Almond Flour Cookies with Cacao Nibs

GAPS Legal Almond Cookies

Adapted from The Paleo Plan Makes 24 Cookies GAPS Legal on Stage 4

Ingredients for gaps legal chocolate chip cookies

• 2 cups Almond Flour

• ¼ cup Whey

• 2 large eggs

• 1/3 cup Room Temperature Coconut Oil

• 1 tsp Baking Soda

• ½ tsp Vanilla

• ⅛ tsp Salt

• ¼ cup Honey (or ⅓ cup date syrup)

• ⅛-¼ cup Raw Cacao Nibs

Directions for chocolate chip cookies on the gaps diet

24 Hours in Advance

Add whey to almond flour. Stir to moisten.

Leave covered on counter for 24 hours to ferment.

The Next Day

Preheat oven to 350. Add your baking sheet to the oven to preheat. These cookies bake better on a hot dish.To fermented flour, add eggs and stir.

Add coconut oil to mixture. The coconut oil should be room temperature. If it is melted, you won’t have the right consistency.

Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt and honey (or date paste) to the mixture. Mix well.

Add cacao nibs to dough mixture.

Remove baking sheet from oven. Line with parchment paper.

Spoon approx. 1 tbsp size rounds of dough onto parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until edges are golden brown and cookies seem firm. Watch them closely after 8 minutes. They will go from raw to burnt quickly!

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Almond Flour Cookies with Cacao Nibs

Author: Amy Mihaly

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients:

• 2 cups Almond Flour
• ¼ cup Whey
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup Room Temperature Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• ½ tsp Vanilla
• ⅛ tsp Salt
• ¼ cup Honey (or ⅓ cup date syrup)
• ⅛-¼ cup Raw Cacao Nibs

instructions:

How to cook Almond Flour Cookies with Cacao Nibs

24 Hours in Advance

1. Add whey to almond flour. Stir to moisten.
2. Leave covered on counter for 24 hours to ferment.

The Next Day

1. Preheat oven to 350. Add your baking sheet to the oven to preheat. These cookies bake better on a hot dish.To fermented flour, add eggs and stir.
2. Add coconut oil to mixture. The coconut oil should be room temperature. If it is melted, you won’t have the right consistency.
3. Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt and honey (or date paste) to the mixture. Mix well.
4. Add cacao nibs to dough mixture.
5. Remove baking sheet from oven. Line with parchment paper.
6. Spoon approx. 1 tbsp size rounds of dough onto parchment paper.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until edges are golden brown and cookies seem firm. Watch them closely after 8 minutes. They will go from raw to burnt quickly!

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Buckeye Cookies

Another one of my favorite Christmas cookies are Buckeyes. These delicious cookies are traditionally peanut butter and powder sugar balls dipped in chocolate, made to look like the buckeye nut. The buckeye nut is commonly found back East, like Ohio and Michigan, where my family is originally from.

The roots for this recipe go deep in our family. Much like the Force.  

Ok, maybe not the Force (although I am excited for the new Star Wars movie that comes out this week!)

But we do make Buckeye cookies a lot. Since powdered sugar is hardly GAPS legal, I haven't had these cookies for a while either. But all that is about the change!  

Introducing Buckeye cookies, made with real food!  

These no-bake cookies are egg free, and casein and lactose free (contains whey and butter). They are also coconut free!  

Please note that while cassava flour is not technically on the GAPS-illegal list, it is still quite starchy. These cookies should be a special treat, and consumed infrequently and in small amounts. Same with cocoa powder. And, as always, observe if YOUR body is okay with this particular food at this time. Just because something is "GAPS legal" does not give you a free pass to eat it! Pay attention to what your body is telling you. But if it's telling you that these cookies are okay for you, then by all means ENJOY THEM!!!

GAPS Legal Buckeye Cookies

Makes about 48 cookies

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 cup peanut butter

• 2 cups cassava flour

• 8 TBS whey

• 1/2-1 cup honey

• 8 oz butter

• 2 tsp vanilla

Coating:

• 1 1/2 cup cocoa butter chips

• 1/8 cup raw honey

• 1 TBS cocoa powder

Directions:

Prep time: Need to start this recipe 24 hours in advance, 5 minutes prep time. Then it takes about 30-45 minutes to finish on the following day.  

