pecan – Wait…are those…cookies?!

February 13, 2021

I’m just in a crisp-y kind of mood

Hey look, made another crisp!

Slight nod to the weekend’s Hallmark holiday down there in the lower right… couldn’t help it, but also had no inclination to make something overly themed. I had apples, wanted crisp. Easy!

Ever since I made that last one two weeks ago, all I can think about is the way coconut oil is SO GOOD in the crisp topping. I love how solid it gets when refrigerated… but maybe I’m just weird that way; it would seem that like love cold things (bay water, anyone?)

Regardless, this is another variation on a pretty stellar crisp. Excellent for using up a glut of tiny, rather blemished apples – they don’t have to be pretty to be tasty! This version has a bit of dark chocolate – the Manperson requested that I do something with chocolate this weekend, so here it is! Chocolate and ginger are a fave, and pecans just make things that much better.

It’s excellent for breakfast; since there is hardly any added sweetener, it’s basically just fruit / nuts / oats – C and I have compared it to muesli in the past. Not quite, but close! Or granola, either way. Of course it’s also great for dessert with a scoop of ice cream too – no complaints if someone plunks a bowl down in front of me.

Let’s see… in life news, I swam in the bay a bunch more last week because I seemingly can’t get enough, hiked on the beach, saw some pretty blooming trees (the cherry blossoms are out in my neighborhood!) and enjoyed the rain.

It was bath day for the plants today – thinking maybe Kuzco needs a bit of a haircut. It would help him fill out a bit up top so I really should but I love how trailing his vines have gotten and I’m really loath to trim them. Ah well, sometime soon.

I hope your weekend is full of outside time! Happy Saturday :)

Razapple Crisp with Ginger, Dark Chocolate & Pecan

Gluten free, refined sugar free, vegan, dairy free & whole grain. Yay! Fruity, nutty & not too sweet – perfect for breakfast. A Wait are those Cookies original. Yield: 1 9″ crisp, serves several.

4-5 small granny smith apples, chopped into cubes
1 c fresh raspberries (mine were frozen)
1 tbsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp maple
1/4 c water
juice of 1 lemon

1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
½ cup firmly packed almond flour
½ cup chopped pecans
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp maple syrup
heaping ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c coconut oil, melted
1/3 c dried ginger, chopped (mine isn’t crystalized; if yours is, thats fine!)
1/4 c dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350.
Toss apples and raspberries into your baking dish of choice (my dish is 8×8, 2 qt capacity; 9″ square or 9″ deep pie dish would also be fine). In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the tapioca starch, maple, water and lemon juice until combined. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the filling is baking, make the crisp. In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond flour, chopped pecans, shredded coconut, and salt. Mix in the maple, vanilla, and coconut oil, followed by the chopped ginger. Stir until everything is mixed thoroughly. Stir in chocolate.

Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, obviously! Keep leftovers, covered, in the fridge for 2-3 days (yeah right – would take some major feat to make it last more than overnight..)

November 23, 2020

All things cranberry

Happy almost Thanksgiving!

May or may not actually post about what I make for the holiday (sweet potato pie & cookies) but here at least is a treat that nearly everyone can share – my apologies if you’re nut free. Otherwise, these bars are refined sugar free (of course) but also are gluten & grain free, dairy free, vegan & paleo. Yay!

They’re also super easy and come together in about five seconds, a plus when oven real estate is at a premium, assuming you’re doing the whole turkey thing.

C and I loved that they’re tart but herby – the thymes gives them a unique flavor that’s juuuuust on this side of savory. We didn’t eat them with ice cream but I’m 100% sure that would be spectacular; they’re also equally good in wedges on their own. Excellent for breakfast, which is what we did.

Cranberry sauce has always been a favorite part of the Thanksgiving spread for me – generally speaking, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of the traditional Thanksgiving food (I know I know save your gasping) – my mom would be one of the first to attest. When I was small, I didn’t like pumpkin pie (eeehh not a ton has changed there, tho I’ll eat a small slice) so I always just asked for a bowl of whipped cream instead. I STILL love whipped cream, so that’s not changed! But cranberry sauce – I remember being fascinated by the ridgy blob that came out of a can as a kid, and now the real, non-canned variety is hands down my favorite part of the spread.

These bars are a fun hybrid: they start with a layer of shortbready crust and are filled with a quick cranberry jam/sauce, followed by more crumbly topping. Super fast, super easy, super delicious.

