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Allergy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
I don’t know anyone who does not like Chocolate Chip Cookies! I especially love it when I can find an Allergy Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe!
These delicate little goodies are made with coconut flour — rather than grain flour! Coconut flour is a bit tricky, so make sure to check out the original post by Kimi Harris of the Nourishing Gourmet for tips on the best ways to make these cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- ½ cup butter (or coconut oil), at room temperature
- ¼ cup honey (I bet maple syrup would work as well)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (use gluten-free, if needed)
- ½ cup coconut flour, lightly packed into the measuring cup, with a knife dragged over the top of the cup to remove any extra
- ¼-1/3 cup chocolate chips or chunks (made by cutting baking chocolate into small pieces or chunks)
Instructions
- In a small, heat proof bowl, add the chia seeds and hot water. Let sit for 15 minutes to create a chia “egg”. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the butter and honey, and using a hand mixture, mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla and chia “egg”, and mix until combined.
- Sift the coconut flour to remove any lumps. Keep back about 3 tablespoons of the coconut flour, add the rest to the medium bowl and mix.
- Let sit for 2 minutes. Check the texture of the dough. Is it firm but slightly sticky, like a regular cookie dough? Don’t add any more flour, if so. If the dough is really sticky, add more coconut flour in, and wait another 2 minutes before checking again.
- Once the dough is the right texture, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a teaspoon, form little balls, press into small flat founds, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for about 12 minutes in the middle of the oven, or until the edges and/or bottom of the cookies are very lightly browned.
- Remove from oven, and let cool for about 10 minutes on the sheet.
Coconut flour absorbs more liquid than most flour. For this reason, you may need to adjust the amount of flour used per her instructions.
Coconut products are very nutritious products to use in your cooking and baking. If you are not familiar with coconut, check out the links below:
Fresh Cuke Tomato Salad
I am a big fan of Dr. Josh Axe — he has good tips and good recipes. Although he does not say he is Gluten Free or Vegan, he posts some wonderful recipes like the Fresh Cuke Tomato Salad I am posting today.
There are LOTS of ways to create some delicious Fresh Salads. Sometimes, it is just as easy as chopping up whatever veggies you have in the fridge and serving. Other times, it is nice to have a recipe to start with … and add your own variations from there.
Simple is the key, which is why I like the Dr. Axe recipe below:
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber, diced
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp vegenaise
- 1 small handful raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients and serve cold
Like I said, SIMPLE!
If you like this recipe, you might enjoy more of Dr. Josh Axe’s Side Dishes
No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies — Gluten Free and Vegan!
No bake cookies are fun to make and contain some really great ingredients. Calling them cookies is almost a misnomer as they are as nutritious as they are good — and Gluten Free Vegan too!
Our featured No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies is from Cara’s Cravings. The recipe also received an award for “Heart Healthy for 2013” in honor of American Heart Month.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free plain oats
- 10 tablespoons ground chia seeds*
- 1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup creamy, all natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/4 cup peanut flour, such as PB2 (protein powder or cocoa powder would probably work too)
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together oats, ground chia seeds, and chocolate chips.
- In a small food processor, blend together the peanut butter, honey, almond milk and peanut flour until smooth. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix well with a spoon or spatula.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop balls of the cookie dough onto the parchment. Moisten fingertips and press down lightly on cookies. Refrigerate for several hours, then transfer to an air-tight container and keep refrigerated.
What a wonderful mix of ingredients! Options would include adding raisins or other dried fruit in place of the chocolate chips (or in addition to!).
Cara also suggests protein powder or cocoa powder for the peanut powder!
If you like this recipe, please share with your friends!
Gluten Free Sesame Noodles
I am a big noodle lover even after I changed my diet to Gluten Free noodles. I find that there are some many good Gluten Free noodles available — each with their own wonderful distinct taste. So of course, I was excited to find this Gluten Free Sesame Noodle recipe on Chef Amber Shea’s blog.
Almond Butter Sesame Noodles
- FOR THE ALMOND BUTTER SAUCE: 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup tamari
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- 1 small clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce (optional)
- FOR THE NOODLES: 2 (12-ounce) bags kelp noodles, rinsed and drained
- 2 medium carrots, peeled if desired and cut into matchsticks
- 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into matchsticks
- 3 green onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup dry cashews (optional)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- In a small bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine the noodles, carrot, and bell pepper. Add the almond butter sauce and toss to coat.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours, until chilled, or serve immediately. Garnish with the green onion, cashews, and sesame seeds just before serving.
In the picture above, Chef Amber has served the Sesame noodles over soba noodles, but any spaghetti style noodles would work (check out the list of substitutions — including veggie noodles — on her original post). And since I cannot eat almonds, I would use Peanut butter rather than almond butter — making sure my peanut butter did not include extra ingredients like sugar!!