Filling:

Twenty-four hours in advance: mix 1/2 cup peanut butter, 4 TBS whey, and 1 cup cassava flour together until everything is moist and crumbly. Try to eliminate as many clumps as possible. Leave on the countertop in a glass container with a lid. This is to give the legumes and cassava flour a chance to lacto-ferment. This makes them more digestible and increase the nutritional value. For more on why we should only eat nuts and seeds that have been properly prepared, watch my video on this.

After 24 hours, the mixture should look something like this...just a little more moist than what you started with the day before.

Add to this the vanilla extract, honey and 8 oz of softened butter (it's not the end of the world if you melt it, but try not to).

I used 1 cup of honey for this recipe, and to my non-sugar eating palate they are very sweet (which is the point, I suppose)! I plan to reduce the honey by about half the next time I make this. The mixture just needs to be formed into balls.

Mix well, and smooth out as many clumps as possible. You should be able to easily for this mixture into little balls.

Form the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper

Place the balls in the freezer to chill (about 10-15 minutes)   Next, make the coating   The most important part of making the coating is to heat things just hot enough to melt. Nothing should be cooked here! You are gently heating them up to mix. Then gradually cooling them back down again.  

Using a double boiler (or as I just discovered, my glass 2 cup measuring container fits perfectly into a medium saucepan) On low heat, melt the cacao butter chips.

When they are fully melted, turn off the heat and add the honey.

Next, stir in the cocoa powder (I recommend using a whisk to mix well.) 

Finally, remove the mixture in the top half of the double boiler to the coating is allowed to start cooling   Continue whisking the coating mixture occasionally. The honey cools faster than the cocoa butter, and you need to keep them mixed.

When the mixture is cool enough, remove the dough balls from the freezer. Stick a toothpick (or broken-off bamboo skewer in our case) into a ball and dip it into the coating. Depending on the temperature of the coating, you may need to dip more than once to achieve a satisfactory coating. After allowing the extra coating to drip off for a few moments, return the ball to the parchment paper.

Maintain the coating within a narow temperature margin. Keep the water from the lower part of your double-boiler ready. If your coating begins to cool too much, slip the top of the double-boiler back on top of the hot water for a minute or so to warm it back up (you probably don't need to turn on the heat). Do not let it cool too much or reheat it too quickly or too much—these can cause the chocolate to clump (this happened), and there's not going back from this. You would just need to start over making the coating.  

Traditionally the coating is darker than this recipe. I originally made a darker coating, but more cocoa powder required more honey, which seemed to throw everything off balance. I think this is part of why it clumped. Once you master the basics of temperature and consistency, you can try increasing the cocoa powder to darken the color. I will be doing that myself. In the meantime, even though this isn't as dark as traditional Buckeye cookies, the coating dries hard at room temperature. I'm calling that a win!

When they are all dipped to your satisfaction, use a toothpick to roll over the holes, filling them in.

There you have it! Rich, delicious Buckeye cookies.

Enjoy!

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Buckeye Cookies

Author: Amy Mihaly, Be Well Clinic

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups cassava flour
• 8 TBS whey
• 1/2-1 cup honey
• 8 oz butter
• 2 tsp vanilla

Coating:

• 1 1/2 cup cocoa butter chips
• 1/8 cup raw honey
• 1 TBS cocoa powder

instructions:

How to cook Buckeye Cookies

24 Hours in Advance:

1. Twenty-four hours in advance: mix 1/2 cup peanut butter, 4 TBS whey, and 1 cup cassava flour together until everything is moist and crumbly. Try to eliminate as many clumps as possible. Leave on the countertop in a glass container with a lid. This is to give the legumes and cassava flour a chance to lacto-ferment. This makes them more digestible and increase the nutritional value. For more on why we should only eat nuts and seeds that have been properly prepared, watch my video onthis.

