Grain Free Sugar Cookies With Buttercream Frosting

Gluten Free Holiday Recipes Treats

Grain Free Sugar Cookies With Buttercream Frosting

Mellow March 04, 2018 Comments

This fantastic, easy recipe will impress your family & friends. Anyone who thinks of gluten free cookies as being a dry and punishing experience will disabuse themselves of that notion after their first bite. These coconut flour based cookies are rich and buttery, and so delicious. The frosting is equally rich, and a perfect adornment. Both are quick to whip up, and not at all fussy.

Sugar Cookies:

• 1 stick of butter (1/2 c) softened to room temp
• 1 cup sugar (I used a xylitol/natural sugar blend)
• 2 eggs
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1 c coconut flour (4.25 oz or 128 g, if you have a scale and want to be more exact)
• 1 t baking powder
• 2 tb arrowroot starch, plus more for dusting

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter & sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt and beat together well.
In a measuring cup or small bowl, stir baking powder into the coconut flour to combine. Pour into batter and mix well. Let sit for 5 minutes so the coconut flour can absorb the liquid. Add starch and mix again to knead dough for 30 seconds. If it is sticky or too moist, add more starch, up to 4 tb total.

Dust counter with starch and press or roll dough to 1/4" thick. Cut into desired shapes and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until they reach your desired shade of golden. We found them to be delicious whether baked to a dark golden brown (shown at bottom of article) or a light gold (at top).

Let cookies harden for a few minutes before removing from the cookie sheet. Cool completely before frosting. I like to place them on a cutting board in the fridge, so they're chilled and ready for frosting in about 10 minutes.

Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 stick of softened butter (1/2 c)
• 1.5 c powdered sugar
• 1.5 tb cream (from the top of can of coconut milk, or heavy cream)
• 1 t vanilla extract
• small pinch of salt
• 1/2 packet of Color Kitchen plant based food coloring, if desired

Beat butter in mixer until smooth. Slowly stir in powdered sugar, then mix on medium until mixture holds together. Add cream, vanilla, salt, and color if using, and increase speed until everything is well mixed, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Frost cookies, then store them in the fridge. Any leftover frosting can be stored in the fridge for up to a week; just bring to room temperature before using.

Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter & Yogurt Dip

DIY Gluten Free Recipes Treats

Peanut Butter & Yogurt Dip

Mellow January 31, 2018 Comments

This easy to make dip is a crowd pleaser. Feel free to use any nut butter you like, but peanut butter is definitely my kids' favorite. It's amazing as a dip for apples, as you can see, but it's also a delicious topping for pancakes & waffles. Use your imagination and let me know what other creative uses you come up with for this versatile dip.

It's pretty good for you too; although this time I made it with some corn syrup that had been sitting around in my cabinet for a hundred years, I would normally make it with raw honey. You can use whatever sweetener you feel good about. I used chunky peanut butter; creamy nut butter will yield a slightly more uniformly smooth product.

Recipe:

• 1 c cream cheese
• 1 c plain yogurt
• 1 c peanut butter
• 1/2 c honey or syrup

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Taste, and add more sweetener if desired. This time, I made it with "light corn syrup" which doesn't seem to be as sweet as honey, so I ended up adding more. Powdered sweeteners will work as well; feel free to use whatever you have.

I used goat milk yogurt but any kind of yogurt will be fine. If you are using sweetened yogurt, you won't need as much honey.

It keeps for at least a week in the fridge. This makes a fairly large batch, so you can always halve the recipe if you don't want so much. Or, make the full recipe and then freeze some for later.

Enjoy!
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How to Make 10 Minute Applesauce in the Instant Pot

Foraging Paleo Preservation Pressure Cooking Recipes Treats Urban Farming

How to Make 10 Minute Applesauce in the Instant Pot

Mellow August 15, 2016 3 Comments

This time of year, our little apple tree produces a ton of apples. They're tasty enough, but sadly all are a little buggy by the time they're ready to eat, which makes them perfect for cooking. I often make things like crisps with the apple windfall, but the past couple of years my family has been more into using them for applesauce. Here's how we do it.

Before I got my Instant Pot, I'd toss my apples in the slow cooker with some cinnamon and water, and cook them down for 8 hours. You can totally do that. It's just slow, and can really heat up your kitchen if you don't have anywhere else to plug in the crock pot. This year though? Making applesauce is crazy easy and quick in the electric pressure cooker, which I now use for nearly everything.