Check out Chef Amber’s original recipe for more substitutions to this nutritious and versatile dish!
Potato Soup
When I was little, my mother use to make a version of Potato Soup that I greatly disliked. Don’t know why (although, I did not like much of my mom’s cooking as found a whole new world of food when I got out on my own!!) — I just didn’t like it.
Fast forward about 30 years, and potato soup is a regular around our house. It is simple to make and can easily be varied depending on the veggies you have on hand.
Here is my basic recipe:
- One onion, diced
- Couple stalks of celery, diced
- Couple carrots, diced
- 4-5 potatoes, chopped
- Vegetable broth or water
- seasonings
- Saute onions, celery and carrots in a large pot.
- Add chopped potatoes
- Cover with water or a mix of water and broth.
- Bring to a boil and simmer until the veggies are soft.
- Pour about half the mixture into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour back into the pot and add seasoning.
- Re-heat if necessary and serve.
You could easily add any leftover veggies you have on hand or substitute zucchini for the carrots. Mushrooms also add some wonderful flavor.
I received a post from Jule’s with another potato soup recipe that is a bit different than mine, but sounded just as good.
Here are here ingredients:
- Vegetable stock or water
- 8-10 medium-large potatoes (Russet or other white potatoes)
- ½ large head of cauliflower
- 3-4 carrots
- 4 thick stalks of celery
- 1 onion
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Cayenne pepper, cumin or red pepper flakes, to taste, if you prefer spicier soup (optional)
Click here to check out the directions for Jules Vegan Potato Soup (she also has a link to a cornbread recipe that sounds equally as good!)
What are you having for supper tonight?
Minestrone Soup – Gluten Free and Vegan
Vegetable type soups have always been my favorite – even when I was a little girl! The old standby, Chicken Noodle soup, was good when I was sick, but veggie soups were my favorite.
When I got older, I graduated from the ‘Campbell’ soups to Healthy Choice soups and I loved Minestrone. Naturally, when I became Gluten Free and Vegan, I went to work to find a Minestrone soup that worked for my new lifestyle — and one that tasted good.
After a few tries, I came up with the following recipe — thick enough to eat with a fork!:
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- 3/4 cup zucchini, sliced
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 cup vegetable bouillon or liquid
- 4 cups water
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can kidney or red beans
- 1 can white beans
- 1 can garbanzo beans
- 1 – 14 oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup carrots, sliced
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or favorite mixed seasoning)
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- ½ cups GF shell pasta
- Heat oil in large kettle. Sauté garlic, onion, celery and zucchini until tender.
- Add bouillon, water, tomatoes, beans, carrots and spices. Bring soup to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Next add pasta, spinach and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
Rather than add so many canned beans, I will often cook up a large batch of mixed beans (I keep several different types in my pantry) and freeze some of them for later use. If you use this method, you will need 6 – 7 cups of cooked beans.
I have also tried this recipe with various other Gluten Free pasta. Tastes good with any or all of them!
Of course, if you want a thinner soup, you can adjust the water accordingly.
Great soup to eat on a cold snowy day!
Molasses Cookies
Who does not like the soft chewy texture of a beautifully flavored Molasses Cookie? How about one that is Gluten Free and Vegan??
Today’s featured holiday cookie recipe come from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. Ummmm …. I can smell them now!!
- 2 cups sorghum flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¾ cup organic palm shortening
- 1 cup Sucanat, coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- ½ cup blackstrap molasses
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- To start, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature; especially your applesauce.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the sorghum flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the palm shortening, sugar, and molasses together with an electric mixer. Add the applesauce, vanilla, and ground flax seeds; beat for another 60 seconds.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat together. Continue to beat for another minute or until the ingredients are well-combined and the dough thickens.
- Cover bowl with a plate and chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or place dough in a sealed glass container for longer chilling).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a large cookie sheet.
- Remove bowl from refrigerator and form dough into little balls with the palms of your hands. Place each ball on the greased cookie sheet spaced out by about 2 inches.
- Bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes (shorter for smaller cookies, longer for larger cookies). Watch carefully as the cookies can burn easily. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
There is still time to submit your holiday cookie recipe(s) to add your name to the drawing for Lindsay Nixon’s new cookbook: Happy Herbivore Abroad.
Email your recipes to me (Sandy)
Coconut ‘No-Bake’ Snowballs
In keeping with our Holiday Cookie theme, I have found a wonderful no-bake Coconut Snowball cookie recipe. If you like coconut, you will love this recipe.
But before I list the recipe, I would like to ask how many of my readers LOVE Christmas cookies? How many of you have a special Gluten Free Vegan recipe you would like to share with us? If you share your special recipe, I will add your name into a drawing to receive a FREE copy Lindsay Nixon’s newest cookbook: Happy Herbivore Abroad
Back to our Coconut ‘No-Bake’ Snowballs …. This recipe is featured on The Kitchn website/blog.