The Next Day:

1. After 24 hours, the mixture should look something like this...just a little more moist than what you started with the day before.
2. Add to this the vanilla extract, honey and 8 oz of softened butter (it's not the end of the world if you melt it, but try not to).
3. I used 1 cup of honey for this recipe, and to my non-sugar eating palate they are very sweet (which is the point, I suppose)! I plan to reduce the honey by about half the next time I make this. The mixture just needs to be formed into balls.
4. Mix well, and smooth out as many clumps as possible. You should be able to easily for this mixture into little balls.
5. Form the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper
6. Place the balls in the freezer to chill (about 10-15 minutes) Next, make the coating The most important part of making the coating is to heat things just hot enough to melt. Nothing should be cooked here! You are gently heating them up to mix. Then gradually cooling them back down again.
7. Using a double boiler (or as I just discovered, my glass 2 cup measuring container fits perfectly into a medium saucepan) On low heat, melt the cacao butter chips.
8. When they are fully melted, turn off the heat and add the honey.
9. Next, stir in the cocoa powder (I recommend using a whisk to mix well.)
10. Finally, remove the mixture in the top half of the double boiler to the coating is allowed to start cooling Continue whisking the coating mixture occasionally. The honey cools faster than the cocoa butter, and you need to keep them mixed.
11. When the mixture is cool enough, remove the dough balls from the freezer. Stick a toothpick (or broken-off bamboo skewer in our case) into a ball and dip it into the coating. Depending on the temperature of the coating, you may need to dip more than once to achieve a satisfactory coating. After allowing the extra coating to drip off for a few moments, return the ball to the parchment paper.
12. Maintain the coating within a narow temperature margin. Keep the water from the lower part of your double-boiler ready. If your coating begins to cool too much, slip the top of the double-boiler back on top of the hot water for a minute or so to warm it back up (you probably don't need to turn on the heat). Do not let it cool too much or reheat it too quickly or too much—these can cause the chocolate to clump (this happened), and there's not going back from this. You would just need to start over making the coating.
13. Traditionally the coating is darker than this recipe. I originally made a darker coating, but more cocoa powder required more honey, which seemed to throw everything off balance. I think this is part of why it clumped. Once you master the basics of temperature and consistency, you can try increasing the cocoa powder to darken the color. I will be doing that myself. In the meantime, even though this isn't as dark as traditional Buckeye cookies, the coating dries hard at room temperature. I'm calling that a win!
14. When they are all dipped to your satisfaction, use a toothpick to roll over the holes, filling them in.
15. There you have it! Rich, delicious Buckeye cookies.

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Christmas Wreath Cookies {GAPS Legal}

It's the holiday season! More specifically, it's cookie season!   I love making, giving away (and eating) Christmas cookies. But it's been a long time since I have enjoyed many of the cookies I grew up making, so this year I decided I wanted to create real-food versions of some of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes.  

First up, Christmas Wreath cookies!

  This cookie is traditionally a mix of corn flakes, marshmallows, and butter. So let's look at the ingredients...

• The butter is already a real food!

• Marshmallows I have made before, modified from Mommypotamus' marshmallow recipe.

So all I had to do was figure out a substitution for the corn flakes (and see if the marshmallows actually work the same as the commercial variety).   Challenge accepted!

Christmas Wreath Cookies

Makes about 36 cookies (recipe can be halved)

Ingredients

For Marshmallows

• 2 cups honey

• 1 cup of filtered water

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 6 TBS grass-fed beef gelatin

• 1 cup of filtered water

For Wreath Cookies

• Marshmallow paste (above)

• 8 ounces organic butter

• 14 cups coconut flakes (approximately 20 ounces)

• Red hots (my homemade recipe)

• Natural food coloring, blue and yellow packets (I used this one)

Directions

Place the coconut flakes in the oven at 200°

Toast the coconut until they are light brown—this makes the cookies crispier! When done, remove them from the oven Place in a large bowl, set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat When melted, remove from heat and set aside   Next, make the marshmallow paste. See recipe here.

