Life, Gluten Free

Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Dairy-free, Nut-free)

These cookies are super quick to make and they don't last long because they're super tasty! Be sure to follow us on Instagram @heathercollins to learn about what we're baking and cooking each week. 

One of our instagram followers said about these cookies: "Made these yesterday and gone in an hour. So yummy! Probably making again today ... Thank you for sharing"

1 cup gluten free rolled oats (One Degree GF Rolled Oats)
1 cup cassava flour (we use Otto's Naturals Cassava Flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin spice mix
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut sugar or cane sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (Parker's Maple Syrup)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre heat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately.

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet.

Use a small scoop to measure out cookies onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 15 minutes. Yields about 15 cookies.

Sensitive Sweets Gluten-free Gingerbread House Kit Review

Sensitive Sweets sent us a Gluten-free Gingerbread House Deluxe Kit to try out. We had so much fun putting it together.

First off, let's talk about the company! Sensitive Sweets is a small business created by Melanie, a mom of two boys. Her son Bradley was diagnosed as a baby with severe food allergies and eczema. 

Her story really hits home for me, as my daughter Sophie was also diagnosed with severe food allergies and severe eczema as a baby. Her diet was EXTREMELY limited and since I was nursing her, so was mine. Melanie talks about this same experience with her son. We are both mama warriors, and I am so glad that something amazingly positive came out of her and her sons challenges -- a company that is dedicated to making allergen-friendly products to serve families in the same situation.

Melanie has two bakeries in California, and if we ever find ourselves traveling to California.. this will be our first stop!

Their Gluten-free Gingerbread House Kit is free of dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts. It's made in a dedicated facility.

They have two options: Regular Gingerbread House Kit for $29.95 and the Deluxe Kit for $39.95. The Regular Kit comes with gingerbread cookie walls and roof, icing mix (just add water), plastic holiday trees and rings for decoration. The Deluxe Kit includes all of that PLUS a tub of vanilla frosting and organic dye-free candies.

Now let's talk about the kit and our experience putting it together.

My daughters thoughts on the kit: It was SUPER fun, and the cookies smelled and tasted wonderful!

Full disclosure: I totally goofed up the icing powder. The directions said to slowly add warm water, and I kind of poured way too much water. Luckily, I had a bag of organic powdered sugar so I dumped it into the mix and it fixed it immediately. It ended up making a very nice icing, and perfect for securing the walls and roof together. So if you buy this kit, and make the same mistake I did... just know that all you need is a bag of powdered sugar!

While we waited for the walls and roof to dry, we did some art projects! I highly recommend Art for Kids Hub. We've been following them for a couple years now, a dad and his kids draw and do art together. They share tutorials and it's a lot of fun!

We used cans to prop the walls while the icing dried.

Okay --- so once the walls and roof were secured, we were able to start decorating the house.

Decorating the house is the best part! 

We used the icing that came in the tub to decorate and apply the candies.

Thanks to Sensitive Sweets, my daughter was able to put together her first gluten-free gingerbread house and it certainly won't be our last. This will be a yearly tradition and we will look forward to supporting a local company, created by an amazing mom!

We had to taste test the icing and do quality control checks along the way, of course.

Follow me on Facebook, we went live and you can still watch the video on the gingerbread house kit! You can also follow me on instagram and snapchat (username: lifeglutenfree).

Do you make your own gingerbread house or use a kit? We would love to hear from you, comment below or on Facebook. 

 

Sweet Potato Raisin Cookie Bars

We made these the other week and really loved them. I am a huge fan of sweet potato and raisins.... and coconut! Put them all together and its a great flavor.

These bars do not contain any added sugar, just the natural sweetness of sweet potato and raisins.

They are filling and make a great snack to take on the go!

Sweet Potato Raisin Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raisins

1/2 cup shredded coconut 

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 cup sweet potato

2/3 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup coconut water

3 tablespoons coconut oil [melted]

Directions:

Add the raisins to your food processor and pulse until they are blended into a chunky paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until all the ingredients are mixed together.

Before adding the mixture to a rectangular dish, sprinkle a light layer of shredded coconut on the bottom of the dish.

Use a spatula to scrape the mixture into the rectangular dish and add some extra shredded coconut to the top. Cover and refridgerate for a few hours until firm. 