- 1 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- Place 1 cup of shredded coconut in a food processor along with the coconut oil. Process on high speed, scraping down the sides periodically, until it reaches a spreadable, paste-like consistency. (It does not have to be completely smooth like butter; some texture is good.)
- Add the maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt and process until well combined. Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut and pulse until just combined.
- Shape the mixture into 12 (1-inch) balls and coat with the remaining shredded coconut. Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to a week. Bring to room temperature before eating.
Make sure to email your Gluten Free Vegan Holiday Cookie recipe to me before December 24 to get your name in the drawing
Holiday Anise Cookies from Happy Herbivore Abroad
I am so excited to share this recipe with you and tell you about a very exciting opportunity.
You may have read my interview with Lindsay Nixon about her new cookbook: Happy Herbivore Abroad. I was very excited to interview Lindsay and was equally excited to receive an early copy of her new cookbook!
What a great cookbook!! Lindsay includes some wonderful recipes and dishes in her book, but also includes a ‘travel log’ of pictures and comments about some of her trips to the different countries she has visited. You get a great travel book in addition to a great recipe book!
Today, I want to feature her Holiday Anise Cookie recipe. Anise cookies, according to Lindsay are originally from Italy.
Make sure to read all they way to the bottom as I have some exciting news for my reader on how you can get your own FREE copy of Lindsay’s new cookbook!
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup white beans (any kind), mashed
- 1/2 tsp anise extract
- 1/4 maple syrup
- 1-2 tbsp raw sugar or sugar of your choice (optional)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- nondairy milk
- Icing: 1 cup powdered sugar
- 5 tsp nondairy milk
- anise extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside
- Whisk flour with cornstarch, baking soda, and a pinch of salt until combined
- Add beans, anise extract, maple syrup, applesauce, sugar (if using). Stir to combine — It might look dry at first, but keep combining. If dryness persists, add a splash of nondairy milk (wetter is better).
- Flour your hands and pick off 8 walnut-sized pieces of dough. Roll each into a ball, then flatten into mini ‘hockey puck’ shapes.
- Bake 10-14 minutes, or until golden and firm to the touch (cookies will puff up)
- Meanwhile, prepare icing by combining powdered sugar and nondairy milk to form a thick paste, adding anise extract one drop at a time (a little goes a long way).
- Once cookies are done baking, allow to cool and then ice.
Lindsay and her staff have teamed up with the Gluten Free Vegan Living blog to offer you a chance at winning a free copy of her new cookbook: Happy Herbivore Aboard.
Anyone who submits their favorite Gluten Free Vegan holiday recipe will get your name added to a drawing for the FREE cookbook.
Submit your recipe to me direct at GFDFSandy (at) gmail.com
Your recipe(s) will be featured on this website during the holiday season, but the drawing will take place AFTER the holidays!!
Christmas Thumbprint Cookies
Christmas Thumbprint Cookies are an old time favorite at our house. My kids use to help me make these — they loved playing in the jam (homemade, of course), rolling the cookies in nuts, sprinkles or coconut, and adding chocolate kisses to the ones we made without the jam. It was a fun family project.
Now, as an empty-nester, I make a small batch of the Gluten Free Vegan Christmas Thumbprint Cookies.
Our featured recipe is Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies from the Oh She Glows Blog.
- 1 & 1/3 cups raw almonds, processed into almond meal (about 1.5 cups almond meal)
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax
- 1/4 tsp + 1/8th tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 cup raw almond butter (see note)
- 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 5-6 tbsp raspberry jam
- approx 1/3 cup shredded coconut, for rolling
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a large baking sheet with oil, use a silpat mat, or line with parchment paper.
- If making almond meal, place raw almonds into a high-speed blender. Process on high speed until a fine crumb, making sure not to process too long or the oils will release. Alternatively, you can use store bought almond meal.
- In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (almond meal, rice flour, ground flax, salt, and baking powder). Use your fingers to break up any clumps of the almond meal. In a smaller bowl, mix together the almond butter, maple syrup, and almond extract. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined.
- Shape dough into balls (about 1.5 tbsp or so). If dough is too sticky, place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
- Roll balls in coconut. Place balls of dough about 1.5-2 inches apart on the baking sheet. With your thumb, press into the middle of the ball and shape a small well with your fingers. Add 1 tsp of jam into each well.
- Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, watching closely after 9 minutes. I baked mine for 11.5 minutes. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Channel your inner grandma and enjoy with hot tea!
When we made these type cookies, we used peanut butter (could probably use any type of nut butter for the almond butter) and then pushed a upside down Hersey Kiss in the middle of the batter.
You can also roll these into sugar, coconut or nut meal for an additional variety.
So much variety with these cookies!!
Do you have a holiday cookies recipe you would like to share with us? Email it to me at GFDFSandy (at) gmail.com and I will feature it in an upcoming post!