And with that – happy Thanksgiving! I hope your holiday is relaxing and safe.

Cranberry, Pecan & Thyme Crumble Bars

Treats for everyone! Gluten & grain free, refined sugar free, vegan, dairy free & paleo. Hooray! A Wait are those Cookies original. Yield: 1 9″ pan of bars, serves several. Perfectly tart and slightly herby; great for snacks or breakfast.

For the cranberry filling

1 bag (~2 c) fresh cranberries
zest & juice of one lemon
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp tapioca flour
1/4 c chia seeds
1 tbsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, heat cranberries, lemon zest and juice, maple, sea salt, and tapioca until the berries have popped and the liquid is just barely boiling, 10ish minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in chia seeds & vanilla; let cool.

For the crust & crumble

2.5 c almond flour
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/4 tsp sea salt, heaping
3 tbsp maple
5 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/3 c chopped pecans
3 tbsp dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 and line some kind of 9” pan with parchment – this is the least fussy recipe ever, so square, round, tart pan, etc – whatever you have is fine! I used an 9” cake pan. In a large bowl, stir almond flour, vanilla, thyme, salt, maple, and coconut oil together. Reserve a heaping half cup and stir in the pecans and dark chocolate (this will be the top bit) – set aside. Press the rest of the dough into the base of the pan, and bake for 12-15 minutes until set.

Remove from the oven and top evenly with cranberry chia jam. Crumble the rest of the reserved topping on the berries, and bake for another 23-25 minutes, until the top is lightly golden brown and the berries are bubbly. Remove and let cool completely before serving. It’s also fabulous cold – I made mine the night before serving, refrigerated overnight and served straight out of the fridge – highly recommended. Leftovers keep well covered in the fridge for a day or two but I dare you to have any ;)

October 11, 2020

Fall things

It’s fall! Hooray! I love fall, and fall produce. It’s finally been cooler and not smoky here in SF so I’m trying to seize the moment and roast/bake all the things before it gets warm again. Allegedly it’s supposed to next week and I’m not super thrilled… I’m ready for solid fall weather.

In the meantime, I’m just over here with all the fall produce. Today’s crisp is all things apple, cranberry, ginger and pomegranate – plus chocolate, since why had I never thought about doing a chocolate crisp before now?! It’s not in-your-face chocolatey but definitely enough to satisfy.

it’s been drizzly and foggy in SF and I LOOOOVE it

In other news, thought I lost my drivers license this week, but a kind soul contacted me on linked in later that day saying she’d found it! Proof that common decency hasn’t gone the way of the dodo quite yet.

I’ve also taken to eating extremely extra toast for a lunchsnack (see exhibit A, below). Seems to be an experiment in “how many things can I cram on here and still legitimately call it toast?”

Highly recommend this crisp for a weekend dessert – or weeknight, it’s super fast so no worries there. Delicious as is for a snack or breakfast, or with ice cream for dessert. Not too sweet, with plenty of textural fun. It’s also refined sugar free, gluten free, and whole grain! Is also easily dairy free/vegan; swap coconut oil for the butter and dairy free yogurt for the whole milk variety; or omit yogurt entirely and go all coconut oil. The whole thing is super adaptable.

C calls it granola, hahhaa… it essentially is, when it comes down to it – fruit / oats / nuts. Balanced breakfast, in my book ;)

Happy weekending! Hopefully yours was enjoyable and full of good food.

Apple, Cranberry & Ginger Chocolate Crisp

A Wait are those Cookies original – an endless riff on the crisp that I make ALL the time. Gluten free, refined sugar free, whole grain. Yield: 1 9″ crisp, serves several.

3 apples, chopped into cubes
1.5 c fresh cranberries (or frozen)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp maple
1/4 c water
Juice of two limes

1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
½ cup firmly packed almond flour
½ cup chopped pecans
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1.5 tbsp cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tbsp plain whole milk yogurt
1/4 c chopped dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350.
Toss apples, cranberries and ginger into your baking dish of choice (my dish is 8×8, 2 qt capacity; 9″ square or 9″ deep pie dish would also be fine). In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the maple, water and lime juice until combined. Add the tapioca starch, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the filling is baking, make the crisp. In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond flour, chopped pecans, shredded coconut, cacao powder and salt. Mix in the maple, vanilla, melted butter and yogurt. Stir until everything is mixed thoroughly. Stir in chocolate.

June 14, 2020

summer fruit + ice cream = match made in heaven

Hi internet friends!

