Little Chocolate Biscuits -- gluten free, plant-based simplicity

These little chocolate biscuits are kissing cousins with my little oat wafers. They are neither quite so simple, nor quite so homey. These are still a down-to-earth tea cookie, but you can also imagine them with ice cream. 

The light, crunchy texture is very pleasing, and there is some flexibility with regards to ingredients. You'll see!!

Because I roll these out into a large rectangle on a silicone mat, then draw lines into the dough with a spastic spatula, they are quick and easy to make. Rolled shape cookies are great, but a  lot of work. So, you do you, but I am very happy to make these as basic as possible. That being said, you can certainly cut them into any shape you like on the silicone mat as well. I just happen to like the little triangles with fork holes in them. Why? I do not know.

equipment needed:

mixing bowls

mixing spoons

measuring cups

measuring spoons

silicone mat or baking parchment

baking sheet

whisk

rolling pin

ingredients:

A)

1 cup of flour (I used 1/2 cup sorghum and 1/2 cup millet. You can also try 1/2 cup brown rice or 1/2 cup oat flour. Make sure your flours total 1 cup)

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup cocoa or cacao (I used a combination of different types of cocoa totally 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup soy milk powder 

B)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 tsp himalayan salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream tartar

1/2 tsp tonka bean powder (optional!!)

C)

1/4 cup coconut oil

D)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp molasses

directions:

1. in a large bowl, combine the ingredients from part A and part B, and mix well, making sure you break up any clumps. I often use a whisk to mix dry ingredients. 

2. in a small bowl, combine the ingredients from D, and mix well.

3. add C to the large bowl, and mix with a fork

4. add the mixed ingredients from D to the large bowl, and mix well until everything comes together and forms a dough

5. turn the dough out onto your rectangular silicone mat or similarly sized parchment paper, and shape press into a preliminary log

6. sprinkle a little extra flour onto the dough, and gradually roll out into a rectangle. (I use a plastic spatula to shape the edges.) Try to keep the thickness as consistent as possible.

7. When the dough is rolled out, use a plastic spatula or similar to cut the dough into squares or triangles (or your idea) on the silicone mat (or parchment). Put the mat onto a baking sheet, and bake at 345 for 25 or 30 minutes. (make sure it doesn't get too brown)

8. You can further dehydrate the biscuits to full crispness in a low oven over night. (my oven's lowest setting is 170, and this seems to do the trick)

Apple Cake Cookies -- big, soft, gluten-free and plant-based cookies

Ever wonder what happens when you take a muffin or cake batter, and bake it as a big soft cookie? The thing you need to understand is that gluten-free muffin or cake batter is much thicker and stiffer than its non-gluten-free cousin, so this works perfectly in the gluten-free world. In the non-gluten-free world, you might end up with a sloppy mess on your hands. 

We're big into the cake-cookies these days. For one thing, they are a perfect way to portion cake so that you don't eat too big a piece. (I'm looking at you, 12 year old) For another thing, they make cookies that are soft enough for ice-cream sandwiches. For yet one more thing, my partner loves soft cookies. So: win-win-win. 

We've been rocking the oatmeal and chocolate chip cake cookies, the double chocolate cake cookies, the banana and chocolate chip cake cookies, and today, the apple cake cookie. Think double chocolate cake cookies with a decadent layer of rich chocolate blender ice cream inside, or gorgeous banana chocolate chip cake cookies sandwiching some  incredibly creamy vanilla blender ice cream. 

