Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut & Almonds (GF, Vegan)

These cookies are low sugar/glycemic and are flexible in several of the ingredients. If you don’t have the white chocolate chips, you can put in regular chocolate chips, or even some dried cranberries. If you don’t want to put in the flaked coconut, you can put all almonds, or replace the almonds for a different nut. I’ve made this before with chocolate chips, coconut and crushed pecans. Quite delish!! Use the sweeteners listed to make the cookies low glycemic, but if you don’t have some of them or don’t care I listed some subs on the ingredient list. Hope you enjoy!!
 




Makes 12-14 cookies

1 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup coconut sugar (can sub brown sugar, no longer low GI)
3 tbsp coconut nectar (can sub maple syrup, agave or honey, no longer low GI)
3 tbsp brown rice syrup
3 tbsp almond butter
3 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
2 tbsp hot water
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegan white chocolate chips (can switch for chocolate chips if you don’t have white)
3 tbsp almonds (sliced, silvered, chopped, your pref)
3 tbsp coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium baking bowl mix all of the ingredients in italics (coconut sugar to vanilla). Once they are all smoothly mixed together, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand all at once.
On a parchment lined baking sheet, spoon the batter into round shapes. The cookies will spread but only slightly, so have the shapes close to the way you want them.
Bake for 11 min (12 min if you have a gas oven). Remove from the oven & let the cookies sit on the sheet for 1 min, then slide the parchment paper along with the cookies off the baking sheet & allow to cool.

Amaretto Cookies (GF, Vegan)

Makes 16 cookies

1 1/4 cups raw almonds
3/4 cup tapioca starch/powder
1/2 cup + 2 TBS turbinado sugar (or dry sweetener/sugar of choice)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp almond extract
*2 TBS Amaretto Liquor
2 tsp water

Preheat oven to 350.
In a food processor or high power blender (Blentec/Vitamix) grind up the almonds. Then add in the tapioca, sugar, baking powder & salt, blend again. Now add the liquid ingredients and mix.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or if you don't have any, a greased cookie sheet will do) roll the dough into balls 1-2 TBS and place on the sheet, don't flatten them, they will flatten in the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of oven & slide parchment paper off the sheet & onto a cool surface.

*Adding Amaretto Liquor just gives it more of an almond kick to the cookie, the alcohol goes away in the baking process. But if you don't have any Amaretto, you can use water in it's place and it will be just fine.

Almond Vanilla Macaroon Granola (GF, **Raw, Vegan)

I love granola, always have, but it seems like it's something that USED to be good for you, but is no longer. They add all sorts of sugar into them, and there is almost always wheat. One of my favorites is a vanilla almond macaroon granola, so, I thought I would make a healthier version of it.
I'm going to preface this recipe by saying, there are several different kinds of sweeteners in this, just to give it a more authentic taste with some depth. The only sweetener that isn't low glycemic though, is the honey. For those of you who don't know, brown rice syrup is sweet, but isn't much more subtle than agave or honey, it has more of a caramel taste to it. And stevia, that is really sweet, that's why it's only a few drops. If you don't have all of those sweeteners, you can go with just agave or just honey and put in 1/3 cup.

Makes about 5 cups

1 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 c rolled oats
1 c quinoa flakes (you can use more oats if you would like)
1/4 c ground buckwheat groats or buckwheat flour
1/4 c ground flaxseed
2 TBS flaxseed
2/3 c chopped almonds (I did 1/3 chopped fine, 1/3 rough chopped)
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS agave nectar
2 TBS honey
2 TBS brown rice syrup
8 drops vanilla stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 mashed banana
1/4 c coconut oil
1/4 c coconut butter

Preheat the oven to 325F

Combine ingredients down to (and including) the salt, in a large bowl and mix.

Next in a cereal size bowl, combine the extracts and sweeteners (agave, honey, brown rice syrup and stevia) with the oil and mashed banana. If your banana is somewhat firm still, you may have to break out the beaters and beat until it is smooth. Otherwise, you can do it with a fork. Now pour it into the big bowl of dry ingredients.

Last, mix in the 1/4 cup coconut butter. If you don't have coconut butter, you can use almond butter, although it will give you a different taste. It is ALMOND Vanilla Macaroon Granola though, so it will work just lovely!