I hope your weekend was everything it needed to be, whatever that looked like for you!

Mine was full of people who mean a lot to me – backyard bbq with C and his fam, our quaranpod; hiking with C this morning, and din with a close friend this evening – who also gave me a new plant friend and I’m SO EXCITED to welcome Frieda the Staghorn Fern to the Jungelow fam. Pictures forthcoming when it’s light outside :)

I’m sleepy at the moment so am keeping this brief. I had a productive baking weekend – a double batch of cookies for both the bbq and the din tonight (I used a bar of chopped dark mint chocolate in my usual fave cookie recipe – these – and omg cannot recommend enough, SO GOOD); plus I made this crumble!

It was a huge hit with the bbq crowd – and with me, for being infinitely adaptable, fast, and delicious. Not to mention it’s gluten (and easily grain) free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and vegan! Yippee, everyone wins. Super delicious with ice cream – obviously, as summer produce/stone fruit + ice cream are a match made in heaven. C had a little tiny bit leftover with our post-6mi-hike “breakfast” (eaten at 1.30, ha. surely coffee is adequate hiking fuel? I kid. We ate almonds too! And dark chocolate!) and it was a big hit. It keeps pretty well overnight, though the crumble gets a little soft, so I’d recommend eating it the day it’s made – not something you want to make super far in advance. I made mine in the morning & it was perfectly fine after dinner, just to give you a metric.

In other news, hike today was GORG – the views from Bernal were amazing; the air was so clear today.

I also ate my first figs of the season and enjoyed the hell out of them. Also this random, thrown together breakfast salad that I thought looked pretty in my skillet and also was delicious.

Yuck, tomorrow is Monday. Hopefully your reentry into the worklife isn’t too heinous. See you next weekend! <3

Nectarine & Cherry Crumble with Pecans & Ginger

This is stupid easy to throw together – it’s also gluten free (easily grain free, just swap out the oat flour for more almond), dairy free, vegan, and refined sugar free. A Wait are Those Cookies original! Perfect for a summer backyard bbq with your quarantine pod. Easily adaptable to whatever fruit looks good in the market – just grab enough to fill the pan you’re using.

For the crumble:
1/2c almond flour
1/4c oat flour*
Pinch of sea salt
~1/4c crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1/4c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp maple
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2c chopped pecans

*sub for an equal amount of almond flour for grain free

For the fruit filling:
~3c pitted cherries
4 small nectarines, sliced
Splash of vanilla
2 tsp tapioca starch whisked into 1/3c water
1 tbsp maple
Zest and juice of two limes

Preheat the oven to 350.
In a deep-ish baking dish (I used a 9″, deep pie plate but any deep dish will do – 9×9, 8×8, 2qt, small casserole, whatever) combine fruit, vanilla, tapioca + water, and lime juice + zest. Bake for 20 min, uncovered, while you prepare the crumble topping.

In a large bowl, stir together almond and oat flour, sea salt, ginger and coconut. Add in maple, vanilla, olive oil and chopped pecans, stirring until everything is incorporated – you want to keep some larger chunks for texture. Take the fruit out of the oven, add the crumble topping, and bake for another 25 minutes, when the fruit should be bubbling and the topping lightly browned. Remove and let cool before serving. Serve with ice cream, because summer fruit and ice cream are a match made in heaven! Keeps decently well in the fridge overnight but the crumble will get a bit soft (it’s still 100% delicious though)

May 30, 2020May 30, 2020

easy breezy weekend crisp

Hi friends!

I didn’t work this weekend, yippee! In fact, my boss gave me Friday off to make up for working memorial weekend, so that was delightful. This weekend has been extra restful, at least mentally – several long city hikes mean that my legs are fried.

Here is a crisp for you! I have to say, this makes AMAZING breakfast. Maybe just skip the whole ‘make this for dessert’ thing and go right to breakfast? It’s really just whole grains + healthy fats + a boatload of fruit. So… breakfast! Add some coffee and you’re set. (Do you like coffee? … um, only with my oxygen –> story of my life)

We ate this for bfast (okay okay it was more like brunch) while watching the SpaceX launch! So coooool.

Great hike today with a little ladybug friend who made an appearance on C’s shoulder! So cute.

I repotted some plant beebs who needed new homes & were getting scraggly… and am fighting the battle of the fungus gnats (ew sorry maybe that’s not the most appealing thing in a food blog..? you love me. it’s okay) in two of my plants so they got castile soap baths today. Stupid gnats. GET OUUUUTTT.

