Vegan Chick Pea Chocolate Chip Cookies - No Flour, Sugar, Oil or Milk

I know what you are thinking - garbanzo beans in chocolate chip cookies? Um...gross? 

I hear you. I was shocked when I first tried this recipe and before making a few tweaks of my own. I was skeptical of a cookie recipe that also didn't call for flower, and especially anything that could turn out without using processed sugar which often lends the structure to cookies. How could this be possible? 

Honestly, I have no idea, it is truly magical, and this recipe works! This recipe has become our favorite go to for chocolate chip cookies. I love that they don't have any flour (gasp), I love the natural ingredients, and that I can use the honey we harvest from our bees for this recipe. I also love that the chia seeds help the dough to stick together, and they add an interesting crunch and texture as well.

Place chick peas into a food processor and mix until blended into a smooth mixture. 
2 cans of drained chick peas

Add the following ingredients to the food processor and mix thoroughly:
1 1/4 cup creamy (all natural) peanut butter
1/2 cup raw honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons chia seeds

Mix in the following:
1/2 cup organic, dried coconut (unsweetened)
1 cup vegan chocolate chips or cacao nibs (Enjoy Life or Pascha are two brands I like)

Drop by spoonfuls onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet, and bake at 350* for 15 minutes.
Cookies will be soft so allow to cool on baking sheet. They will firm up as they cool.

Gingersnaps - plant based, gluten/egg/dairy free

Plant based gingersnaps? Finally - Yes please, and thank you!! 

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• These are beautifully crunchy on the outside, and chewy and soft on the inside. Fresh ginger and orange zest give them an extra kick of subtle flavor, and cinnamon and cloves add warmth and depth to these crowd pleasers.
•                
• 1/2 cup coconut cream (solid mass from the top of canned coconut milk)
• 2 cups demerara sugar (evaporated cane juice crystals) 
• 1/2 cup sorghum syrup or molasses
• 1 tsp  vanilla
• 5 cups almond flour 
• 2.5 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 T. freshly grated (finely) raw ginger
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 T. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves 
• zest from 1 orange
• 3 T. coconut milk or other non-dairy milk
• 1 cup demerara sugar (for rolling)
• In a mixer, cream coconut cream, sorghum/molasses and demerara sugar together. Mix in vanilla, raw ginger and orange zest. Add dry ingredients and mix. If the dough is too sticky, add additional almond flour using 1/4 cup increments. 
• Using spoons, form golf ball sized balls, and roll in additional demerara sugar. Place on cookie sheet, and flatten slightly, using the back of a spoon or a fork. 
•              
• Bake at 350* F. for 10-13 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for an additional 10 minutes. 
•                  
• Yield: Approximately 4 dozen cookies
• *These store quite well in the freezer 
• 
  

Easy Halloween Spider Cookies

Yep, it is that time of year again.
Tonight we made our first foray into our annual spider cookie drop offs around the neighborhood.
Anonymously, of course.


My kids love these, and they are cute, novel, and pretty simple.
Oh, and perfect for any fall or Halloween gathering.

The eyeballs take a little bit of time, but they can even be made several days ahead.

Spider eyeballs - Royal Icing
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1eggwhite
2 c. powdered (confectioner's) sugar
Combine egg whites and lemon juice in mixer.  Slowly add powdered sugar - adjusting amount depending on stiffness desired. 


Fill piping bag with frosting. Using a circle frosting tip, pipe small to medium sized circles onto a sheet of waxed paper, and allow 1-2 hours to dry. 
Once dried, pipe a small chocolate 'pupil' (see below) onto each eyeball. 
Affix spider eyeballs with piped chocolate. 


The Spiders - (Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies)

2 c. sugar
4 T. cocoa
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. milk
1/2 cube butter (1/4 c.)
1/2 c. peanut butter (smooth or chunky - your preference)
3 c. raw oatmeal
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1 bag chow mein noodles

Boil sugar, milk, cocoa, and butter 1 minute, stir. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter, (nuts,) oatmeal and vanilla. Stir until well blended. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. 


Working quickly, stick 3-4 legs into each side of the cookie while the batter is still hot.  Technically, I think spiders have 8 legs? 


Melt 1/2 c. chocolate chips in microwave.
Add 1 tsp. shortening and mix. 
Place mixture in piping bag, with a small circle frosting tip. 


This chocolate now becomes glue, and can be used to glue on each eyeball. 
It can also be used for the pupil of each eyeball, but give it sufficient time to dry.  

Nutella Meringues

Last week I stumbled upon one of my friends who works at my kid's school. I often find her during her lunchbreak catching up on all of the blogs that she enjoys following. She had just printed up this recipe she came across, and offered me a copy.

 I originally discovered meringues in a little French restaurant 13 years ago and fell in love with them.  Despite automatically making a mental connection with lemon pie at the mention of meringue, these meringue cookies are made with the same ingredients for a meringue pie, however, the meringue is cooked until it reaches a hard and crunchy state.   These are light and airy (very much so), and crunchy on the outside with just a tiny bit of chewiness on the inside. They are gluten free, and very easy to make. My kind of mix'em, put'em in the oven and forget about them type of easiness...

3 large egg whites at room temperature
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. + 1 T. granulated sugar
1/4 Nutella hazlenut spread - most grocery stores carry this near their peanut butter section

Preheat oven to 300*F, and place one oven rack in the bottom 1/3 of oven, and another in the upper 1/3 of oven.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Using either a double boiler (or a microwave on half power stirring frequently) to melt Nutella, then set aside to cool.

Using a mixer, beat egg whites until completely foamy.
Add cream of tartar and salt, and continue to mix until soft-peaks form.

Increase mixer speed, and add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.
Continue to beat on high until the meringue reaches hard peak consistency.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the Nutella into the meringue three or four times. Avoid over mising as variegated and swirled effect is desired. Over mixing may also deflate the meringue.

Using two spoons, drop the meringue onto the parchment - lined baking sheets in large dallops.

Place in oven for 10 minutes.
After 20 minutes, lower the heat to 200*F, and rotate trays. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Meringues should be completely dry, and will sound hollow tapped on the bottom after they cool.

Yield 15-25 meringues depending on size