Dark Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

I want to keep this recipe a secret. I really do.

But I can’t. It would be reprehensible of me to refuse to share this gem of a cookie with my readers. Besides, you deserve something really good after such a long wait. Please accept my apology in the form of this chocolaty, tangy morsel.

It’s not just my recipe either. My good friend, Tanisha, joined me in the kitchen last night, and this is what came of it. Great things happen when friends end up in the kitchen. This cookie is proof.

More often than not, my inspiration for creating a dessert recipe is found in a decadent sweet that has enough simple carbohydrates to keep your blood sugar levels elevated for weeks. On top of that, it’s usually void of any nutritional value.

I think I can speak for Tanisha, too, when I say, our goal is to make desserts that rival the original in taste while adding a lot of powerful nutrients.

In this case it was the Double Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies, one of our winter time favorites, that got a complete health makeover.

No white flour (actually, no grains at all), no gluten, no refined sweetener. Just the good stuff, plain and simple. Cranberries are high in antioxidants (as are pomegranates, so feel free to substitute.) and so is dark chocolate, so consider this your immunity boost for cold season. (See disclaimer below.)

Recipe created by Sarah and Tanisha

• 1 c. almond flour
• 1 c. cocoa powder
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1 t. arrowroot powder
• 5 T. butter
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1 egg
• 2 t. vanilla
• 1 c. chopped fresh cranberries
• 1 c. dark chocolate chips or chunks

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment.

2. Combine almond flour, cocoa powder, soda, arrowroot powder. Cut in butter. (I used my fingers because I’m lazy and didn’t want to get out any equipment.)

3. Mix in honey, egg, and vanilla.

4. Add chocolate and cranberries.

5. Eat some cookie dough.

6. Place dough in heaping tablespoons on the parchment covered sheet, leaving room to spread a little.

7. Bake for 12 minutes.

8. Slide parchment on to a cooling rack and repeat steps 5-9.

9. Enjoy!

Disclaimer –

I am not a doctor or registered dietitian. I do not claim to cure any cause, condition, or disease, though my suggestions may prove helpful. I do not provide medical aid or nutrition for the purpose of health or disease. Howbeit, every food one chooses to consume either greatly benefits one’s health, or diminishes thereof.

This is merely a food blog in the most colossal way possible. The information held on this blog is solely the opinion of a layman of the kitchen. The research and information covered in this blog is open to public domain for discussion and in no way breaches or breaks the boundaries of any law that I currently know of. I am not a doctor nor do I claim to have any formal medical background, however my background with food from decades in the kitchen is extensive. I am not liable, either expressly or in an implied manner, nor claim any responsibility for any emotional or physical problems that may occur directly or indirectly from reading this blog or the baking and eat of the recipes hereon.

Summer’s Dessert – Fruit Pizza

You might be surprised if I tell you that we aren’t big into Birthday cakes around here. Yes, we make them every now and then, but most of us choose something besides cake for our birthday dessert. Desserts like Rootbeer Floats, Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, Strawberry Shortcake, or Fruit Pizza. The options are boundless, why confine it to cake???

The last person to celebrate a birthday here just didn’t care, but I knew what he wanted – something healthy, free of processed sugar, and loaded with fruit.

Because it’s summer.

Sorry about the terrible photos. The lighting was bad and I was too lazy to take more pictures. Besides, who’s going to wait around this thing for someone to take appropriate blog post photos?

This colorful and delightful dessert sports a paleo and gluten-free crust, cream cheese hinting of orange, and your favorite seasonal (or not so seasonal) fruits. You should try it. Today.

Here’s how…

Fruit Pizza

• 2 c. oats
• 2 c. walnuts
• 2 c. dates, pitted
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 4 T. butter
• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2. c. Greek vanilla yogurt
• 1/4 c. honey (or more to taste)
• 4 drops Young Living Orange Essential Oil (or 1/2 t. orange extract)
• 1 t. vanilla
• fruit of your choice – I like the textural combination and colors of strawberries, mandarin oranges, kiwis and blueberries.

Combine oats, walnuts, dates, and sea salt in a food processor and pulse until fine. Add butter and blend until combined. Form into a ball and pat out on to a pizza pan. (You may want to use parchment if you’re using a metal cookie sheet or pizza pan.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Beat together cream cheese, yogurt, honey, orange oil, and vanilla. Spread over cooled crust.

Decorate with fruit. (Be sure to dry your fruit out on a paper towel to prevent sogginess.) Chill and serve.

The leftovers make a perfect breakfast. Just an idea…

Orange, Saffron, and Olive Oil Shortbread Cookies {Gluten and Grain free}

I’m afraid my Instagram account isn’t so good for my blog.

It’s way too easy to take one pic, hashtag the life out of it, and post it…all on one little gadget.

Life has been busy, too, but I really have no legitimate excuse for not posting for…well, however long it’s been. Too long.

We were invited to a friend’s house last night for pizza and sundaes and a movie. It wasn’t just any pizza and sundaes though – it was cheese pizza with a delicious gluten free crust and sundaes with homemade berry ice cream, bananas, and homemade honey salted caramel sauce! Jealous yet?

I experimented with some shortbread cookies to go along with the sundaes. The challenge was that they had to be nut, wheat, and refined sugars free. Bring it on!

If you’ve read my blog for long, you know I gravitate toward orange and almond, or orange and ginger, or orange and cardamom flavor combinations. Those are all SO good, but I had to do something else this time. I decided to pull out the saffron my sis-in-law gave me years ago. (Does saffron go bad??? Don’t tell me if it does.)

I kept with the orange, though half way through I wished I had gone with grapefruit instead. And, of course, I went with my favorite natural sweetener – dates!

Orange, Saffron, and Olive Oil Shortbread Cookies

• 1 c. dates, pitted
• 1 c. coconut flour
• 2 t. organic orange peel
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 pinch sea salt
• juice of one orange
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 to 1/4 t. saffron (I used 1/4 but my saffron might be a little weak. :)

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine dates, coconut flour, orange peel, butter and salt and pulse until mixture is well combined and fine textured. Add remaining ingredients and pulse again. My dough never formed a ball, but looked like this…

However, it pinches together readily. Make one inch round balls and roll or press flat onto parchment paper.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden around the edges.

They soften as they sit and, if you’re like me, you like them a bit crunchy, so place them in a warm oven just before serving.

And the movie? Well, it was Frozen, ’cause my little friends keep telling me about it and I had to see it for myself.  Aren’t you glad it’s summer? :)