Anyway. Back to food.

Highly recommend this crisp biz – you can make it in about 10 minutes and it’s stupid delicious. And so adaptable! Any nut is good here – walnut / pecan / almond / even macadamia nuts would be good I think…. and the ginger, while super duper delicious, is totally optional. Apricots are really delicious right now, so I’d definitely pick those up if you can… I feel as though they have a bit of a short season for perfection. I took a bit of a chance on the cherries but they were ALSO amazing, so… get after it! Stone fruit season is off to a great start.

Happy weekending!

Apricot & Cherry Pecan Ginger Crisp

~2c fresh apricots, sliced
1c pitted fresh cherries
2 tsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp maple
1/4 c water
2 tsp vanilla

1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
½ cup firmly packed almond meal
½ cup chopped pecans
a handful of crystalized ginger, chopped
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp maple syrup
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp plain whole milk Greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350.
Toss apricots & cherries into your baking dish of choice (my dish is 8×8, 2 qt capacity; 9″ square or 9″ deep pie dish would also be fine). In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the maple and water until combined. Add the tapioca starch, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the filling is baking, make the crisp. In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal, chopped pecans, ginger, shredded coconut, maple, and salt. Mix in the vanilla, melted butter and the yogurt. Stir until everything is mixed thoroughly.

April 19, 2020April 19, 2020

Let’s get nutty (nuttier?!)

Hi friends!

Time for another installment of bake your pantry (/freezer) – this is a great catchall recipe for all those random things we all have lying around.

As written, it happens to be grain & gluten free, refined sugar free, dairy free, vegan & paleo! Woohoo! That being said, substitute at will. No coconut oil? Great, use ghee or butter. No pecans? No problem – sub in walnuts, peanuts, almonds, whatever. I love these bars for that reason – they’re infinitely flexible. The fruit can be swapped out for fresh as opposed to frozen, or swapped for different fruit entirely.

Things here are pretty much same same, though we did do a nearly 11mi hike from C’s place this afternoon and I am POOPED. Thank all that’s holy there was a giant plate of nachos and a quesadilla happening immediately when we got back… I think those lasted all of 10 minutes. Complete annihilation.

On another note, everything is blooming here and it’s beauuuutiful. Springtime flowers are so pretty.

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(particularly proud of that photo!)

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All in all, a good weekend, despite the obviously strange times we’re currently living in. I hope yours were similarly restful <3

Nutty Berry Crumble Bars

A catch-all for all those random nuts and seeds in your pantry, not to mention the half-empty bags of frozen fruit! Let’s do a pantry clean out, shall we? No pecans? No worries – sub in almonds, walnuts, whatever you have on hand. The fruit is infinitely flexible too, so use what you have! Feel free to riff on this. Gluten & grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free, paleo, vegan. A Wait are those Cookies original. Yield: 1 8-9″ pan; serves several.

For the berry filling

1/2 bag (~1 c) frozen blueberries, or fresh
1/2 bag (~1c) frozen raspberries, or fresh
zest & juice of one lemon
zest & juice of one lime
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp tapioca flour
1/4 c chia seeds
1 tbsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, heat berries, lemon & lime zest and juice, maple, sea salt, and tapioca until the berries have popped and the liquid is just barely boiling, 10ish minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in chia seeds & vanilla; let cool.

For the crust & crumble

2.5 c almond flour
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt, heaping
3 tbsp maple
5 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/4 c unsweetened coconut
3 tbsp black sesame

Preheat the oven to 350 and line some kind of 9” pan with parchment – this is the least fussy recipe ever, so square, round, tart pan, etc – whatever you have is fine! I used an 9” pie plate. In a large bowl, stir almond flour, vanilla, salt, maple, chopped pecans and coconut oil together. Reserve a heaping half cup and stir in the black sesame and coconut (this will be the top bit) – set aside. Press the rest of the dough into the base of the pan, and bake for 12-15 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and top evenly with cranberry chia jam. Crumble the rest of the reserved topping on the berries, and bake for another 23-25 minutes, until the top is lightly golden brown and the berries are bubbly. Remove and let cool completely before serving. It’s also fabulous cold – I made mine the night before serving, refrigerated overnight and served straight out of the fridge – highly recommended. Leftovers keep well covered in the fridge for a day or two but I dare you to have any ;)

December 24, 2019December 30, 2019

Happy holidays from my kitchen to yours!