I've packed as much flavour as possible into these little delights -- and for anyone who knows me and my flavour layering obsession, that is a fair-bit. I have apple flour in this recipe, because I had an opportunity to try some and I thought it would be fun. If you don't have any, don't worry. You can simply add in an extra 1/4 cup of oat flakes instead, or an extra 1/4 cup of date powder if you're feeling wild.

equipment needed:

oven

kettle

baking sheets

silicone baking mats or baking parchment

spatula

mixing bowls

mixing spoon

whisk

measuring cups

measuring spoons

knife

cutting board

cup of water

fork

4 tbsp scoop

ingredients:

A)

2 cups water (warmed in kettle to melt coconut oil)

1/2 cup coconut oil (alt you can use 1/2 cup avocado oil)

1 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 drops lemon essential oil (or you can sub in lemon flavouring if you like. Lemon juice isn't the same)

B)

2 tbsp date powder (aka date sugar, literally dehydrated and powdered dates)

1 cup coconut sugar (aka coconut palm sugar)

C)

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon (yes there is a difference, bu you can simply throw in 2 tsp of what you've got)

1 tsp saigon cinnamon

1 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp tonka bean powder (tonka what?? don't worry -- totally optional!!)

1/2 tsp himalayan salt

D)

1 cup almond flour

1/4 cup apple flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1/4 cup soy milk powder 

E)

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup millet flour

1/2 cup oat flakes

F)

2 apples, cored and diced (I left the skin on, but you do you) (I used gala -- choose your fav baking apple!)

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345

2. in a bowl, combine the ingredients from A and set aside

3. in a large bowl, combine the ingredients from B, C, D, and E. I use a whisk to make sure the distribution is as good as possible.

4. prepare your apples! wash, core, dice. make sure the pieces are not too big! 1 cm cube or less.

5. pour your mixture from A into the large bowl of dry ingredients, and stir well, scraping down the sides until it is perfectly combined.

6. when the batter is mixed, add in the diced apple, and stir until fully incorporated.

7. using a 4 tbsp scoop, place the batter on a baking sheet, adequately spacing the balls that you can flatten them a little. I use baking sheets lined with silicone mats, and place 12 per baking sheet. (makes about 27 (or you can just add a wee bit extra onto each one, and make 24)

8. One the batter has been scooped, flatten the cookies a little using a fork dipped in water.

9. bake at 345 for 35-40 minutes, or until they spring back nicely

10. cool on the baking sheets for a little while

11. remove from the baking sheets using a metal spatula, and fully cool on a cooling rack.

12. store in an airtight container in the fridge

Double Chocolate soft cookies -- whole foods, plant based, gluten free deliciousness

For when oatmeal chocolate chip is not going to ring that bell, these double chocolate pieces of fabulousness may be just what you need.

These big, soft, puffy cookies are halfway between cake and cookie -- and they are chocolatey enough for even the most thorough-going of chocolate lovers. The best part is how good they are for you. All the decadence and satisfaction you could want, all while fuelling you well.

Cacao is a dark flavour, and my rule of thumb tends to be you need an addition of sweetener on a 1:1 ratio with however much cacao you put into something. Hence, since there is 3/4 cup cacao in these, there's an additional 3/4 cup date sugar on top of the coconut sugar in them. However, you are welcome to reduce that to whatever suits your own palate.

Finally, when it comes to grain flours, they are not all equal. However, these 'cakies' are super forgiving, and you can certainly sub in your favourite gluten free flours instead of millet. I love sorghum (super high in protein! tastes nice! delicate texture!) and oat flour, some people like brown rice flour or whatever. You do you. You may have to play around a little with quantities to make it work out perfectly, but what's a 1/4 cup rolled oats more or less between friends?

equipment needed:

measuring cups
measuring spoons
mixing bowls
whisk
4 tablespoon scoop (optional) or soup spoon
fork and cup of water
baking sheets and silicone mats (or parchment)
oven
timer


ingredients:

a)
2 cups water
1/4 cup avocado oil (or 1/4 cup melted coconut oil)
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

b)
1 cup coconut sugar
3/4 cup date sugar

c)
1 cup almond flour (or sunflower seed flower for a nut-free version)
1/2 cup tapioca powder
1/4 cup millet flour
3/4 cup cacao powder

d)
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup soy milk powder

e)
1/2 tsp salt (earth salt, why not)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp tonka bean powder (optional!)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

