Caramel Walnut Cookies

12 04 2013

Mmmmmm the sweet smell of cookies. There is something very comforting about cookies and these ones are a perfect match for a cup of tea/coffee/smoothie/water. Really any excuse to eat them will suffice. They are sweetened only with a few fresh dates so won’t have you off your face on a sugar high. Ever notice how walnuts look like little brains? Well that is because they are smart little nuts. They are LOADED with vitamin E which is an excellent antioxidant, rich in omega 3 fatty acids which provide an excellent anti inflammatory action for our bodies and contains lots of important B-complex vitamins. What clever little nuts.

On a totally different note, I had my food allergies tested last week after being inspired by my wonderful friend Belinda @ Intensity PT (you can read her article HERE) to get to the root of my dodgy gut. Results should be in this week, if I am allergic to coconut the outcome could be dire….. At least I could still eat these cookies.

3 cups walnuts (you could try using another type of nut, I haven’t so I am not sure how it would go)
6-8 fresh dates (if you like things really sweet, go with 8)
1 tbs lucuma powder (OPTIONAL- you can leave this out)
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Extra walnuts to decorate cookies

Preheat your oven to 160C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Add the walnuts & all other dry ingredients to your food processor & blend until the walnuts are a rough flour. Add all other ingredients & blend until a smooth batter forms. It will still be quite sticky. Wet your hands with water and roll the batter into balls and place on the baking tray, flatten them out slightly to cookie shapes. This should make about 12 cookies. Place in try oven for about 15 minutes. You can leave them in a bit longer if you want a crunchier cookie. Once you remove them from the oven, allow to cool for about 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. These freeze well if you want to store them in the freezer, I keep mine in the fridge.

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Dark Choc Orange Hot Cross Buns

1 04 2013

Every year for the last few years Trav & I have hosted “Brisbane’s Best Hot Cross Bun” competition. Our family & friends all come over, bring buns that they have made or bought, all buns are carefully tasted & judged and voted upon. This year it was a tie between my Dark Choc Orange Buns & my mum’s Molten Chocolate Hot Cross Buns. This year to help burn off the sugar from the event we thought we’d introduce an extra Easter tradition. Handball. The kind you play in primary school. It was epic. There were some awesome moves. My young cousins flogged everyone but that obviously doesn’t count because they are ‘current players’ whereas the rest of us had all come out of ‘retirement’ for the event. Here’s my bun recipe.

Buns-
100g Lindt Intense Orange Dark Chocolate, chopped roughly
3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 heaped tsp nutmeg
1 heaped tbs cinnamon.
1 tsp stevia powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
125g organic grassfed butter cubed
Zest & flesh of 1 orange (purée the flesh in the food processor/blender)
3 eggs – whites & yolks separated

Crosses-
1 heaped tbs coconut flour
1 tsp cacao powder
water

Preheat your oven to 170C. Prepare you cupcake cases (I used silicone), I made about 12.
In a large bowl add all your dry bun ingredients as well as the orange zest and mix well.
Add the butter and rub into the mixture with your fingertips until it is kinda like a crumble texture.
Add the egg yolks and orange puree & stir well to combine. In a separate bowl beat your egg whites until soft peaks form and then gently fold these through the rest of the mix. Spoon into your cupcake moulds and place aside while you make the mixture for your crosses.

Crosses- Pop coconut flour & cacao in a small bowl & use the back of a spoon to flatten out any lumps. Gradually add drops of water while stirring to form a thick paste. I just used a spoon to gently drizzle the cross on the top of each bun but you can use a piping bag or ziplock bag if you prefer.

Pop them into the oven for 25-30 mins. Allow to cool slightly before removing from silicone moulds & placing on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Here’s how mine looked…

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This is a collage of the days events….

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And the weirdest family photo ever…..

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert

No Cook Carrot Cake

28 03 2013

By no cook I mean no bake, it still requires a cook. It’s not going to make itself. It’s cake, it’s not that clever. Trav thinks this is the best cake yet…. He also thought that when I blended frozen peas (thanks Bel for the idea) with blueberries & Acai powder in the food processor as dessert one night that THAT was “definitely THE BEST creation ever”, true story. So let it be known, he is VERY easily pleased. This is actually delicious though & was inspired by THIS RECIPE that I adapted based on what I had.

For the base-
1/2 cup almonds (can sub for cashews or macadamias)
4 fresh dates
1/2 cup coconut butter (you could use 1/4 cup coconut oil, it will just change the texture slightly)
1 1/2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves

In your food processor blend dates, almonds & coconut butter until fairly smooth. Add remaining ingredients & blend until just combined. Press into a baking paper lined tray (I used a loaf tin) and pop in the freezer while you do the icing.

For the icing-
1/2 cup blanched almonds, soaked in water for about an hour or more, then drained (no drama if you don’t use blanched it will just darken the icing colour slightly- you can also use cashews)
5 tbs water (approx)
Juice 1/2 lemon & zest
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
Dash stevia to taste
2 tbs coconut butter (again you can use coconut oil but probably don’t add the water if you do)

Blend all icing ingredients in the food processor until smooth. Add extra water/coconut oil to achieve the desired consistency. Spread this on top of the carrot cake base & place in the fridge (or freezer if you are super impatient like me). Top with some extra walnuts & a sprinkle of cinnamon. Can be stored in the fridge or freezer, just let it thaw before trying to munch on it when you take it from the freezer.

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert

Banana Cinnamon Cookies

20 03 2013

I love cookies. So much. I could eat them every day. According to the health foundation food pyramid, cookies are a ‘sometimes’ food. Well they can bite me, these cookies are an ‘everytime you work your ar$e off at the gym you can have one (or 3) kinda food’. They have some great healthy fat sources from the nut butter & coconut and only have 1 banana between about 12 cookies so are pretty low carb! High fibre, high iron, rich in B vitamins, potassium packed bananas are great fuel for our bodies. Many studies have also shown that adding cinnamon also helps lower the GI of high GI foods like bananas and assists in regulating blood sugar levels. I love cookies. Did I mention that?

250g of nut butter (I used almond but peanut/cashew/macadamia/ sunflower seed would work well too)
1 large egg
60 g coconut oil
1/3 cup raw organic honey or 1/2 tsp stevia powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 very ripe banana

Preheat your oven to 160C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place your nut butter, egg, banana, coconut oil and honey (or stevia) in your food processor and process to combine. Add in your salt and spices and process to mix well. Add your coconut flour and baking soda and process one last time. You should now have quite a sticky dough. Spoon your cookies out on your lined tray and press them down to look like cookies. Bake for 10-15 minutes for a still chewy but nicely baked cookie. Remove from the oven and let cool. This made about a dozen cookies.

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert, Snack

Coconutty Fudge

2 03 2013

I had a heap of coconut butter left over from making my Coconutty Cookies and I thought that, instead of just eating it with a spoon out of the thermomix (not that I would do that…..Totally hypothetically speaking…. Ok, alright, I have, and probably will again, stop judging you judgey mcjudge), I would make some fudge because that is my fallback plan for leftover nut butter and this was similar and I am not feeling very imaginative.

These quantities are pretty rough so just use them as a guide and adjust as you need to.

1 cup of coconut butter (ish? Maybe closer to 1&1/2 cups?)
2 heaped tbs whey protein
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
2 tsp lucuma powder (you can leave this out, I just chucked it in because I had it)
Pinch stevia (or pure maple syrup)
Raw cacao nibs to decorate- optional

Mix everything really well in a bowl. Pour into a baking paper lined dish. Pop it in the fridge to set. Voila.

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