Cake Bars with Plum Icing

Some foods look nearly too good to eat.

Enter these Cake Bars with Plum Icing.

So pink and pretty that you just want to keep taking pictures.

Or maybe that's just me.

Sophie on the other hand, was more than willing to eat them *right away*

Yep. They are that good.

Cake Bars with Plum Icing

makes about 14 bars

no: gluten, grains, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, sesame

Ingredients:

2 cups finely shredded coconut

3 tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons coconut cream (directly from jar, not melted)

Icing Ingredients:

2 black plums (the ones with deep red inside, and black skin)

2 tablespoons coconut cream (directly from jar, not melted)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

Directions:

Gather all the ingredients for the cake bars and add to a food processor.

Process until well mixed.

Using a spatula, transfer the batter into a rectangular stoneware or glass pan (not greased).

Pat the batter down with the spatula, distributing it evenly in the pan.

Allow to chill in the refridgerator (uncovered) while you make the icing.

To make the icing, slice the plums to remove the pits and add all the ingredients to the food processor.

Blend until everything is well mixed - including the coconut cream (there may be a few specks, no worries, it hardens and looks pretty and speckled).

Use a spatula to spread a nice layer of the icing onto your cake bars.

Cover and refridgerate for several hours until chilled and firm (it took about 3 hours for me).

Slice into bars (if too firm, leave out for a few minutes before cutting).

Serve and enjoy!

FAQ: We buy our coconut products from Tropical Traditions and highly recommend their coconut cream concentrate, shredded coconut and coconut oil :)

Orange Fig Bars

These fig bars that I made for New Years were such a hit, that we polished them off quickly. Sophie ate most of them herself. They are similar to my Apricot Fig bars, but they contain just fig instead of the added raisins. Sophie likes the apricot fig bars, but not as much as she does these Orange Fig Bars. She said the apricot fig bars are "too sweet" and these fig bars, without the raisins, are "just right."

I love them both, and my opinion is that the apricot fig bars are heavier and taste very much like fig newtons, which I used to love to eat. The orange fig bars are also tasty, but taste a bit more fruity and light.

Orange Fig Bars

2 cups dried black mission figs

11 tablespoons fresh squeeze minneola orange juice (or any orange)

2 tablespoon coconut oil (softened room temp)

shredded coconut

Directions:

I like to rinse my figs off first for good measure, and be sure to trim off the stems

Add just the figs to food processor and begin to blend the figs

Once mixed well, add the orange juice and coconut oil

Blend again until thoroughly mixed and there are no chunks of figs (it will be like a fig paste)

In a square dish, pour in some shredded coconut (I didn't measure, maybe about 1/2 cup)

Scrape the fig bar mixture into the square dish

Using the spatula and/or your hands, mx and "knead" into the shredded coconut

The fig mixture itself is sticky, but once coated with the shredded coconut it will be easy to work with

Pat down into the square dish, cover and place in refridgerator

Serve after they firm (at least 30 minutes).

We buy our black mission figs from Made In Nature, they are gluten-free and nut-free. Because we go through so many, we purchase the 32 ounce bags (sold exclusively at Costco stores). You can find the smaller bags  at your local natural grocery store or Amazon.com

Need shredded coconut too? We buys our in bulk from Tropical Traditions.

Sophie has already requested another batch of these, so I better get to work! I am thinking of other variations too. They make a healthy and quick snack to grab.

Apricot Fig Bars

"It's not a cookie, mother, it's a fruit newton!"

If you get that reference, then you probably ate fig newtons as a kid like I did. I ate them with my dad and we would often imitate the popular fig newton commercial (at the time) where a young man told his mom that he wasn't eating a cookie, but a fig newton.

Well I certainly don't eat fig newtons anymore, but after I made these I realized that I just created a smashing gluten-free version of a fig newton. Better yet, no baking is involved. Who wants to turn on their oven when it's 90 degrees outside anyway? Right?

All you need is some dried fruit and a food processor. Basically.

Below, in the recipe, I note that you can use coconut cream or coconut oil. I have tried both and they work fine. I mean, I haven't made about 5 or 6 batches of these over the past few weeks.....