Hello internet friends! Happy Holidays!!

I have bonus things for you today – TWO recipes!

I’ve now made three desserts in 24 hours and am feeling quite pleased with myself. One for my fam (since there are only three of us) and two for C’s fam, since there are going to be considerably more than 3 at dinner, ha.

Besides, I made this crisp a few weeks ago for C and I and it was bit of a cluster because I lost power while it was in the oven, and then lost the daylight to photograph while waiting for the power to come back on…. so though I wanted to put it up here, I only had photos of half eaten crisp. Which has some kind of aesthetic (obviously I put them up, you’ve seen them) but I needed more than that for a legit post.

So! I made it again for Xmas Eve dessert with my parents, because it was delicious, and now I have a few more actual photos.

But, bonus – I also made this mint panna cotta tart with cacao coconut crust for tomorrow’s dessert, so why not feature that too! It turned out too pretty not to share. It’s actually the same as the one I made last year at this time – couldn’t resist the mint again, and it just looks so festive.

I hope your holidays are filled with all kinds of good things, delicious food, and loved ones. Happy holidays from my kitchen to yours! Merry and bright <3

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Mint Panna Cotta Tart on a Cacao Coconut Crust

Minty fresh and chocolatey, perfect for a holiday dinner. Yield: 1 9″ tart, serves several. A Wait are those Cookies original. Grain and gluten free, refined sugar free. For dairy free, swap out coconut milk & yogurt for the cream.

Recipe HERE.

Apple and Cranberry Pecan Crisp

I have successfully used both walnuts and pecans for this – both are delicious. I choose to chop up a chocolate bar in order to get the finer shards of chocolate, but chocolate chips would do if that’s all you have on hand. Totally adaptable to whatever is in your pantry! Yield: 1 9″ crisp (it was doubled for these photos); serves several. A Wait are Those Cookies original. Gluten free, refined sugar free & easily dairy free with a sub of coconut oil or vegan butter + coconut yogurt.

1 bag of fresh cranberries (fresh or frozen are both fine)
3 apples (I prefer Granny Smith and / or Lady Alice), chopped
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tap tapioca starch
1/4 c water
2 tsp vanilla

1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
½ cup firmly packed almond meal
½ cup chopped pecans
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1/8 c maple syrup
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp plain whole milk Greek yogurt
1/4 c dark chocolate, roughly chopped
a handful of crystalized ginger, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350.
Toss apples & cranberries into your baking dish of choice (my dish is 8×8, 2 qt capacity; 9″ square or 9″ deep pie dish would also be fine). In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the maple and water until combined. Add the tapioca starch, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the filling is baking, make the crisp. In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal, chopped pecans, shredded coconut, maple, and salt. Mix in the vanilla, melted butter and the yogurt. Stir until everything is mixed thoroughly, then stir in chopped ginger and chocolate.

Once the filling has baked for 20 minutes, stir it and and redistribute evenly in the dish. Plop spoonfuls of the crisp topping evenly over the filling – no need to pack it down. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 more minutes, until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden.
Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, obviously! Keep leftovers, covered, in the fridge for about five days (yeah right. It would take some kind of major feat to make it last that long)

April 25, 2014

Do I even need a reason??

Mo’ chocolate.

Because.. why?

Wait. Do I really have to answer that question?! Because… chocolate! End of story.

Besides, I actually made these cookies over a week ago but I’ve just been too busy and then Easter happened and there was that fabulously drippy hippie cake and stuff… and these cookies kind of languished in my camera for a little bit but they were SO FREAKING GOOD that I knew I would share them eventually. So don’t worry. I promise not to hold out on you too much longer.

In other news… IT’S RAINING! Wheeeee!!! Which means I really want to bake something (because rainy weather=baking, everyone knows that), but as per usual I made a small batch of cookies last night because I was seriously (my autocorrect tried to change that to serially, also true) jonesing and I neededcookiesnow. So I made this awesome batch of vegan peanut butter-coconut-chocolate chippies, and they disappeared by 9:30 pm. I made them at 4:30. Ha. I did have quite a bit of help though, as prodigious as my stomach capacities are, I think that would have stumped even me.

But anyway, I really like cookies, can you tell?