f)
1 cup oat flakes

g)
1 or 2 cups of chocolate chunks


directions:

preheat oven to 345

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the ingredients from a) and b), and whisk well
2. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients from c), d), e) and f), and whisk or stir until fully mixed
3. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir very very well, until completely incorporated
4. add in g)
5. using a 4 tbsp scoop, deposit equal lumps of the cookie dough onto the lined cookie sheets, aiming for about 12 per cookie sheet, until all the cookie dough is used up (I squeeze them all onto 2 baking sheets -- they won't spread at all)
6. using a fork dipped in water, (slightly) flatten and shape the cookie dough
7. bake at 345 for 25-30 minutes
8. allow to cool on the baking sheets, and then remove with a metal spatula

Breakfast Cookies -- a customizable, grabble, gluten-free, plant-based quick-meal

I don't personally think breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, I've never been a breakfast person, so there you have my implicit bias. My kid used to love breakfast, and often also second breakfast. He was all about that first meal of the day. Even just the thought of breakfast used to make him happy. These days, I think he's gearing up to be a teenager because he's become much less interested in eating in the morning, and often will just have a small scoop of peanut butter and call it done. Eating is one of those things that's both highly personal, but also shared by everyone, so it's hard not to be affected by other people's opinions about what one should do. As my old voice teacher said "You do you. I'll be over there in the corner sweeping." I've always liked to let my kid direct his own eating as much as possible, schedules not withstanding, because I had always taught him to listen to his body, and take care of it based on what it told him he needed. For some people, breakfast happens when you wake up. For others, the first meal of the day is noon or later.  But I do think, regardless of what time of day you eat any meal, sometimes it needs to be really really fast, or really really easy to take with you.

I wanted to make a breakfast food that was portable, compact, nut-free, and nutrient dense. Oh -- and, of course, delicious. That, along with nutritious, is the other non-negotiable. I am forecasting broad appeal for these breakfast cookies. A combination of gluten-free oat bran and sunflower seed flour provides a wholesome base, and then plenty of tasty mix-ins to jazz it up. The mix-ins are customizable, so you can use whatever suits your fancy.

I say breakfast, but these are a great trail snack for hiking, post workout-refuel, or anytime you need to stoke your engines with nutrient dense, wholesome goodness.

They are sweetened with a little coconut nectar, which is from the flowers of the coconut palm. Coconut nectar is very low on the glycemic index, high in minerals, and has a pleasant fruity sweetness that is neither cloying nor overpowering. There is also just a bit of date sugar in them -- literally ground up dates -- which is also full of minerals, and also fibre. The balance of fats and proteins in these cookies mean that even with a little bit of sweetness, they won't spike your blood sugar, and will definitely satisfy your need for fuel, as well as your hunger for something very tasty.

equipment needed:

measuring spoons

measuring cups

mixing bowls 

mixing spoons

whisk

kettle (for heating water)

2 cookie baking sheets

2 silicone baking mats or baking parchment

oven

pan for toasting coconut and pumpkin seeds on the stove top

4 tbsp cookie dough scoop

rubber/silicone scraper

oven mitts

fork

cup of water

2 cooling racks

metal spatula

ingredients needed:

A)

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup coconut butter (or any nut butter if you don't need these to be nut free!! I've used almond butter for these and they were very successful)

1/2 cup coconut nectar 

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

B)

1/4 cup date sugar

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds ground into flour (I ground my raw sunflower seeds in a coffee grinder until they were a fine powder) (You can substitute almond flour if you don't need these to be nut free!)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp himalayan salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp ground tonka bean (optional)

C)

mix-ins 

2/3 cup desiccated coconut, toasted in a pan on the stove top until nicely light brown

2/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds, toasted in a pan on the stove top

1/3 cup dried cranberries (I use the apple-juice sweetened ones)

1/3 cup seedless raisins

2/3 cup hemp hearts

1 cup fair-trade dark chocolate chips/chunks

... or whatever you like!

