Almond & Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these for my youngest daughter this morning, as she is home sick. These little beauties are gluten and egg free - great for anyone with food sensitivities.



Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups almond meal
2 tbsp coconut flour (GF flour will also work)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil (I used coconut - olive and grapeseed are ok too)
1/2 cup coconut syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup dark chocolate, coarsely chopped




Method:

Heat your oven to 180C and line a couple of baking trays with baking paper.
Mix together the almond meal, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, syrup and vanilla extract. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix well. Stir in the chocolate pieces.
Roll into tablespoon size balls and place onto your baking trays, leaving a little room between cookies. Flatten slightly with your hand, then pop into the hot oven for around 10 minutes, or until the cookies are a light, golden colour. Allow to cool for a few minutes, as they will be very soft straight out of the oven.
Enjoy! x

Raw Banana Cream Pie

I made this on a Sunday afternoon as an afternoon treat and to satisfy a craving for something sweet and decadent. Here is the recipe I came up with - let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

2 cans coconut cream, chilled overnight in the fridge
1 tbsp xylitol (or your choice of sweetener)
2 bananas, sliced
Cacao powder, for sprinkling

Crust:

2 cups mixed nuts (Brazils, cashews, almonds)
2 tbsp raw cacao
10 - 12 medjool dates, pitted
pinch of salt

For the raw caramel:

10-12 pitted medjool dates, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes and drained
6 tbsp cocoa butter, melted (you could use coconut oil in a pinch, but I think this is the key to making this caramel so good and gives it that slightly thicker texture)
2 tbsp raw honey
2 tbsp almond butter

Method:

To make the crust, pulse the nuts in a food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs. Add the cacao powder and salt and process briefly to combine. Add dates one at a time through the feed chute until your mixture starts to stick together slightly and you are able to press it together between your fingers. Tip out into a spring from pan and press into the base and sides to form your base. Chill in the fridge while you make your caramel.

In the processor bowl, combine the dates, the cocoa butter, the almond butter and the honey and blend till thick and smooth. The longer you can do this, the better - keep wiping down the sides of the bowl as you go along. About 5 or 10 minutes should be good. 

Put the caramel filling into your prepared crust and smooth with a spatula. Arrange the sliced banana over the whole surface, and then prepare your cream.

Remove the cans of coconut cream from the fridge and open carefully - try not to shake them about too much. Scoop out the solid coconut cream and place into a bowl. Reserve the remaining liquid for another use. With electric beaters, whip the coconut cream until smooth and fluffy and resembling whipped cream of the dairy variety. Add the sweetener and beat to combine, then smooth over the bananas. Sprinkle with the cacao powder, then allow to set in the fridge for a few hours.

Enjoy!