

Italian Dinner Party!

I LOVE having a dinner party.

There's something about cooking a meal for someone that is just so much fun.

I love planning a menu and making the evening special for people I care about.

And that's just what I did on Sunday.

But wait....how did a GF Vegan gal on the Specific Carb Diet host a dinner party for people without dietary restrictions?

The answer? WITH EASE!

I'm not even joking! It was incredibly easy! And FUN!!

So what was on the menu? ITALIAN, that's what! Everyone loves Italian food, and it's super simple to modify for various diets.

I made............

Antipasti Platter

Pesto w/ Whole Wheat Linguini (and zucchini noodles for me)

Apple Pie Bites

and of course, White Wine!

For the Antipasti Platter, I had:

Roasted Red Peppers
Roasted Eggplant
Roasted Zucchini
Roasted Tomatoes
Mixed Olives
Dried Figs
Monterrey Jack Cheese cubes (or soy cheese)

To roast the veggies, I cut up my veggies into 1 inch bites, and placed them on a tin-foil-lined, olive-oil sprayed baking sheet. I tossed them with a touch of olive oil, and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp oregano. I baked for about 30 minutes at 375, flipping once half-way through. (I added the tomatoes at the 15 minute mark). I then drizzled the plate with a good organic balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled everything with a touch of sea salt.

For dinner, I made whole wheat spaghetti, and zucchini noodles with my Pesto! It's GF, Vegan, SCD, BED, and Paleo! It uses lemon juice and extra pine nuts instead of parmesan cheese! You can find the recipe HERE. (Just a note on the recipe...I used more like 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil this time, not 1 tsp like in the recipe).

This was a great main dish because it could be tailored to everyone's needs. I just split up the pesto between the "zoodles" and the spaghetti, and tossed them accordingly!

Finally, for dessert, I made my APPLE PIE BITES! They're GF, V, SCD, and Paleo! And they're TERRIFIC! We gobbled them up:) You can find that recipe HERE.

This meal was fabulous (if I do say so myself:)) Everyone, regardless of diet, enjoyed their meal. Pesto is one of those things that is SO easy to make, and tastes 100x better than store-bought. Nothing beats fresh basil!

And the antipasti platter was just stunning. I had it ready when they walked in the door, and kept it on the table as our "side dish" to go with the pasta!

A repeat meal for sure!

Missing this little girl tonight:)

So I've had some questions about my e-cookbook! When you download the free Bakespace iPad app, you can get The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy without having to create a profile on Bakespace. Again, it's less than a cuppa coffee...only $3.99!

Want to know how to make zucchini noodles? I used a SPIRALIZER!! It's a life-changing gadget for a GF/Vegan/SCD gal! Here's the one I use and love: