a tiny chocolate addict, plus lunch box treats.
So Misty finally discovered chocolate, this Easter past. After managing to avoid it up till now, I decided not to be a Scrooge (Easter Scrooge?) and let him indulge. It was however, 70% dark vegan chocolate – yes yes, Misty has good taste indeed. I think we have a chocolate fan on our hands.
Now everything chocolate-coloured is described as “Cock-o-Lat Buddy,” or in layman’s terms, “Chocolate Bunny.” There have been multiple demands for Cock-o-Lat Buddy as of late, and so I came up with this little snack bar which is perfect for the lunch box as it is nut free, plus satisfies a toddler-craving for Cock-o-Lat Buddy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all about treats – I just don’t like the ones that contain numbers instead of FOOD, and cause my child to bounce off the walls for hours on end. Let’s just say that Misty is a highly spirited boy who does not need any more stimulation in the form of sugar in his life thankyouverymuch.
![DSCN0016[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00161.jpg)
I love Whittaker’s chocolate – good old New Zealand confectionery. Their dark varieties are usually vegan which suits us just fine. Yes, I took a decent stash home in my suitcase after our recent trip – and have even convinced Viper that dark chocolate has some merits. (He who would only indulge in the lightest of light milk chocolate).
I didn’t add any sweetener to this recipe – I figure the small amount of sugar in the chocolate I used, plus almost a cup of dried fruit would do the trick, and it did. If you are a super sweet tooth, then a few tablespoons of a granulated sweetener such as rapadura, coconut crystals or raw sugar would work.
![DSCN0017[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00171.jpg)
Chocolate Oat Brownie Bars
(Vegan: wheat/nut/refined sugar free)
- 2/3C oat flour
- 2/3C sunflower seed meal/flour
- 1/4C quick oats
- 1T cocoa powder
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1/8t sea salt
- 1/3C dried banana, roughly chopped – if you don’t have banana, something like tart dried apricots or even cherries would be delicious.
- 1/3C dark raisins
- 50g dark (vegan) chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 3T liquid coconut oil
- 1C non dairy milk (I used full fat soy)
- 1/2t baking powder
- 1/8t baking soda
- 1 flax “egg” (1T ground flax seed whisked with 3T water, and left for 5 minutes to gel
- To make the oat & sunflower seed “flours” simply grind/whizz oats and sunflower seeds in your food processor or spice grinder – it doesn’t matter if it is left a tad chunky – this just means more texture in the final product.
- Pre heat oven to 170 degrees C.
- Whisk together your flax egg, and leave it aside to gel while you prepare the dry ingredients.
- Combine oat & sunflower flour in a mixing bowl with quick oats, cocoa, salt, raisins, banana, and chocolate. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl. combine non dairy milk, flax egg, coconut oil and vanilla extract – again, mix well.
- Pour wet into dry, and finally add your baking soda and powder, gently folding through.
- Line a slice tin with baking paper(approx 15 by 30cm tin – if you use a larger/smaller pan you will need to adjust cooking time) and carefully pour in the mix. I wanted thin bars, so the mix is only about 2cm high in the pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes – it will feel firm(ish) to the touch.
- Cool completely in the pan before attempting to move – even popping it in the fridge is a good idea before trying to cut it into bars, otherwise you may end up with a pile of crumbs.
![DSCN0020[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00201.jpg)
These were approved by both the toddler and the newbie to plant-based-eating (Viper). Chocolate always seems to be a winner, no? I dearly wish I could taste these – actually I dearly wish that I could taste ANYTHING – the season of cold & flu is upon us, and has struck me down with speed and ferocity already. 10 days of illness (and no taste buds) and counting. Eating really is extremely boring when you are unable to taste ANYTHING. Very very frustrating, and so I have to rely on the male members on my family to judge my kitchen experiments as the moment. These were a win.
![DSCN0022[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00221.jpg)
fuel for a busy life (lunch box friendly)
Life never seems to let up, does it? It’s not going to slow down for anyone.
Not that I’m complaining, but this year has started off with a bang of busy-ness. Making lunches for both Viper AND Misty who has started at kindy (oh how they grow so fast!) working 2 jobs, yoga teacher training, plus domestic duties has me running around like a headless chook. Good thing I thrive on being BUSY.
My boys need lots of energy for their endeavours too, of course – and I want them to have quality fuel for their day. Viper would call these bars something along the lines of “Middle Earth Bars,” or “Hobbit food.” Basically this means that they are super dense, energy filled snacks that would definitely fuel a mission to Mordor, or a day at kindy. Also, I think Viper is poking fun at the look of my bars – unleavened bread, or a small windowless building, anyone? Looks aside, these are super tasty and filling…. plus Misty has deemed them Yummo.
