Cranberry chocolate Biscotti  (ADVANCED PLAN)

Recipe by Kimberly Roberto (Maximized Living)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup xylitol
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2  cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup cocao nibs
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine the oil, eggs and vanilla. With a hand mixer, beat for 2-3 minutes.  In a separate bowl, mix the almond flour, xylitol, salt and baking soda.  Stir the wet mixer into the dry mixture until well combined.  Fold in the cranberries, cocao nibs and almonds.  Take chunks of the dough and roll them into logs about 1 inch round and 6 inches long.  Place onto baking pan and bake for about 18 minutes until browned around the edges.  Let the logs cool, then slice the logs into 1/2 inch pieces using a sharp serrated knife.  The dough should be a little pliable, so if it crumbles a bit when you cut it, play with if a little to mold the slices back together.  Lay the slices on their sides and rebake in the oven for another 15 minutes.

This should make close to the required 72 pieces.  You may have to make another 1/2  recipe for the exchange.

 

Peppermint Meringues (ADVANCED PLAN)

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites at room temperature
• 1 cup xylitol pulverized with a coffee grinder to make “icing sugar”
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• green food dye from the health store (enough to dye egg whites to a mint green)

Instructions:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs whites until still peaks form.  Add the xylitol, vinegar and green food colouring and mix until the egg whites are thick and shiny.
2. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe out circles, (similar to  chocolate buds) an inch apart onto a parchment lined pan.  Bake at 200 F. for 2 hours.  Turn off the stove and leave in the oven for one more hour.  Make sure the meringues are dry to the touch.
3. Melt 2-3 squares of unsweetened baker’s chocolate.  Sweetened with stevia to taste.  Dip the bottom of the meringues in the chocolate, then place upside down on the parchment lined pans so the chocolate hardens.  Let cool completely before placing in tins.
4. Makes about 50 cookies.

 

Chocolate Cherry Bombs (ADVANCED PLAN)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4  cup cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2  cup xylitol
• 1/2  cup melted coconut oil
• Dried cherries
• Unsweetened shredded coconut to decorate the cookies

Instructions:

1. Combine the almond flour, baking powder, sea salt and cocoa powder.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, and xylitol using an electric mixer. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well blended, then add the coconut oil.
3. Form the dough into 1 inch balls and slightly flatten onto parchment-lined baking pans.  Stick a cherry in the middle of each cookie, then sprinkle with the coconut.  You may have to press the coconut lightly into the dough.

Bake at 350 F for 20 – 25 minutes.  Makes 40 – 45 cookies.

 

Christmas Granola Bites

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1&1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1&1/4 cup brown rice crisp cereal
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Combine the first seven ingredients in a large bowl and stir.  In another bowl, combine the almond butter, rice syrup and the vanilla extract.  Stir until smooth. Add the almond mixture to the dry ingredients and combine well.

Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper, then spoon the mixture into the pan. Press the granola firmly into the pan.  (I used a small rolling pin.)  Refrigerate until the bars harden.  Cut into 1 inch squares. (Makes around 24 – 30 bites)

 

Exotic Sugar Plums (Core Menu)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups slivered almonds, lightly toasted
• 1/4 cup xylitol icing sugar (use a coffee grinder to make icing sugar with xylitol)
• 2/3 cup chopped apricots
• 2/3 cup chopped prunes
• 2/3 cup chopped dates
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 2/3 cup xylitol

Instructions:

1. Stir together the honey, fennel, anise, cardamom and cinnamon.
2. In a food processor, combine the almonds, “icing sugar”, apricots, prunes, and dates. Blend well, then, place the mixture into a bowl.  Add the spiced honey and mix well.  Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls, then roll each ball in the xylitol.

Recipe makes about 60 sugar plums.  Sugar plums would be a nice accompaniment to a cheese tray.

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars (CORE PLAN) Makes 25 – 30 Balls

Ingredients:

• ½ cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup dried dates
• 1 cup peanuts (unsalted and dry roasted)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

Instructions:

Place peanuts in a food processor and pulse the peanuts into small pieces. Do not make them into flour – you still want texture.) Remove the chopped peanuts and set aside.  Place the dates and cherries in a food processor and blend until it becomes a paste.  (If you need to, add a tablespoon or two of water.)