....Okay, I have... but that's just because I was testing the recipe to make sure it came out right each time.  At least, that's what I tell myself.

Coconut cream is a great choice because it adds to the flavor more than coconut oil, but if you don't have it on hand then do not worry. Simply replace it with coconut oil and you are good to go.

Also, my first version of these contains just fig and raisin (no apricot). That works extremely well too. If you want to do that, just add more raisin and leave out the apricot!

Make them. Eat them. Share them.

Apricot Fig Bars

no: gluten, grains, dairy, eggs, nuts, soy

Ingredients:

2 cups soaked figs (calimyrna or black mission)

1 cup raisins, well packed

1/2 cup apricots, lightly soaked

2 tablespoons lemon or orange juice (fresh)

4 tablespoons coconut flour

1 tablespoon coconut cream or coconut oil (room temp, soft but not completely melted)

shredded coconut

Directions:

Soak the figs overnight in water (or, if in a hurry - simply soak in hot water for about 10 minutes)

Lightky soak the apricots in hot water for 5-10 minutes

Do not soak the raisins, just measure them and add to food processor

Drain the water and add figs and apricots to the food procsesor

Place the rest of the ingredients, except for the coconut flour, into the food processor and begin to blend

One well combined, add the coconut flour and blend until thoroughly mixed

Add some shredded coconut to the bottom of a rectangular glass dish

Using a spatula, scrape the fig filling into the glass dish (don't try to spread it yet)

Since it's rather sticky, the best way to spread it is to simply add some more shredded on top and it will spread easily into the rectangular dish (or coat your spatula with coconut oil, that will make it not stick too!)

Garnish with more shredded coconut and place in the fridge, covered, for a few hours

Cut into bar size pieces and serve!

Better yet, eat them on a lazy Saturday morning just because!

Yum.

Pumpkin Cookies: Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free!

This is my post for the Go Ahead Honey event. I am also hosting this month, so check back soon for my post rounding up all the participants who made a dish out of pumpkin. In my house, we're huge fans of pumpkins and many different varieties of squash like kabocha, acorn, butternut, red kuri and spaghetti. For the Go Ahead Honey theme this month, I chose pumpkin because October is my favorite month and pumpkins are a must for this time of year. I decorate with pumpkins and I cook with pumpkin as well.

For my recipe this month, I made some pumpkin cookies to serve at my daughter's Halloween party. I took the recipe for my cinnamon crunch cookies and edited it to make the pumpkin cookies. I had to make a couple batches before the party to be sure I created a good recipe. I used canned organic pumpkin because I was afraid fresh pumpkin would be too watery. I also made some pumpkin icing as well and topped the cookies with gluten-free, naturally colored sprinkles.

Pumpkin Cookies (dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, egg-free and soy-free)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 sorghum flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup organic cane sugar (or use just organic cane sugar and no honey.. or coconut sugar!)
1/2 honey
1 cup and 1/4 cup coconut oil (not melted)
1  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup pumpkin
3/4 to 1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened by So delicious, in a carton)

Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix together well. Cream wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl. Add to dry ingredients and fold in until completely mixed. Be sure there's enough liquid - if not add a bit more. The batter needs to stick together and not be too dry.

Sprinkle some gluten-free flour on a cutting board and roll out the dough. Sprinkle the roller and the dough with flour as well, so that it rolls without sticking. Use cookie cutters of your choice!

Bake at 350. It takes approximately 30 minutes for these cookies to bake.

Be sure to check them and take them out as the become lightly golden brown.

I find the best results when I set the timer for 5 minute increments and turn the cookie sheet around in the oven when the timer goes off. The cookies bake more evenly (my oven isn't very good, so this may not be a problem for some).

The bake time also depends on how thick the cookies are. I made a few cookies a bit too thick in one of my batches and it required a longer bake time, so keep that in mind!

This batch actually made 42 cookies. It all depends on the thickness and size, so you might not get that exact amount. I made another batch for Sophie's Halloween Party. I used a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, but unfortunately I did not get pictures of those. For that batch, I think it made almost 42 cookies as well (but I didn't count).

I wanted to use coconut sugar to sweeten, but I have not been able to find a source for the sugar. I have some organic cane sugar left but I'm not going to use it anymore once it's gone.