First, chop your apples down to about 1" chunks, removing the core and any bad spots. I would never peel my apples, as that takes work and all you're doing is removing most of the nutrition from the apple. I promise you, with the magic of an electric pressure cooker you can make very smooth applesauce without the bother of peeling. This recipe works for as many apples as you want to use.

Don't overfill the pot, since the sauce will bubble up as it cooks and you don't want to clog the vent. The pot should have a max fill line. Mine is at about 5 quarts. This process goes quickly enough that you can do several batches if you have a lot of apples to make into sauce.

Add cinnamon. This is optional; if you don't like cinnamon or don't have it, leave it out. But I love the taste and aroma of cinnamon, and it's super good for you, so I use a ton. For a full batch, 5 qts of chopped apples, I use two teaspoons of cinnamon.

Add 1 cup of water. This is not optional; the Instant Pot needs fluid in order to build up pressure. Plus that water will help blend the apples into a creamy sauce. I use one cup of water no matter how many apples I have in the pot.

If your pot is nearly full, you can cover the apples with a circle of parchment paper. This helps contain the sauce and keeps the bubbling juices from clogging the vent in the lid. I did not bother with this when I had a smaller batch of apples, but it is probably a good idea if the pot is quite full. When the pot was only half full, my lid remained perfectly clean after cooking.

Cook on the Manual setting for 10 minutes. You can let it do Natural Pressure Release (NPR) for softer sauce, or Quick Release (QR) if you like chunkier applesauce. For comparison, the jar of applesauce in the first photo is very smooth from NPR, while the sauce below is chunkier from QR.

Blend away. I use a stainless steel hand blender, so I feel comfortable blending it while it's still hot. With a plastic blender, I would wait for it to cool a bit.

Jar it up! I like to let it cool down on the counter, then refrigerate the applesauce overnight. Once it's thoroughly chilled, I pop extra jars in the freezer to use throughout the year. Do not fill the jars that are going in the freezer. Liquids need room to expand so they don't crack the glass.


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How To Peel A Mango

Dairy Free Health Raw Treats

How To Peel A Mango

Mellow August 12, 2016 5 Comments

It's the saddest thing to me, when someone doesn't like mangoes because they seem like too much of a hassle to eat, since there's no obvious way to peel them, and they have that big pit. I think mangoes are the most glorious fruit on earth. I have a couple of techniques for peeling them and removing the pit; one that I grew up with, and one that I learned as an adult and now prefer. I'm going to show you my favorite way, which takes me no more than a minute to execute, and hopefully eating mangoes won't seem like such a chore. As some readers have pointed out, this is the method that gets your hands messier. But it's fun! I'll show the other method soon!

First, be prepared for some juice. Depending on the ripeness and variety of mango, there can be a lot of liquid released while you work. I like to use a plate to catch the delicious juices that are released during the peeling process, rather than having liquid running all over my cutting board.

With a sharp knife, slice just a couple millimeters deep all the way around the mango, from the stem end back around until the slice comes full circle. Then turn the mango 90 degrees, and cut again in a full circle, just through the skin, until you have four separate sections of peel.

Starting from the bottom of the mango, take a corner of the sliced peel and lift it up and away from the fruit. It can be as easy as peeling a banana. Sometimes the peel will cling more to the fruit, and sometimes it tears a bit as you work, but just do the best you can, repeating the process with all four segments of the peel. You can always flip the mango over and work from the other end if that seems easier.

Once all the segments of skin are removed, you can use a knife to cut away the stem and any peel clinging to the mango anywhere. Peeling the entire thing takes under a minute, and then you are left with a gorgeous golden orb... Now, to get the pit out:

Holding the mango on it's end, slice down each side of the pit. The pit is long and flat, like a disc in the center of each fruit.

 Once the pit is separated, you can cut more fruit off of it easily.

Eventually you will have two large mango sections, plus several smaller pieces from the ends of the pit. It gets super easy with practice. 

Fresh mango is great on its own, in fruit salads, with yogurt and granola, or as a topping for pancakes or waffles. Enjoy!

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Your Healthy Morning Cup of Chocolate

Dairy Free DIY Gluten Free Health Paleo Raw Recipes Treats

Your Healthy Morning Cup of Chocolate

Mellow May 24, 2016 7 Comments

I remember when I first read that people used to drink a cup of hot chocolate every morning. How deliciously opulent! I thought. How unhealthy!