Combine the peanuts and the fruit mixture.  Scoop the mixture by the tablespoon and roll into a one- inch ball.  Place in a sealed container in the fridge.  (If you want to make bars, roll the mixture between parchment paper and cut into squares.)

Chocolate Walnut Crunch (Advanced:  Grain-free, Sugar Free)

(I call this a walnut crunch as it reminds me of the doughnut)

Ingredients:

• 2 & 1/2  cups walnut pieces, finely chopped
• 2 cups xylitol, pulverized into icing sugar using a coffee grinder
• a generous 1/2  cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Place chopped walnuts on cookie sheets and toast them in the oven at 350 F. for about 10 minutes – make sure they do not burn. Remove from oven and cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the xylitol, cocoa and salt.  Add the walnuts when they cool and blend.
3. Combine the egg whites and the vanilla, then pour over the dry mixture.  Blend with a fork or spoon until the batter is just moistened.
4. On parchment lined baking sheets, drop the batter by the teaspoon, leaving space between the cookies, as the batter will spread.  Bake the cookies at 350 F. for about 15 minutes.  Turn off the oven, open the oven door and leave the cookies sit until they are firm enough to handle.

Makes at least 96 small bite-sized cookies.

Note: If you want a less sweet, more chocolate cookie, use an extra 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and use 1/2 cup less of the xylitol.  A teaspoon of espresso coffee powder is also a tasty addition to the cookies.

 

Snickerdoodle Cookies (ADVANCED RECIPE)  Recipe from Kim Roberto – Maximized Living

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup xylitol
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup garbanzo bean flour
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 cup arrowroot powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:  1 teaspoon cinnamon + 2 tablespoons pulverized xylitol (use a coffee grinder to do this)

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl, mix flours, cinnamon, arrowroot powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, cream butter with the sweetener then add vanilla and eggs.  Add flour mixture and blend well (dough will be sticky).  Shape into silver dollar sized discs and dip into topping then put on parchment lined baking sheets 2 inches apart.  Bake for about 12 minutes or until slightly browned.  Make approximately 35 – 40 cookies. NOTE: If you like your cookies crunchy leave them in a cookie tin for several days.

 

Buckwheat Shortbread (CORE PLAN)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 2 tbsp. buckwheat honey
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• pinch of salt

Topping: 4 oz. of dark, high quality chocolate & 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds.

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together until you have soft dough that you shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about an hour.  Remove from fridge, roll out onto a floured surface and cut into shapes using small cookie cutters such as stars, circles etc. Bake in a 350 oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a rack. Once fully cooled, dip half of each cookie in the melted chocolate, sprinkle with sesame seeds and cool on a piece of parchment paper until the chocolate has hardened.

(As an alternative, you could ice the cookies with a lemon glaze made from 2 cups xylitol pulverized with a coffee grinder and 3 to 4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon.)

Recipes makes about 40 cookies.

 

Chocolate Peppermint Drops (Advanced until you add the crushed Candy Cane)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups almond flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, room temperature
• 1/2 cup xylitol
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon mint extract

1. Instructions:
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. 1 organic candy cane, crushed, to dip the cookie into (optional)
4. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients until well blended.
5. In another bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the coconut oil and xylitol.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, them add the vanilla and the mint extracts.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  I blended the dough with the mixer, then I used my hands to finish it because it became too thick.
7. Divide the dough into 1 inch balls.  You should get approximately 50 – 55 balls.  Lightly spray the tops of the balls with water, then dip the balls into the crushed candy cane.
8. Bake in the oven for approximately 18 – 20 minutes.  The cookies will become more firm as they cool.

 

Coconut Almond Christmas Star Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1&1/4 cups almond flour
• 1 &1/4 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking oil
• 1/4 baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons coconut butter
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 25 drops of liquid Stevia

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, combine the almond flour, coconut, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Process until the shredded coconut is cut into fine granules.
2. Combines the wet ingredients, (depending on the temperature, you may have to heat the coconut oil).
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend into a ball. Dust the dough with tapioca flour. Place the dough in an air tight container a refrigerate for about an hour.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge. The dough may be a bit sticky. Roll the dough between two sheets of was paper – dust the surface of both sides of wax paper touching the dough. Roll out the dough to approximately 1/8 – ¼ inch, then cut out stars with cookie cutters.
5. Bake at 350 F. for 10 minutes. When still warm, sprinkle with cinnamon and powdered xylitol icing sugar.

