Tag: coconut milk caramel

Posted on

Galettes: perfect breakfast food

IMG_2356

Hello hello!

fullsizeoutput_1299

I have galette for you today, which I must say makes excellent breakfast. You can also fly wedges around like they’re star destroyers, not like I did that or anything, ahem.

fullsizeoutput_129d

This comes together really quickly – the caramel can be made up to a week in advance, and the dough does best if left to hang in the fridge overnight, so all that really needs to happen day-of is apple slicing & assembly.

fullsizeoutput_129c

It also makes your kitchen smell amazing – I can attest (the benefits of living in a studio apartment: when you bake something, the entire apartment smells delicious).

fullsizeoutput_1294

Let’s see, what else has been going on… I’ve made a lot of cookies lately, so perhaps I will eventually post that recipe here. More drawing, of course!

IMG_2310

fullsizeoutput_129f

This galette is perfect for a light dessert with ice cream – it’s naturally not overly sweet (who am I kidding; nothing I make ever is!), and the apples make a nice contrast to the spices in the caramel. Grain free, gluten free and refined sugar free, so everyone can get in on the fun! Mostly paleo too, and could even be more so with the use of ghee in the crust.

fullsizeoutput_1295

fullsizeoutput_128c

Our professional opinion is that while it is undeniably delicious for dessert, it really shines for breakfast – it’s a perfect breakfast-pastry consistency and who doesn’t like wedges of this alongside coffee? Right. Exactly.

fullsizeoutput_12a1

My advice is to make and eat galette with those you love – it tastes better that way! And of course save some for breakfast ;)

fullsizeoutput_128e

Apple Chai Caramel Galette

Grain free, gluten free, refined sugar free, paleo. Probably could be lactose free no problem – just swap the butter in the crust for ghee or coconut oil. Lightly sweet, chai spiced caramel and tart apples – perfect for dessert with some ice cream or straight wedges for breakfast. Yield: 1 galette, serves 2-6 :)

For the caramel:
1 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1.5 tablespoons ghee (butter or coconut oil would also work)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Add the coconut milk, coconut sugar, pure maple syrup, and spices to a medium saucepan and whisk over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a full boil, then reduce the heat slightly to allow the mixture to continue to cook at a managed boil. Whisk frequently/constantly to avoid the coconut milk from separating or clumping up. Cook and whisk until caramel has thickened slightly and has reduced to one half – one third of its original volume, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the salt, ghee, and vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature – it will thicken a bit more as it cools (though mine is still on the runnier side of all things caramel – the longer it sits in the fridge, the thicker it gets).
Store in a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to use. Caramel can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. I usually make it ahead and let it hang in the fridge for a few days, which lessens prep work day-of anyway.

For the galette dough:

1.5 c almond flour (not meal; you want the finer flour variety)
1/2 c tapioca flour
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
6 tbsp salted butter, chopped (or ghee)
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract

In a food processor or high-power blender (I used a food processor), pulse almond flour, tapioca starch, salt, and butter to combine until it looks like coarse meal. Add in egg and vanilla extract and pulse just until combined. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a disk and chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to overnight.

For the filling:
3-4 baking apples (I used granny smith), sliced
2 tbsp chai caramel, from above
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp tapioca starch
2 tsp coconut sugar

For assembly:
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp coconut sugar
extra caramel, for serving & drizzling!

Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 375. In a large bowl, toss apples with 2 tbsp chai caramel, lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla, tapioca starch and coconut sugar. Set aside.

Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, keeping the circle to about 1/4″ thickness. Peel off the top piece of parchment, and slide the rolled out dough on its parchment onto a baking sheet.

Add sliced apples, in whatever pattern you like! Begin folding up the sides, creasing them together as you go – if the dough is cracking, that’s okay (you can crimp the cracks back together; remember: galettes are forgiving and rustic!); you can use the bottom piece of parchment to help fold up the sides. Brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle a little coconut sugar around the sides. Dot with butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes until edges are golden brown — mine came out just fine at 37 minutes, so check accordingly. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully slide the whole galette onto a cooling rack to let it cool completely (it’s fine to leave it on the parchment paper on the cooling rack, I don’t find that it makes it soggy). Serve with extra caramel drizzle & your fave ice cream or whatever of choice! Keeps well covered in foil on the counter for a day or in the fridge overnight; mine didn’t last longer than about 2 days so I can vouch for it at least that long!

fullsizeoutput_1298

Posted on

I really do actually eat vegetables. Promise!

IMG_4876

And now for something completely different in the cookie realm!

Because obviously I haven’t given you nearly enough cookie recipes lately (um. lies?!) And because I’m pretty sure said no one ever there’s such a thing as too many cookies. And if they did, whatever, we obviously can’t be friends. Schaaaawwrryyy! Cookies are the number one principle of my personal philosophy. Life is sometimes tricky, it’s better if you eat a [healthyishkindasortamaybe] cookie!

I think cookies might actually be one of my favorite things to make. Oh really, you say? As if the blog title alone doesn’t prove that!

Cookies on cookies on cookies. One would think this is all I eat…

IMG_4877

Um. I promise I eat vegetables! Like, I actually eat a ridiculous  amount of vegetables. And fruit. And eggs. Ask my mother, she claims it’s difficult to keep me in vegetables… I just… LOVE… SPINACH! Hoooomg. Among other things. I’ve gotten really good at putting spinach where it doesn’t necessarily belong but is undeniably delicious. Like maybe in the banana scramble I made today. So bizarrely wonderful and so perfect for St. Patrick’s day. Hmm. Shield your eyes if you abhor green things, that just might be the next post.

SO anyway. Cookies. Best eaten any time of day, with or without a milk-type beverage.. Eat three, and call me in the morning. Seriously, if medical practitioners gave out this kind of advice, I think the world might be a slightly more magical place.

So now instead of cruncy-hippie-granola raw cookies, you get [somewhat less crunchy but still kind of, whatever I’m still kind of granola] vegan salted caramel chocolate chip cookies! Cue yummy sound. Did I just make the yummy sound? … No. That was definitely you. Oh no? Well.. if it wasn’t *YOU*, and it wasn’t *YOU*… and it wasn’t *ME*…

IMG_4881

Vegan Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe unintentionally adapted from Keepin’ it Kind. I made biggish cookies and ended up with about 15 or 16, but depending on size you could conceivably make up to 24ish… if you use a smaller scooping technique. Don’t judge, I’m rather a fan of large cookies! These are fab cookies, and the dough is just as good (number one perk for vegan baking: dough eating adventures).

I didn’t have coconut sugar, though next time I’ll be using that as my caramel wasn’t quite what was intended visually. It got the point across though, and tasted amazing! That being said… you *can* make these with regular sugar, as I did, but coconut is preferred (and keeps them slightly less refined).

IMG_4875

Let’s make tasty things:

  • 3/4 c sugar (see above note)
  • 1/2 c water
  • 1 c full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (mine is the unrefined variety that smells like coconut)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 c whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed+3 tbsp water)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/3 c dark chocolate chippies

To do so, we…

Make caramel!
Pour sugar and water into a smallish saucepan. Whisking frequently, bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to low/simmering, and let it reduce until the water is reduced by half. If you use coconut sugar, the water should be dark brown; if using regular sugar, it’ll be lighter in color. Keep whisking, as it has a tendency to bubble up. Slowly whisk in coconut milk and continue whisking for 10-15 minutes or until (if using coconut sugar) the mixture thickens and is a dark brown. If you’re like me and you attempted regular sugar, it’ll look grey. Not the most gorgeous color, but delicious. Promise. The mixture will thicken as it cooks, more so with coconut sugar than regular. Stir in the salt, and remove from heat. Let it cool while you do the rest of the cookies, or you can store the caramel in a jar in the fridge (it keeps for several weeks, tightly sealed).

Onward! Cookie time:

Mix up your flax egg and let it sit for a bit to thicken.
Mash up the banana, toss in slightly meltedish coconut oil, and use a mixer to beat until fluffy. Whisk in vanilla extract and 2/3 c caramel sauce (save the rest for later). Once the flax egg sets up, whisk that in.

In a larger bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt. Add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, and slightly flatten the dough into the bottom of your bowl. Pop it into the fridge and let it chill for about a half and hour.

Preheat the oven to 350, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the fridge and make several cuts through it with a knife. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the dough, without mixing it in. Drop blobs of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets (whatever size you deem necessary for that particular day…), leaving the streaks of caramel running throughout. The dough will be a bit wet with all that, but just roll with it. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes (I know that’s a huge range, but I did mine on convection so they ended up going a bit longer. Check at 8, and go from there!) Because of the caramel, the cookies can look a bit underdone, but they should be solid to the touch when done—check the bottoms if you’re not sure. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, and then transfer to wire rack.

Do yourself a favor and eat one warm out of the oven!

IMG_4878