Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

The new favourite cookie in our house...for this week anyhow! A great friend introduced me to Almond Flour last weekend...and I finally got a chance to try it out last night. AMAZING! So easy to work with, and such good flavour...if you like almonds, that is! I will let you know right off the bat though, almond flour is slightly higher in price than regular flours...but I found some on sale and am definitely happy that I picked it up!



In the end, this batch of cookies which makes about 30 small cookies, cost me about $6 to make...not bad??!! Still cheaper than buying them at the store...and just way way way better for you! These little guys are packed full of amazing things for you...almonds, coconut oil (SUPER health benefits to consuming this...I have honestly eaten it by the spoonful at times...great for your skin...you won't find ANY of those benefits in a tub of margarine or 'spread'...and no, it WON'T make you gain weight!!!! Our bodies NEED proper fats DAILY!), maple syrup (natures natural sugar!)...and then of course a couple of chocolate chips (a staple in any diet!). These are a cookie that you can feel GREAT about your kids eating!

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups of almond flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted (butter would work too)
1/4 cup of maple syrup (or other sweetener)
1 egg
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and blend with a spoon.
3. Add the wet ingredients and blend it well with a spoon.
4. Drop onto cookie sheet using small spoon...or large if you prefer! Flatten them slightly.
5. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until they are starting to brown around the edges.

These cookies don't hold well if they are under-baked...and will be crunchy if over-baked.

I froze about half of them last night, just incase they went hard overnight...and to my surprise they were even more moist in the morning! Jay popped a few out of the freezer at lunch and they were a very tasty frozen cookie too! (side note...semi-frozen brownies are a favourite in this house!!)

The coconut oil in these and the texture of the almond flour pair to make these cookies resemble macaroons in flavour! Yum! Maybe next time I'll try adding some cocoa powder to them??!! On that note, if you're not a coconut fan, you might want to opt for the butter instead:)

Spring Fever Salad!

Spring Fever has officially arrived at our house!! I came home yesterday afternoon and Jay had shorts on! It's not exactly THAT warm out yet, but he was just hoping I think:) We were having salmon for supper...and just weren't in the mood to have rice or warm veggies along side of it...and then i remembered THIS salad! Discovered it right before the Christmas holidays...made it for a few dinner parties, which was always hit...and then proceeded to make it literally, at every dinner while home for nearly two weeks over Christmas! Everyone kept requesting it! Even my dad who claimed that 'his plate had no room for green' at the first dinner, ended up asking for seconds! (He was too late though...the platter was scraped clean!) In fact, I don't think there was ever any left over...that's a huge thing! I love this salad for many reasons, here's a few...it looks beautiful on a platter for entertaining...it can qualify as a meal in itself...it's super simple to make...and everyone loves it! You could definitely swap the pomegranates for other berries come summer time. I prefer to make it with either red or black quinoa, but only because I think it looks prettier! Almonds could also be swapped for another nut of choice...or eliminated altogether! I use feta most of the time when making it, but soft goats cheese is also a great match..or no cheese at all to make this a vegan dish!

If you attended Cafe Docs back in January...you would have sampled this as an example of a Carbohydrate-Type meal. For all of you who requested the recipe for the dressing...here it is!

Enjoy!

Spring Fever Salad

The amounts listed will give you enough to make a large platter full!

2 cups cooked quinoa (cook according to package directions)
1/2 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds
1/2 large container of spinach
3/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup finely sliced red onion (I almost never add this)
1 pomegranate, seeded

Dressing
4 Tbsp red wine vinegar...balsamic works well too
4 Tbsp olive oil
5 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard
pepper to taste

Starting with the spinach, and then quinoa (cooled), layer all the ingredients on your platter. Whisk all the ingredient to the dressing together, drizzle over top of salad! Serve immediately:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Nothing too new to post here this morning (why?...we need to leave in 15 min for a play group and both boys are still wearing NO clothes...yikes!)...so here's a repeat, kinda 're-done' that I thought you might enjoy! We had great friends for dinner last night...and I thought I would be festive by baking a heart shaped cake...using this lovely pan that my mother-in-law gifted to me a few years back. I used my Chocolate Zucchini Muffin recipe that I share with you back in the summer...still using that frozen shredded zucchini out of our garden! Love that! It came out of the oven...smelled amazing...but looked like it needed something...so I simply melted a little peanut butter and created this cute heart on top...best combination out there:) Enjoy this day!!

Off to find some festive 'red' clothes for the boys to wear...fast!!

Brown Rice Crispy Squares..my favourite!

This recipe will change your life! If you're like me, traditional Rice Krispie squares have always been a favourite treat...especially if you add a little chocolate to them! Made famous for being 'low fat', I think they get consumed more often then they should! Like most candy and desserts...it's catching to advertise them as 'low fat'...but...that doesn't mean 'low sugar'! In fact...most things labeled as 'low fat' are incredibly high in sugar! I went off Rice Krispies years ago because I knew that all they contained was white sugar and more white sugar (marshmallows)....not to mention the margarine and 'white' rice crisps used, which your body turns into....sugar! I was a VERY happy lady the day I discovered this recipe! It was made VERY often for the first while...and then I kinda forgot about it until this past weekend when Jay mentioned them! I'm confessing to have gone to the store especially to buy the ingredients for them on Monday morning! Everyone will love these...especially kids! I can guarantee that you will eat more than one...but you won't eat the whole pan due to the amount of protein from the brown rice and almond butter...you will feel satisfied and full VERY quickly!

Why is this recipe so great? The cereal is made basically of brown rice (some brands do put a bit of cane sugar in theirs...not gonna kill you though!). The brown rice syrup is made basically of...you guessed it...brown rice (and a little water)! The almond butter....made purely of almonds...and is a great protein! That's it...simple and amazing! I often make a pan of these to take along on a road trip...a little sticky to eat, but always a satisfying snack. If we make them for just at home, I do try to store them in the fridge. Keeps them crispy...and I think they just taste better cold!

Enjoy! You will be surprised at how sweet they are!

*little disclaimer...the ingredients for the original Rice Krispie Squares probably cost about $3 for an entire pan! These...unfortunately due to the price of the Brown Rice Syrup run about $10 a pan. So...an occasional treat they are!

Brown Rice Crispy Squares

1 box Brown Rice Crisps cereal (make sure you buy the 'crisps', not 'puffs')

1 3/4 cups Brown Rice syrup (looks similar to a jar of light honey)

3/4 cup Almond Butter (Peanut Butter tastes great too...just make sure it's all natural and not sweetened at all...this recipe is plenty sweet on it's own!

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I try to buy grain-sweetened, non-dairy....if you do, it makes this a vegan treat!)

Pour the rice cereal into a large bowl. Heat the syrup in a small pot over low heat. As soon as the rice syrup liquefies, immediately add the peanut butter and stir until mixed. Letting the syrup cook too long will result in hard squares, rather than chewy! Pour over the rice cereal. Mix well!

Let cool for 2 or 3 minutes and then stir in the chocolate chips. Doing this sooner will cause them to melt from the heat of the syrup.

Pour the mixture into a lined 9x13 baking pan. Wet your hands slightly and pat down until firm on all areas.

Let cool for a while in the fridge...while you enjoy the sticky leftovers out of the bowl!

**second disclaimer...I ate 3 (small!) of these while typing out this post! I might go grab another.