Recipes makes roughly 90 1-Inch stars

 

Peacan Shortbread Cookies

Premix some paleo flour for this recipe. You can use the extra flour for pancakes or muffins. Mix 2 cups almond flour, 1&1 1/3 cups tapioca flour and 2/3 cups coconut flour. Sift together really well.

Ingredients:

• 2 & ½ cups paleo flour
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
• 1 cup chopped pecans (can substitute hazelnuts or walnuts)
• ¾ cup of butter
• 1/8 teaspoon Stevia extract
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

70% chocolate for decorating (Optional)

Instructions:

1. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and the nuts.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, Stevia and vanilla using an electric mixer.
3. Fold the dry mixture into the butter mixture and blend. The dough will be too fragile to use cookie cutters at this point. Pat the dough into a ball, and wrap with wax paper and seal with plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
4. To form the cookies, work with 1/3-1/2 of the dough at a time. Dust your working surface and the dough lightly with tapioca flour. Roll out the dough into a 1/8 inch depth. Use small cookie cutters-I used 1 inch circles.
5. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges.
6. Do not try to move these cookies until they are cooled, as they are very fragile. I found placing them in the fridge hardened them up slightly.
7. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.
8. Makes approximately 80 bite sized cookies.

Options

-70% or higher melted chocolate for decorating-use for dipping or make squiggles using a plastic freezer bag with a very tiny corner cut off for piping or drizzling.

-For chocolate shortbread, replace ½ cup paleo flour with baking cocoa.

-For a more intense nutty flavor, toast the nuts before chopping

-For spiced shortbread, increase the flour to 3& ½ cups, omit the pecans, decrease the vanilla to ½ teaspoon. Add ¼ teaspoon each of allspice, cardamom, cinnamon.

Chunky Monkeys (No Processed flours and sugar free)

Ingredients:

• 1& ½ cups rolled oats
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon aluminum free baking soda
• ½ cup peanut butter or other nut butter
• ½ cup mashed bananas
• ½ cup date paste
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup Krisda stevia sweetened chocolate chips*
• ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 cup crispy brown puffed rice (I used Nature’s Path)

Unsweetened coconut flakes for decorating (Optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix together the dry ingredients: oats, salt and baking powder.
2. In a separate large bowl, beat the peanut butter, bananas, date paste, egg and vanilla together. You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer.
3. Add the mixed dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend well.
4. Fold in the chocolates, nuts and crispy rice and mix until just combined.
5. Scoop the dough onto the parchment lined baking sheets, forming ½ tablespoon mounds.
6. Sprinkle the tops with coconut flakes. You may have to lightly press the flakes into the dough.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Watch so that they do not burn.
8. Cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

*You can substitute the Krista chips with dark chocolate chips.

Paleo Fruit and Nut Bread (Grain free and processed sugar free)

Premix some paleo flour for this recipe. You can use the extra flour for pancakes or muffins. Mix 2 cups almound flour, 1& 1/3 cups tapioca flour and 2/3 cup coconut flour. Sift together really well.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups assorted chopped dried fruits
• 2 cups assorted chopped nuts and seeds
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• ½ cup unsweetened apple butter or thick apple sauce
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract (can use orange)
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (can use orange)
• 2 cups paleo flour
• 1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

1. Chop nuts and seeds and fruits of your choice, combine in bowl and set aside. (see notes below)
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, coconut oil, apple butter, vanilla, lemon extract and zest. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, blend the flour with the baking powder and salt.
4. Stir the flour blend into the wet mixture.
5. Fold in the nuts, seeds and fruit.
6. Pour the batter into a parchment lined loaf pan, with long ends to assist in removing the bread from the pan after it is baked. (I used three 3” by 7& 1/2 “ paper bakeware so I could just tear off the paper after baking). The dough will be thick and dense, so pat it down lightly, filling the pan 2 inches high. The dough will not rise very much.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick come out clean. Check around 30 minutes to see how the bread is doing.
8. Cool before slicing. You may want to wrap the bread in plastic wrap and put in the fridge before slicing. Slice with a sharp bread knife.

Notes:

For Nuts and seeds: sliced almonds, chopped walnuts and peacans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds. Use a variety for colour and texture.

For fruits: dried pineapples, dates, raisins, peaches, plums, cranberries, apricots, goji berries. Use a variety for colour and texture.