But of course we now know that dark chocolate is nutritious and rich in antioxidants, good for your heart and shown to be protective against cancer. It's the sugar, which chocolate is generally paired with, that is not so healthy. And when it comes to hot chocolate, specifically, most people are still drinking instant hot chocolate mix. It's easy because you can just open a packet and add water, but it's basically lacking in any health benefits, packed with sugar or artificial sweeteners, powdered milk, and often even artificial flavors. The original cup of chocolate in the morning was free of this health sapping crud. Here is how to make your own rich, healthful beverage for seemingly decadent mornings.

First of all, if you like black coffee this is going to be exceptionally easy. Simply take a mug of hot water and stir in a generous spoonful of unsweetened chocolate powder; bakers' chocolate or raw cacao powder both work. Drink up and be amazed. It's better than coffee, in my humble opinion, and still has a bit of the caffeine kick that makes it a good morning drink.

If you prefer things a bit more sweet, you of course can sweeten this simple chocolate drink however you want to, and add any kind of milk you like. For my own hot chocolate, I mixed 4 parts cacao powder with one part unsweetened carob powder. Carob is naturally sweet, and cancels out the bitterness of dark chocolate nicely. If I have some kind of milk or cream, I add a dollop. This mix is lovely. I don't drink coffee these days, and with this dark, rich beverage I really don't miss it.

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How to Make Delicious Raw Cashew Cream

Dairy Free Gluten Free Health Holiday Raw Recipes Treats

How to Make Delicious Raw Cashew Cream

Mellow December 18, 2014 6 Comments

Cashew cream is simply cashews blended with water, and it is creamy, rich and tasty, and incredibly versatile as it is. But, with the addition of a few basic, whole-food ingredients, it can be transformed into something quite divine.

Unlike other nuts, cashews don't really need to be soaked. They are soft enough that they will blend up pretty smooth in a high speed blender. However, if you're using a conventional blender, you will definitely want to soak them for about an hour prior to blending. Use the soak water right along with the nuts when you blend; it will be rich and flavorful. I still soak mine just to ensure maximum creaminess, even with the high speed blender.

You can sweeten cashew cream with soaked dates or raw honey, or stevia if you prefer. Go ahead and soak your pitted dates, if you're using them, right along with the cashews, in enough water to just cover.

Vanilla, coconut oil, cashews, and honey. 

These four ingredients are the main players in my cashew cream. Feel free to mess around with the recipe though; you can't go wrong.

The addition of a dollop of raw coconut oil, with all its richness, mild but delicious flavor, and wonderful melting properties is really what makes this particular recipe fantastic. You don't need to use too much- a little is quite noticeable in the final texture. 

Finally, a dash of vanilla extract will give the cashew cream more depth of flavor. Try making your own with this recipe.

Directions for the Cashew Cream:
 

For small amounts of cashew cream, our little Nutri Bullet works perfectly. This is about 1 C cashews. Whatever device you blend in, be sure the liquid level is above the cashew level, for easiest blending.

Add a tablespoon or two each of sweetener and coconut oil, depending on how sweet you want it, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, or half a vanilla bean.

Blend until it turns into this amazing goodness. I want some right now. Refrigerate after blending. The coconut oil will solidify the cream when it's cold, and then it will melt wonderfully when dolloped on something warm.

It melts deliciously on warm pie, cake, or baked french toast.

Also, try it on regular toast, instead of butter and all that. My son likes to just eat it with a spoon. Anything goes with this stuff.

Interested in upgrading your blender? While cashew cream can be made with any old blender, it really turns out more smooth and creamy with the power of a high speed blender. I don't go a day without using my Blendtec, often twice. Once you try a truly powerful blender, you will never go back! I'm posting the ad link below to my beloved Blendtec, as well as the other leading brand, Vitamix, for comparison. Please check it out if you're interested. Every purchase through my link helps provide us with a little bit of income.

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How To Make Delicious Water Kefir

DIY Fermented Gluten Free Health Holiday Paleo Preservation Raw Recipes Remedies Treats

How To Make Delicious Water Kefir

Mellow December 06, 2013 8 Comments

Water kefir is my new favorite thing to drink. It's so light and naturally bubbly, and can be made into any flavor with the addition of fruit juices. Plus it has the health benefits of living cultured foods. In less than a week and with minimal effort, your kefir grains will transform a small amount of juice and sugar into an amazingly tasty, versatile, and healthful beverage.

There are two stages of fermentation for your kefir, the first ferment and the second ferment. I will describe them both here. When you are given water kefir grains, they will look like this:



I scrawled a line on my jar to mark the optimal level of kefir grains. When they multiply and go over the line, it's time for me to share them with someone!

