Chocolate Chunk Cookies, GRAIN & SUGAR FREE

Oops! I sort of forgot about the Chocolate Chunk Cookies I mentioned in one of my last posts . . . sorry ;). I'm still here, we've been busy with kidding/lambing season here.

Well, when people think of chocolate it is usually somehow linked with sugar. But it's this simple: cocoa powder does not have sugar in it. It's that simple. Add some good fat and a touch of honey to that powder. Let it set.

Chewy cookies with a touch of the sweetness of honey, add some . . . sugar-free chocolate. You got it.

The chocolate chunks actually have the taste and texture of chocolate, nice and smooth. My sugar-free friend - who really likes chocolate - was so excited that I made her something chocolate. And when she tasted it? Yep, it was a success.

Now, I'm not exactly sure if these are GAPS legal because of the cocoa. Some say "yes", others say "no". I didn't do extensive research about it, but you may decide for yourself, if you're on the GAPS diet.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Grain, Gluten, Dairy, Sugar, Corn, Soy, Gum, etc. FREE)
Ideas from Whole New Mom and Nourished and Nurtured

1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey, to taste

2 cups almond meal/flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg
2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/4 cup honey

1. In a small saucepan combine the first 3 ingredients. Melt together over medium heat, stirring constantly - be careful not to burn this mixture. Pour into a small bowl or dish. Place in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all the remaining ingredients to form a dough. Remove the chocolate mixture from the freezer and chop into small pieces. Stir the chocolate chunks into the cookie dough.

3. Drop the dough by a spoon onto a cookie sheet greased with coconut oil. Bake for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on size and shape of the cookies. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack (or your mouth ;) ) to cool completely.


~ Hanunyah

Linked to:

Tuesdays At The Table

Temp My Tummy Tuesdays

Home and Family Friday

Link Party @ the space between

Sugar & Spice by Seven Thirty Three

creative juices @ momnivore's dilemma

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Yesterday was my younger sister's birthday. I baked all day and made 3 dozen vanilla cupcakes, a strawberry jello poke cake and orange cooked frosting (triple recipe). For the cake and cupcakes, I doubled this recipe. I also added a few chocolate chips to the cupcakes and cake.

Of course, the funnest part was decorating the cupcakes. We had got a frosting dispenser from somewhere, and I just put it in the cupboard and forgot about it until yesterday. So, I pulled it out and figured it out - it turned out to be very easy to use and clean - it worked great! There are several tips with it, too.

So, here are the pictures ~ I thought they turned out pretty good for my first time try using this deal ;).

This is what happens when different colors meet ;).

Rainbow!

And lastly, the poke cake - very yummy and moist! (I'll post the recipe soon, Lord willing).

Love ya, sis!


~ Hanunyah


Link Parties:
Take-a-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts


Sugar and Spice at seven thirty three











Food on Friday @ Carole's Chatter

Banana Cream Crunch

My brother was trying to grab it off the screen ;).

Another "Hanunyah Creation", this sure was a hit! With many bananas and the Vita-Mix cream/pudding recipe I created (with a surprise ingredient), I made this interesting no-bake treat the other day.

For a quick run-down? - A soft oat-peanut crust + ripe, sweet bananas + Vita-Cream + the good stuff (peanuts and chocolate chips) = a quick and easy, no-bake, delightful snack or dessert.

This was very good, and it was gone in minutes - credit to my taste-testers, who were hungry for a sweet snack ;).

Banana Cream Crunch
Hanunyah Creation

Crust:
1 cup safe oats*
1/2 cup peanuts*

2 to 4 bananas
a few tablespoons peanuts**

Cream Pudding:
1 3/4 cups cooked rice***
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons vanilla
1 to 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup peanuts
safe chocolate chips (optional)

1. Add all crust ingredients to the Vita-Mix container. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to variable 6 to 10. Blend a few seconds, until the mixture is crumbly and moist.

2. Press into a 9x13 inch pan.**** Slice the bananas over the crust, and sprinkle with some peanuts.

3. Combine all cream pudding ingredients in the Vita-Mix. Blend on high for a couple minutes, adding enough water until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Pour over banana layer.


4. Top with peanuts and chocolate chips, if desired. Refrigerate until set. Cut into pieces to serve.


Notes:
*Instead of blending the oats and peanuts together for the crust, you may mix together oat flour and peanut butter, then proceed as the recipe instructs.
**If there are allergies, or if desired, you may use other nuts in place of the peanuts.
***Instead of using all rice, you may use cooked mashed potato for 3/4 cup of the rice. You may need to use more vanilla and sugar to cover up the potato taste.
****The crust was kind of soggy, so, if you like, you may bake the crust for a few minutes at 350 degrees F, until light golden brown.


~ Hanunyah


Linked to Foodie Friday by Not Your Ordinary Recipes

Chocolate Cherry Cream Cake

Today was my oldest sister's 23rd birthday (Happy B-day, Q!). See her work on her blogs - Got Down Syndrome, Hoppin' Herd of Hares and Country Girl Web Design)

Maybe not exactly pretty, but a nice mess.

With some cherries on hand and a instant pudding recipe I created yesterday (made in the Vita-Mix, with a surprise ingredient - yes, we are having fun with this "blender on steroids" ;) ), I made this cake today for her birthday. But after adding the second layer of moist oat flour chocolate cake - that crumbled, and I thought it was going to be a disaster. But, I poured some cherry sauce over the pudding mess and added the third layer of cake - it ended up holding together pretty well.