Once its mixed line a cookie sheet with foil and pour granola onto it. Make sure to get it evenly spread all over the pan. If your pan is large, you can use one, if it's small you will have to use two (otherwise the bottom and top will get toasty while the middle won't, and it will take longer to cook).

Cook for 20-25 min, or until browned slightly. Stir or flip every 5-7 min to cook evenly.
**If you want to make this raw, you can just dehydrate it instead of cooking it. It should take about 12 hours to dehydrate at 118F.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF, Vegan)

These cookies are great! Very light and fluffy, no oil in them either! I got my vegan white chocolate chips from a place online, (here) but maybe you are lucky enough to have a store near you that sells them. If not, there are also some good recipes online of how to make your own!
homemade white chocolate recipe

Makes 15 cookies

1 cup GF flour mix* (or if you don't want them to be gluten-free, use spelt flour)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 tsp real salt
1/3 cup vegan white chocolate chips
1-2 tbs vegan chocolate chips (optional)
4 tbs agave nectar
2 tbs water
6 drops vanilla stevia
2 tbs almond butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/3 cup mashed banana (somewhere in between the two amounts)
2 tbs crushed almonds

*Baking GF Flour mix (thank you Sketch-free Vegan Blog for this great mix):
2 cups brown rice flour
2 cups oat flour - make sure the oats are pure (gluten-free)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax meal (don't skip out on the flax meal it acts as a binding agent)


Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all dry ingredients up to the salt, mix in medium sized bowl. In another bowl mix together agave, almond butter, vanilla. Then add in the mashed banana, water, until fully mixed. Now add in the chips and nuts. Now combine with dry ingredients. If too dry add another tbs water. Scoop onto cookie sheet and cook for 11 minutes. Allow to sit on the cookie sheet for 1-2 min after out of the oven, then put onto cooking rack or plate.

Almond Five-Spice Snaps (Vegan)

A lot like ginger snaps, but a few other spices in the mix and the ginger is much more down played. I believe they would be enjoyed by people who like ginger snaps, as well as those who don't. They make awesome ice cream sandwich ends!

I made a few minor changes to this recipe that I got from "Eat, Drink and Be Vegan". So, thanks Dreena Burton!

Makes 12-15 cookies

1 C spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 C sucanat (or turbinano sugar, or other unrefined sugar)
2 Tbs chopped almonds
1/4 tsp RealSalt
1 1/2 tsp five-spice powder (*What's in five-spice?  Also called chinese 5-spice powder)
1/3 C agave nectar
3/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 C olive oil
1-2 TBS sucanat

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl mix together wet ingredients until well mixed. Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until combined well, but don't over mix. Mixture will be semidry. Put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and scoop tablespoon size balls onto it.  After all balls are laid out, press each down slightly and add sprinkle of sugar. Bake for 10 min then remove from the oven and let sit for about 1 min, then transfer to a cooling rack. If you leave the cookies in longer than 10 min, they will get dry.

Yum Truffles (Raw, GF, Vegan)

Such a simple recipe, but really really good! The soaking of the almonds makes it so that the rolls are softer. I make these 2 different ways, one rolled in coconut flakes & the other rolled in carob powder. I never really consumed dates much until noticed that just about every fruit & nut bar at the grocery store used dates in them. I started making these, and now adore using dates.

1 C raw almonds, soaked 24-48 hours
*1/2 C packed, dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla
2-4 Tbs carob powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
unsweetened coconut flakes OR additional carob powder

Put soaked almonds into a food processor for about 1 minute. Then add dates in about 3 different groupings mixing well between. Now add in vanilla and carob (or cocoa) powder.
If an enjoyable change, add another extract to the mix, just 1 tsp. Ex: Orange extract (orange and chocolate go great together), coconut extract (esp if you roll the balls in coconut), cherry, lemon, mint or almond extract.
Roll into 1-2 in balls and roll in coconut flakes or carob powder.
I keep mine in the fridge, but that's because I like it when they are cold and semi-firm. You can do whatever you'd like.


*I suggest buying dates with the pits in, because they stay soft MUCH longer that way. I know it's a bit of a pain pulling out the pits, but it's turns out to be a better product when you do.