 

 

 

For the pumpkin icing, I made a recipe but I tried to repeat the recipe on the morning of the Halloween party and had a huge flop. I realized later why.. the batch of canned pumpkin. It was slightly overcooked and had a bitter taste. But, here's a loose recipe if you want to try the icing with a good batch of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Icing

1/4 cup pumpkin

1 to 2 tablespoons organic coconut butter (note: not the oil, the coconut butter)

1 tablespoon organic fresh squeezed orange juice

1 to 2 tablespoons raw honey

dash of cinnamon

Mix in a food processor or blender. The mixture should be rather thick. Spread on the cookies and enjoy! I also refrigerated some left over icing and it firmed up even more.

Have a wonderful Halloween! Be sure to check back to see the full round-up. I've had so many participants that I am going to have my hands full putting together the final post! Stay tuned!

-heather

Cinnamon Crunch Cookies (Gluten-free + Dairy-free + Egg-free)

The cinnamon tree is grown for two years and then harvested by cutting it down nearly to the ground, leaving only a stump. After a year, about a dozen shoots will form from the stump. The bark is stripped off the shoots and left to dry. The inner bark is used, which slightly coil when dried, turning into cinnamon rolls. The rolls are cut into individual pieces before packaged to sell. Ground cinnamon is made by grinding the inner bark of the cinnamon tree. It's known for being beneficial for heart health and blood sugar regulation.

The thought of cinnamon creates a scene of autumn where the wind is howling through the nearly bare trees, leaves rustling on the ground. The windows in a house are open to let the cool autumn air in. Smells of sugar and spice are wafting from the oven, filled to the brim with pumpkin spice cookies. It's almost enough to make a girl want to make a costume out of dried leaves, go outside and dance in hopes for an early autumn. But no, I have to enjoy the thrills of summer. Sun on my skin, the prevailing green on the country side. The mountains rejoicing, for once, some of the snow is melted and the tips of some of the mountains are no longer freezing.

Luckily, cinnamon is like most other spices, very versatile. It is spicy, sweet and fragrant. It can be appreciated in any season.

Cinnamon Crunch Cookies

NO: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 sorghum flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup organic palm oil shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup organic coconut milk
water

Preparation:
Use two mixing bowls, one for dry ingredients and one for wet.
Add all of the dry ingredients and mix the together (minus the sugar).
In the other bowl, add the sugar and the wet ingredients and mix them together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of water and continue to mix.

Place cookies on a cookie sheet (not oiled) in your desired shape. Using cookie cutters is fun but not necessary. These cookies came out to be delightfully crunchy and chewy. If you're more into chewy, make them thicker.

Place in an oven that is preheated to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Bake for 5 minutes and turn the pan.
Bake for another 5 minutes and turn the pan again.
Bake for an additional 4-5 minutes.
Depending on cookie size and oven variations, the cookies may bake at different speeds.
You can tell if the cookie is done because the edges will be brown and the top will be *lightly* brown.
Don't over bake.
Remove from pan with a spatula and place on another surface to cool.

The cookies didn't stick to the pan for me. I removed them almost immediately with a stainless steel spatula and they came up with no problem. They will stick if you let them set for too long without removing them from the cookie sheet.

You can roll these into small slightly compressed balls or use cookie cutters. The best way to use cookie cutters is to lightly dust a cutting board with coconut flour or flour of choice. Roll out the dough and use the cookie cutters. Keep rolling out the dough until you've used it all.

This recipe is versatile, you can add raisins or other ingredients to the batch as well. Maybe some chocolate chips :) Leave out the cinnamon and add other spices, too.

Sophie enjoying a cookie with some coconut milk

Worried about using organic cane sugar? Some people avoid it's use at home - like we used to do - but consume it in limited quantities when dining out or in a gluten-free packaged cookie. It's best in limited quantities for sure, but I've taken wisdom from those who say to never heat honey. That leaves you with only a few options, especially with allergies in the house. I'm not crazy about agave, especially since it's hydrogenated when processed. The best thing to do is use what sweetener feels right for you. I'm also not sure how these cookies would come out with a liquid sweetener but I'm willing to give it a try someday. Until then, we all need a little sugar and spice in our life sometimes!

-heather