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345

2. line your 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone. I love silicone mats, and use them almost exclusively. They last forever.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients from A, and set aside

4. In another mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients from B, and mix very well

5. using a whisk, stir the contents first mixing bowl until completely mixed

6. add the ingredients from the second bowl into the first bowl, and mix very well with a spoon

7. once the 2 bowls have been successfully combined, add the mix-ins and stir well

8. scoop the cookie dough using the 4 tbsp scoop, placing 12 scoops per baking sheet, at regular intervals (usually 3x4). You should have 2 sheets of 12 each.

9. using a fork dipped in a cup of water, flatten the cookies into a pleasing thickness and nice round shape

10. bake at 345 for 24 minutes. Swap the top and bottom tray positions with each other half way through, at the 12 minute mark.

11. remove the cookie sheets from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a while

12. When they are cool, you can remove the cookies from the baking sheets using a metal spatula

store in an airtight container

share with friends

enjoy

The Bake Sale Cookie -- an Oatmeal and Chocolate Chunk masterpiece that will rock your world whether you are gluten-free and vegan or not

The thing about chocolate chip oatmeal cookies is this: almost everybody loves them. And these ones, my friend, elevate the basic treat to decadent and irresistible.

I came up with the recipe when I wanted a cookie for our regular school council coffee morning at my kid's public school. 

Every time we have these cookies out, someone asks for there recipe.

These are a nut free, plant based treat that are naughty and delicious little sugar bombs, but without any processed ingredients or unpleasant additives. Load them down with fair trade dark chocolate, and enjoy  a thoroughly satisfying treat with a cup of coffee or tea.  There is nothing virtuous about these little delights. But sometimes, that's exactly what any of us wants. Something completely naughty without any talk-back.

equipment needed:

kettle (to heat the water)

measuring cups

measuring spoons

whisk

mixing bowls (at least 2)

mixing spoons

cookie dough scoops (optional -- you can also use spoons)

baking sheets and silicone mats or parchment paper

cooling racks

oven

fork for flattening the cookies just a little

ingredients:

A)

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil

B)

1/2 cup brown sugar

6 tbsp organic cane sugar

1 tbsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

C)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/8 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp tonka bean powder (optional)

1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon

D)

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 cup (gluten free) scotch oats (or grind up rolled oats a little in the food processor)

1/2 cup finely shredded (unsweetened) coconut

E)

2 cups (gluten free) rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

F)

1 cup fair trade chocolate chips

(or 1/2 cup mini-chips, 1/2 cup regular size chips)

directions:

1. heat oven to 345

2. combine A, and let melt

3. whisk in B

4. whisk in C

5. stir in D

6. stir in E

7. stir in F

8. line two baking sheets with silicone mats or baking parchment

9. scoop batter by 2 tbsp scoop, 12 per baking sheet, and flatten a little with a wet fork (you can also use the wet fork to fork the cookies into a good shape if they look a little sloppier than you prefer)

10. bake at 345 for 18 to 20 minutes. If you bake 2 pans at a time, you can switch them

halfway through baking. (You can also use a 4 tbsp scoop and do jumbo cookies, baking them 6 per tray so they have room to spread without sticking together)

11. makes about 30 cookies (2 1/2 dozen)

baker's notes:

1. if you want to break the creation of these cookies into stages, you can combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl  (C-E) and mix them really well, and combine all the wet ingredients ingredients (A-B) in a separate bowl. You can set these aside until you are ready for them a couple of hours later. Just mix them together, add the chocolate chips, and then put them on the cookie sheets while the oven is preheating. This is what I do sometimes!!

2. if the cookie dough seems 'runny' at all, add more quick oats. Trust your instincts as a baker on whether or not the cookies have enough integrity to hold together.

dry and wet ingredients combined separately ahead of time for efficient use of time