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.

Caramel Millet

 After quite some time and many requests, I am finally posting my yummy caramel millet recipe. I'm posting the healthier version, but also the more pricey and a bit more rare ingredients recipe. But, if you go with that I put in parenthesizes, it will turn out just fine and cheaper. Coconut oil acts like vegan butter, and coconut sugar acts like brown sugar in this recipe. So, easily switched. Also, it doesn't have to be puffed millet, it can be puffed rice, puffed kamut, puffed wheat, or even a rice krispie type cereal.

 Caramel Puffed Millet Treats

1/4 c coconut oil (can use vegan butter sub)
1/2 c coconut sugar (can use brown sugar)
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups puffed millet (or any other puffed 'cereal')

In a small pot over med-low heat add the oil and sugar. Mix well, and add in brown rice syrup. Keep stirring, it will come to a boil, turn heat to low as you are still stirring. Let it boil for 4 min, stirring randomly so it doesn't stick to the bottom or burn.
Cut the heat & mix in the soda. There will be a chemical reaction when it mixes, so it will bubble up and become a lighter brown. Then mix in the vanilla.

In a brownie pan, pour the puffed millet. Follow up with the caramel sauce and mix it all together. Once the caramel has coated the millet, press it into the pan.

**Sometimes I mix other things into it, like nuts, coconut and or dried fruit. I have mixed in chocolate chips a few times as well, but you have to know they won't really stay chips, it will turn into more of chocolate streaks, the caramel melts the chocolate. It goes very well being melted on top though, like chocolate frosting!

 

Caramel Chia Seed Granola (GF, Vegan)

I'm guessing that you haven't really used puffed millet in things before, but it's a nice addition to this granola. It is those round light colored things in the granola. You can find it in the cereal aisle at the health food store. The regular grocery store generally will have puffed rice or other puffed cereal that you could easily use in it's place. If you don't have buckwheat groats, you can use all oats. This is a really flexible recipe.

Just out of the oven!

It made a bit more than that, I kept eating it before I took the pic

Made a coconut yogurt & blueberry parfait with the granola!

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup buckwheat groats
2/3 cup puffed millet
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 tbs whole flaxseeds
1/4 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds, can use other seed if you want)
1/4 cup crushed nuts of choice (I used pecan... caramel pecan?? mmm hmmm)
*1/4 cup coconut sugar
**1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbs coconut oil
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (enjoy life brand is dairy, nut & soy free)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a medium-large bowl, mix together first 7 ingredients. In a small pot over med-low, heat the coconut oil & add the coconut sugar. Once they are mixed well together add in the brown rice syrup. Bring to slow/light boil for about 3 min, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Mix hot carmel over the dry ingredients. Pour them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread it all out evenly & place in the oven.
Bake for 30 min, stirring about every 10 min.
It will still be soft when you pull it out after the 30 min, but will harden up as it cools down. After it cools down, add in the chocolate chips.

*If you don't have, or don't want to use coconut sugar, unrefined brown sugar is a sub that will make it taste very similar. (and be cheaper)

**The brown rice syrup really gives it that caramely taste, but it will still be really good granola if you use a different liquid sweetener. Don't let it scare you off from making this. But next time you are at the store and see brown rice syrup (will be near agave and honey) get some!

Crispy Quinoa Cookies (GF, Vegan)

I made these cookies on a whim, just playing around with a few different things. Later I discovered they are AWESOME for ice cream sandwiches. I used dairy-free maple pecan ice cream in the middle and they went together sooo well! Scroll to the end of the link's page for the  above recipe, it's great, no ice cream maker needed & it's soft no matter how long it's frozen!
If you don't have quinoa flakes or buckwheat flour, there are other options, see options section at the bottom of this post.

ice cream sandwich

Makes about 30 cookies

1/2 c brown rice syrup (can sub agave, honey or maple syrup if you do, exclude the stevia below)
1/3 c sucanat (or dry sweetener of choice)
1 med to large banana
1/2 c almond butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp stevia powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 c buckwheat flour
3/4 c quinoa flakes
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 350 F. Mix together brown rice syrup, sucanat, banana, almond butter and vanilla until creamy. Add in dry ingredients and beat until well blended. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 min or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute and then remove from the cookie sheet.When they cool off, they will be crisp.


OPTIONS: If you don't want to use quinoa flakes, you can switch them for oats. Rather than buckwheat flour, you can use brown rice flour.