Soften the gelatin

• Add gelatin to 1 cup hot water

• Stir and allow to to sit, keep warm (not on stove)

While gelatin is softening... Heat honey and water in a medium saucepan (medium to high heat), stirring frequently, until it reaches the soft ball candy stage (about 235°F).

If you don't have a thermometer, you can check by dripping the heated honey into a glass of cold water. When the candy forms a ball, it is ready!

When the honey has reached the soft ball stage, remove from heat. Add the heated mixture to the softened gelatin in a large bowl. Add vanilla.

Do these steps quickly, you don't want honey mixture to cool off too much!

Whisk the mixture using an electric mixer or stand mixer for about 10 minutes.

When the mixture is thick and looks like marshmallow paste, it's done!  

If you want marshmallows, you can stop here. Put the marshmallow paste in a greased glass 9x11 dish and allow to cool and dry for a 24-36 hrs. Then cut up and serve.  

But we are not stopping here! To make traditional Christmas wreath cookies you melt the marshmallows and turn them back into paste-which is what you just created!  

Next, stir the melted butter into the mixture. It will deflate the mixture somewhat, this is normal.

Mix in the blue and yellow food coloring packets. This will turn it green (not neon green—that's an artificial color). But when it's made into wreathes it does look green—although you're going to have to take my word for it!

Pour the marshmallow mixture into the bowl with the toasted coconut flakes. Mix until the flakes are coated.

Finally, form the warm mixture into wreath-shaped cookies on parchment paper.

Add decorative red hots as berries (see my homemade recipe) Allow to cool.

See, I told you they look green!

All that's left is to share and enjoy these delicious treats!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Your trust is important. I only recommend products I trust. 

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Christmas Wreath Cookies

Author: Amy Mihaly, Be Well Clinic

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients:

For Marshmallows

• 2 cups honey
• 1 cup of filtered water
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 6 TBS grass-fed beef gelatin
• 1 cup of filtered water

For Wreath Cookies

• Marshmallow paste (above)
• 8 ounces organic butter
• 14 cups coconut flakes (approximately 20 ounces)
• Red hots (my homemaderecipe)
• Natural food coloring, blue and yellow packets (I used this one)

instructions:

How to cook Christmas Wreath Cookies

1. Place the coconut flakes in the oven at 200°
2. Toast the coconut until they are light brown—this makes the cookies crispier! When done, remove them from the oven Place in a large bowl, set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat When melted, remove from heat and set aside Next, make the marshmallow paste. See recipe here.
4. Soften the gelatin
5. Add gelatin to 1 cup hot water
6. Stir and allow to to sit, keep warm (not on stove)
7. While gelatin is softening... Heat honey and water in a medium saucepan (medium to high heat), stirring frequently, until it reaches the soft ball candy stage (about 235°F).
8. If you don't have a thermometer, you can check by dripping the heated honey into a glass of cold water. When the candy forms a ball, it is ready!
9. When the honey has reached the soft ball stage, remove from heat. Add the heated mixture to the softened gelatin in a large bowl. Add vanilla.
10. Do these steps quickly, you don't want honey mixture to cool off too much!
11. Whisk the mixture using an electric mixer or stand mixer for about 10 minutes.
12. When the mixture is thick and looks like marshmallow paste, it's done!
13. If you want marshmallows, you can stop here. Put the marshmallow paste in a greased glass 9x11 dish and allow to cool and dry for a 24-36 hrs. Then cut up and serve.
14. But we are not stopping here! To make traditional Christmas wreath cookies you melt the marshmallows and turn them back into paste-which is what you just created!
15. Next, stir the melted butter into the mixture. It will deflate the mixture somewhat, this is normal.
16. Mix in the blue and yellow food coloring packets. This will turn it green (not neon green—that's an artificial color). But when it's made into wreathes it does look green—although you're going to have to take my word for it!
17. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the bowl with the toasted coconut flakes. Mix until the flakes are coated.
18. Finally, form the warm mixture into wreath-shaped cookies on parchment paper.
19. Add decorative red hots as berries (see my homemade recipe) Allow to cool.
20. See, I told you they look green!
21. All that's left is to share and enjoy these delicious treats!

Created using The Recipes Generator