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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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert, Snack

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 Cookies

2 03 2013

I don’t know why there is a kettle bell in this photo? Maybe these cookies make you want to do some kettlebell swings. I think Trav was being a creative genius. I don’t question it, he’s the photo dude. I was making some more Choc Coconut Clusters and I went a bit overboard with the mixture….. So I started adding extra things to the bowl and these happened. They are, well, coconutty. They are not chocolatey though you could add more cacao if you wanted a more chocolate taste. Hot tip. Coconut butter & coconut oil ARE NOT the same thing people. Think peanut butter v’s peanut oil. Coconut oil is the oil extracted from coconut flesh. Coconut butter is the whole coconut flesh puréed into a butter.

Don’t be deterred by the high fat content of coconuts, the saturated fat in coconut is made up of short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids the body quickly turns into energy instead of storing as fat. Therefore, even though it’s high in saturated fat, coconut can aid in weight loss. Half the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut are composed of lauric acid, which is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-fungal. Coconut can help boost the immune system.

3 cups coconut flakes (shredded will be fine)- preservative free
1 heaped tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or extract
Optional- 2 tbs protein powder
3 eggs
2 tbs raw cacao
1 tbs nut butter
1 cup Coconut Butter (if you don’t have this you can use 1/2 cup coconut oil & 1/2 nut butter)
Dash stevia (or maple syrup if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 150C. line some baking trays with baking paper. Ok, in a bowl whisk together the cinnamon, vanilla, stevia, cacao and eggs. Pour over the coconut and mix well. Heat your nut butter and coconut butter gently in the microwave or a small pot until it is a bit runny. Pour this over the coconut mix and give it a good mix. It should be looking doughy. If it is too dry, add another egg. Add protein powder now if you are using it. Once all is combined and doughy. With your hands roll into cookie shapes, place in tray, bake for 5-10 mins depending on how fudgy or crunchy you like them. I did mine for about 8 mins. I drizzled some extra coconut butter on top. These are best stored in the fridge though they do freeze well.

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert, Snack

Orange & Almond Cookies

25 01 2013

I wanted to bake a cake tonight. Lemon & poppyseed. I didn’t have any lemons left. Or poppyseeds. Then I lost interest in the cake idea, they do take a while to bake. I have no patience today. So, change of plan. Cookies. Actually cookie dough, or bake-free cookies if you like. You will like. They are fast, they are clean, they are sugar free, they are full of great healthy fats & protein. Splendid splendid no bake orange & almond cookies, or balls, you can make them balls, or just eat the dough out of the bowl. I totally didn’t do that.

1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup coconut butter ( if you don’t have this use 1/2 cup coconut flour & 1/2 cup coconut oil)
Juice & zest of 1 orange
Stevia to taste (or sweetener of your choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or extract
1/4 cup chopped lightly toasted almond (optional)
1/2 cup flavorless (or vanilla) protein powder (you can use extra coconut flour if you don’t have this)
Pinch salt

Add everything together in a bowl or food processor & mix well until completely combined. Should be a dough-like consistency. You can add a bit extra coconut/almond flour if it is too wet still. Spoon into your hand and shape into whatever you like and pop them in the freezer to set. I store mine in the freezer too but the fridge would be fine. I also baked a couple just for fun. 180C for about 10-15 mins.

Here’s the baked ones…

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And the raw version…

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert, Snack

Choc Chip Pistachio Cookies

10 01 2013

This is Round 2 of my cookie fail from last week that saw me eating everything with “cookie crumbs” pretending that they were a purposeful ingredient, not the actual DisasterChef moment they were. These were delicious, though I still think there is room for improvement so this recipe might get updated when I next make them. Loaded with good fats and protein, these cookies will definitely beat the 3pm sweet craving without peaking your insulin off the charts and giving you diabetes.

1 cup almond meal
1 tbs ground flaxseed
1 cup coconut butter (or nut butter)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 tbs lucuma powder (optional)
Stevia to taste (or 1/4 cup raw honey/maple syrup)
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 cup raw cacao nibs or dark choc chips

Preheat oven to 150C (fan forced). Blend all ingredients except pistachios & cacao nibs in the food processor until combined. Stir through the cacao nibs & pistachio. Shape into “cookies” and pop on a baking paper lined tray. Bake for about 15-20 mins and allow to cool completely before removing from tray.

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Before they went in the oven….

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert, Snack

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