Well, I guess if you eat the whole thing…..you might gain some weight!
I’ve been in the baking mood lately and wanted to share some of my favorites. I don’t feel too guilty when I make these, and because I’m gluten free, it’s always a challenge to find desserts that taste good too. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Ginger Snaps
Ginger anything means Christmas to me. These are delicious with a cup of hot tea in the afternoon, and no guilt!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or 3/4 cup Monk Fruit
- 3 Tablespoons Black Strap Molasses
- 1 Large egg
- 1 1/2 cups Almond flour
- 6 Tablespoons Coconut flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees
In mixing bowl combine coconut oil, molasses, egg and sugar, mix well. In separate bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, ginger, salt and baking soda, mix well. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well mixed (it will be sticky.)
Place parchment paper (or spray with non-stick spray) on a large cookie sheet. Form round balls from dough (about 1 Tablespoon size) and drop onto parchment paper. Bake for 8 minutes, then “press” down balls with large tablespoon and bake 2 minutes more. It’s better to have them a little under-cooked, as they stay moist.
Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls
Do you ever want a “quick” treat, not too filling but with the holiday flavor? Then these fit that crave…..
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted Mejol dates (I like to buy them pre-cut if possible)
- 1 cup Old Fashioned rolled oats (organic)
- 1/4 cup toasted pecan halves (I toast in my toaster oven)
- 1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
- 2 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
If the dates are hard or dry, soak in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry.
Grind up the dates in a food processor until small pieces (these will get into a sticky ball)
Add in oats, pecans, pumpkin, 1 Tabl. maple syrup, flax seed, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and maple extract and salt.
Pulse to combine (nuts and oats should be in small pieces but not necessarily smooth). Taste, add 1-2 teaspoons more maple syrup if desire.
Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Scoop with a large tablespoon and make into “balls”. Store in air-tight container for 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.
For you carb counters, these have 13g per ball and 2g of protein. You could add an unflavored collagen protein powder (2 scoops) to increase the protein content.
Kiwi Tart
This beautiful tart is perfect for a dessert at a holiday meal. If you want to make this a very quick dessert, you can use a pre-made Graham Cracker crust. If you absolutely need to be gluten free, you can order gluten free graham crackers on-line.
Serves 6
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/2 cups crushed organic Graham Crackers
- 6 Tablespoons grass-fed butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons raw sugar
Stir melted butter into crushed Graham Crackers along with sugar.
Press into 8” pie plate or tart pan.
Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes – let cool
Filling
- 1 package of organic cream cheese softened
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla flavoring
- 2 Tabl. raw sugar
Mix all ingredients together until smooth
Spread into bottom of cooled pie crust
Approximately 8 Kiwi peeled and sliced thin.
1 cup sliced organic strawberries or 1 cup raspberries or blueberries.
Layer kiwi overlapping around pie crust. Repeat another layer towards middle of pie. Fill middle with strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries.
Glaze
Mix 1 tsp Cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons jelly (currant, pomegranate, grape, any will do). Melt in small saucepan and stir until thickened. Drizzle over kiwi filling. Refrigerate until ready to eat!
Yum, yum! I hope you enjoy some of these not-so-sinful desserts! We are flying (yes, again!) to Oregon the day after Christmas to visit our daughter and grandson’s. Oregon is in complete lock-down, so we have to get creative on how to keep a 10 year old and a 13 year old busy for a week! I think we might need to make some Christmas cookies 🙂
Stay well and enjoy your holiday season,
Hugs, Chris
P.S. Don’t forget, our 10 Day Detox starts January 11th! Register now, then you will have an action plan in place when the New Year comes and I’ll be right alongside you doing this too!