Also. I float in a hydrotherapy/sensory deprivation tank several times a week and even though I shower off really thoroughly afterwards, I always end up with epsom salts in my ear crannies the next day. I think it gets into my brain and then somehow works its way back out. I’m not really complaining, a good solid brain salting can’t be a bad thing now and then…

Soooo yeah. I’m endearingly random and salty but these cookies are ridiculously delicious—I highly suggest a cookie Friday incident. And if you make them, bring me one?! I’ve seem to have eaten all of mine…

Grain-Free Chocolate Pecan Cookies

These are a little sweeter than the cookies I usually make for everyday consumption, but they are SO DELICIOUS. Fudgy, chocoaltey, pecantastic and they just happen to be gluten free, grain free, and vegan. AND refined sugar free! Winner winner. I adapted the recipe only slightly from The Healthy Family and Home, here! Yield: 22 cookies.

1 c organic almond butter (mine was creamy unsalted)
heaping 1/3 c coconut sugar
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 c extra dark chocolate chips
1/2 c roughly chopped pecans
2 tbsp ground flax+6 tbsp water (2 flax eggs)

Preheat the oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

These are cookies, peeps: this doesn’t get any easier!

In a small bowl, stir together flax seeds and water. Let sit while you do everything else: in a large bowl and using your biceps, stir together almond butter, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and pecans. Toss in flax eggs. Drop by the rounded spoonful onto the prepared cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely. These are a little soft when cooling, so I just moved the whole parchment paper over and let them keep cooling completely on the rack. Store in the fridge, if they last long enough! Mine barely did…

April 3, 2014April 2, 2014

Sophisticated cookies and a banana bread fail

Holy balls, batman…

My house smells DIVINE.

Mostly because this just happened:

Mooooore coooookies!! Because really. Do I even need to justify this?! You can never have too many cookies. It’s also Cookie Thursday so, um, HELLO it wouldn’t be Cookie Thursday unless there were cookies. Obvi.

Incidentally I also made some bomb paleo banana bread except that it freaking stuck all over the inside of the pan and now I have a very misshapen and structurally unsound loaf. It is, however, extremely tasty. So, no complaints. Besides, I got to eat the bits that stuck all over everywhere, so I’m obviously not complaining.

You see? Totally not up to seismic code.

I think I have chocolate on my face somewhere.

I haven’t looked in a mirror to ascertain this for certain, but somehow I am quite sure there’s a smear somewhere. Apparently this is standard protocol around here, chocolate-on-face. And on my camera, apparently. I’ve just discovered that as well.

Yes well.. moving on.

Considering I got an enormous batch of florentines and a loaf of banana bread in and out of the oven in about an hour, I am suitably impressed with myself. Quite a productive day, I must say. I located shoes for a June 1st wedding I’m in (wheeee!!!), and made things. And ate a really really delicious salad and some brussels. And now I essentially just want banana bread for dinner. That’s acceptable, isn’t it?? I’m an adult. Surely I can make these educated decisions for myself…

Chocolate Pecan Florentines

Recipe adapted from Brave Tart, here! Yield: 43 cookies [aka an effton]. Thin, crispy-chewy, chocolately, nutty, and sweet. These are… delicious. And not particularly good for you. But hey, life is short and there is NO TIME for anything that isn’t delicious. So make these and eat them and be happy for eating them. And yes… you’re going to have to get out a scale. Soooorrryyyy but sometimes I have to get all technical on you.

12 ounces whole pecans
4 ounces extra dark chocolate chips
6 ounces whole wheat pastry flour
1 ounce unsweetened cocoa powder
8 ounces coconut oil
3.75 ounces raw honey
8 ounces coconut sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp finely ground espresso (mine was decaf)
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper (or two, if you’re planning on rotating). And don’t even THINK about skipping the paper. You will hate life in about a half an hour. Preheat the oven to 350.

In the food processor, combine pecans and chocolate chips, and pulse until all the largish chunks are gone. It should be chunky though, not finely ground. Dump all this into a bowl, and add flour and cocoa powder. Stir to combine.

In a medium saucepan, heat coconut oil and honey until liquified. Stir in sugar, salt, and espresso. Bring this to a boil, stirring frequently to ensure the sugar is dissolving. Remove from heat once the sugar has gotten thicker—only a few minutes for me. It should smell like caramel! Stir in vanilla. Let this cool for a few minutes, then pour it into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.

Drop dough by the tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving enough room between the cookies for them to spread (I got 12 to a cookie sheet). Bake for 13-15 minutes (Mine went more like 15), then remove from the oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheet. I was lazy and left mine irregularly shaped, but feel free to make them perfectly circular with a cutter.

Store in an airtight container. I will most likely store mine in the fridge.