Moist chocolate cake oozing with puddin' and cherry sauce.

So, after all this turned out pretty good - very moist chocolate cake, vanilla pudding, cherries and toppings don't hurt ;). I decided against using frosting, and I think it was sweet enough without. You could go the frosting route, but I think it would be pretty rich - is that a bad thing? It just depends on what you're in the mood for ;). In other words, feel free to cover it in rich ganache, or just throw on some chocolate chips and cherries.

Chocolate Cherry Cream Cake (Gluten, Dairy, Corn-free)
Hanunyah Creation

3 11-inch round layers of oat flour chocolate cake (3 times the recipe)

Cream Filling:
1 3/4 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons vanilla
3/4 to 1 cup water


Cherry Filling:
1 cup fresh or frozen cherries
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar

1. Combine all cream filling ingredients in the Vita-Mix. Blend on high for a couple minutes, adding enough water until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Cool.

2. In a small saucepan, combine all cherry filling ingredients over medium-high heat. Stir until it comes to a boil and is thick. Cool.

3. To assemble - place one cooled cake layer, bottom side up, on a large platter. Set aside. Pour the cream filling on top of the cake layer on the platter. Top with the second layer of cake. Spread the cherry filling over that. Place the remaining cake over that and top with frosting or whatever you want - chocolate chips, cherries, marshmallows, etc.

A sticky mess with some kind of weird gap in there . . . 

~ Hanunyah

Rocky Road Bars

Marshmallows, chocolate and nuts. Homemade marshmallows, chocolate chips and nuts are combined in my version here - I searched, combined some recipe ideas and came up with my own version.

And when was the last time you saw desserts in the middle of the road? (it was easy here, because our country road is not very active). But that's what I like - being unique. Whether it's celery 'n' PB cake or me weirdly taking pictures in the middle of the road - it's not a bad thing to stand out from the rest.

If you ever find yourself with extra marshmallows (not very likely in most cases), then make these bars. Or, if you don't have extra marshmallows, make some and then make these. Or, if you want, you may go with the store-bought variety, if your body doesn't take offense to it.

Rocky Road Bars (Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Gum-free)
Adapted from Cookie Madness and AllRecipes.com

2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lard
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rice or other gluten-free flour
2 cups nuts, very finely chopped (I used walnuts and peanuts)
2 to 3 cups small marshmallows
1 1/2 cups safe chocolate chips, divided


1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line an 9x13 inch pan with foil (optional, but would be easier) and spray it with cooking spray or grease with oil.


2. In medium bowl, beat together sugar and lard. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add soda and salt until well mixed, then gently stir in flour and 1 cup of the nuts. The batter will not be like cookie dough.


3. Spread in prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips. When the crust is done, remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Spread a thin layer of the melted chocolate on the crust. Sprinkle the marshmallows, remaining chocolate chips and then nuts over chocolate layer. (See note).


4. Chill until set, then cut into pieces.


Notes:
Be sure to sprinkle the nuts on last. I sprinkled them on first, and it made it so that the marshmallows didn't stick very well.

~ Hanunyah


Linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays by The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Making the World Cuter Monday by Making the World Cuter and Just Something I Whipped Up by The Girl Creative

31 for 21: Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

I know I already did a post for today, but I wanted to do 2 in one day because of the first day that I didn't post a recipe - so here's the 31st recipe!

Well, here is the last post for October. I hope you enjoyed all the recipes, and to end it here is another great recipe that my oldest sister made. I'll post the pictures I took, and you can skip over to her blog for the recipe - Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins.

Here are the links to the blogs of those in my family who did the challenge -
Life on the Ranch - my mom
Got Down Syndrome - my oldest sister
Good Goats - another sister of mine

Also, to see everyone else's blogs who did the challenge, go to Unringing the Bell.

Thanks for following along as we live out life with our blessing!! I hope you had a sweet ending to the month!

Goodnight,
~ Hanunyah

Grab This Button

BBQ pictures

Here are some pictures from a BBQ we had on Labor Day.

~ Hanunyah

Sweet and Salty Dessert Pizza

Another sweet pizza . . . somebody gave us a bunch of chips, so I came up with this funky flavor. They said it was good (and blog-worthy :-) ), but surely not as good as the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Dessert Pizza.


Sweet and Salty Dessert Pizza (Gluten-free, Dairy-free)
Hanunyah Creation


Crust:
1/2 cup lard
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups rice flour
1/2 cup crushed chips (I used corn chips)

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup milk*
2 tablespoons lard
1/4 cup crushed chips (I used corn chips)
1 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all of the crust ingredients. Spread in a greased round baking pan (I use a 11 inch stoneware baking pan). You may need to add a teaspoon or two of water (before spreading in the pan) for easier spreading. Bake in preheated oven for about 9 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

2. For the sauce, combine the brown sugar, milk and lard. Stir until dissolved, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the extract and chips. Beat until thick, and spread on the crust.


Notes:
*You may need to add a little water if the dough is too thick to spread in the pan.
**For the milk in the topping I used some "cream cheese" that my sister made, that didn't turn out right - it was really thin (it smelled like cream cheese, it just was too thin to hang), so we used it in baking.




~ Hanunyah