Here is how to feed and care for your kefir grains, and produce a delicious tonic in the process:

First of all, they need sugar. Simply mix sugar into warm water until it dissolves. I heat about two cups of water in a pan on the stovetop, just until it's steamy, and then stir in the sugar. There's no need to boil it. More cool water will be added, to bring the total liquid up to about a quart. I loosely measure 1/4 cup of rapidura or sucanat sugar, and stir it to dissolve. This is then poured into a large glass jar with about 1/4 c of water kefir grains. That's it.



1/4 cup Rapidura sugar, loosely measured.

Choose the least processed sugar you can find, since the kefir grains benefit from the minerals. If you only have processed sugar, add a dollop of molasses to give back some of the minerals that the kefir needs to thrive.



This jar contains 1/4 cup sugar dissolved in about a quart of liquid, along with the kefir grains.

Once the grains & sugar water are combined, cap tightly. To be sure fruit flies can't get into it (and they would really like to) I cover the lidded jar with a cloth, rubber banded in place:



Let this ferment, undisturbed and at room temperature, for 24-48 hours. Cooler temperatures will slow down fermentation. You don't want the kefir grains to run out of sugar or they will die, so don't let it go too long.



After two days, it's time to strain out the liquid into a bottle or jar, and add some fruit juice. Use whatever flavor you fancy; we've tried fresh apple, grape, elderberry, and orange, and they've all been really good. For the elderberry, I used a small amount of homemade elderberry syrup in place of juice, and it worked great. I tend to use about 1/4 to 1/3 for my ratio of juice to kefir liquid.



While you can use a tightly capped mason jar for the second ferment, I prefer the spring loaded bottles shown above. They have a firm seal and are easy to use, as well as a pretty nice presentation. These two bottles of orange kefir are in their second ferment, alongside the "mother" jar of kefir doing its first ferment.



These upcycled bottles of storebought kombucha that a friend saves for me also work great for doing the second ferment. They have very tight fitting lids, which is important for building up carbonation in the water kefir.



Orange water kefir, nicely bubbly!

Once your juice and kefir blend has fermented for 2 or 3 days, place bottles in the refrigerator. They'll last a long time in the fridge, but they're ready to drink as soon as they're cold! Open with caution. Sometimes a lot of pressure can build up, particularly if they've fermented for too long or been kept in the fridge for too many weeks (where they slowly continue to build up pressure). If this happens, drink your water kefir sooner!

Do you have a favorite flavor of water kefir, or a different way to make it? I'd love to hear ideas and feedback from you!

For more on traditional sourdough, as well as a whole world of fermentation ideas, check out the original source of my inspiration, two books by Sandor Katz. Both probably available from your local library, but also definitely worth owning. If you buy either through my ad links below, Amazon gives me a tiny bit of cash. Thanks in advance!

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Cold Brewed Coffee For Hot Summer Days

Health Holiday Recipes Treats

Cold Brewed Coffee For Hot Summer Days

Mellow May 20, 2013 29 Comments

Cold brewed coffee just tastes better. There is something about hot brewed, drip coffee that destroys flavor and adds a bitterness. You may find that, like me, you can drink cold brewed coffee black, since it really doesn't need a sweetener or cream to mellow the bitterness. I make it the day before I want it. If you drink it in the morning, you can set it up the night before.

While it's a lovely, easy way to make iced coffee, you can, of course, heat it when you want to drink it as well. I like cold-brewing coffee during the summer because making it doesn't heat the house up, and on colder days I'll use my stovetop espresso maker, which also manages to brew without the bitterness. 

Instructions: Simply measure 2 Tbsp or so of ground coffee in a jar, add 2 cups of tap water, cap the jar, and shake to combine. Toss it in the fridge, and several hours later you will have a nice, dark, non-bitter coffee. 
 

When I'm ready to drink it, I pour the whole contents of the jar into my French press, and press the grounds down. Then, it's ready to drink cold or warm. If you don't have a French press, you could pour it through a coffee filter instead.

As a couple of readers have commented, you can definitely make this directly in your French press rather than the jar. Just add grounds & water to the press and give a good stir to combine, refrigerate that, and then press it in the morning.

  
One thing I like about this method, besides the improved flavor, is that it will remain a simple and effective way of making coffee even if we lose power. It's low-tech, and doesn't heat the house on hot summer days.

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