These would be great for school lunches – nut free!
Apricot-Coconut Chocolate Chunk Bars
Vegan, wheat/corn/soy/ nut/refined sugar free.
- 1C quick oats
- 2/3C dessicated, toasted coconut*
- 3T toasted chickpea flour*
- 2T rapadura sugar (or granulated sweetener of choice)
- 1/2C chopped dried apricots
- 1/2C dark chocolate chopped into small chunks
- 1/2t ground cinnamon
- 1C almond milk (or desired milk)
- 1/4C soft vegan spread (nuttlelex, Earth Balance) OR coconut oil OR butter
- 1/4t sea salt
- 1t baking powder
- 1/8t baking soda
*Toasting really brings out the flavour of the coconut, and decreases to bitterness in the chickpea flour. Simply use a dry fry pan, stirring constantly until lightly brown and fragrant.
- Pre heat oven to 160 degrees C fan bake.
- Combine all ingredients except raising agents (baking soda/powder) and mix well.
- Fold through remaining ingredients gently.
- Scoop into a lined loaf pan and smooth out the top.
- Bake for 45-50 or until it feels firm in the middle. Turn off oven, leaving inside for a further 20 minutes.
- Place in fridge until fully cold.
- Slice into bars – store in the fridge.
I think the fact that I’m doing my yoga teacher training is my saving grace in this hectic schedule at the moment – I have to do yoga! It’s all kinds of winning in my book.
How do you cope with day-to-day craziness? What’s your favourite way to chillout?
new years and nectarines
It’s stone fruit season here. All those glorious gems – apricots, peaches, plums – and my personal favourite, nectarines. I went a little crazy and bought far too many of the latter….. my dehydrator has been running constantly, and my jars have been filling up with sweet sweet fruity jewels.
Sorry to disappoint, but I have no exciting tale of my planned New Year’s Eve’s adventures, or a list of melodramatic achievements I wish to pursue next year. Honestly, I don’t understand the hoo-ha that goes along with New Years – especially the whole resolution thing. It’s a grand idea to set goals and have aspirations, of course, but I don’t need a shiny new year to do that. All I can say on the subject of New Years is I am blessed to be here for another one. I hope you all enjoy your celebrations, nonetheless – I think I will go to bed and enjoy the extra hours sleep and lack of a hangover tomorrow.
Misty is on another one of his “I will only eat if it is a liquid in a bottle, therefore I shall not eat, but DRINK,” kicks. In an attempt to get something solid in his system, I whizzed up some little fruity truffles – all the goodness of breakfast in ball form. I know most of you won’t be in the midst of stone fruit season – if you don’t have access to dried nectarines, dried peaches or apricots would be lovely as well.
Breakfast Bites
(Vegan, nut, soy, wheat free, refined sugar free)
- 1C dried nectarinej
- 20 soft pitted dates
- 3/4C quick oats
- 1/2C flax seed meal
- 2T liquid coconut oil
- 1/2t cinnamon
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1/4t sea salt
- Pulse everything together until a soft dough is formed.
- Roll into balls and chill in the fridge until firm.
- Store in the fridge.
Although the first few offers were stashed inside unsuspecting toys….
…..these balls were finally pronounced “Oh Yum!”
Tell me about YOUR exciting NYE plans as I don’t have any. Maybe I can live vicariously through the tales of others?
it’s all in the details, right? (Recipe Reveal)
If you follow me on Face Book – you would have seen me hounding you all for votes for a recipe competition featuring Australian Macadamias (above photo courtesy of Australian Macadamias). Thank you to everyone that voted for me – I won! My photo/recipe now take pride of place on the front cover of the 2013 Australian Macadamias calendar.
BUT, the editor of the calendar may need his/her eyes checked. Unfortunately when I received my copy, it seems that the MAIN INGREDIENT (except for the macadamias, of course) was forgotten (!) FAIL. The tofu was left out, and the salt/vanilla quantities were written around the wrong way – so if anyone attempts to re create this tart it will be a salty flop with hardly any creamy filling. Empty, over salted tart shell, anyone?
Anyway, I took it upon myself to post the recipe here, because it is simple, delicious and surprisingly healthy – although it tastes SO decadently sinful. Viper even stated that this was one of my finest creations, and requested that he received one every evening. Yeah right, Viper.
Macadamia Shortbread Tart with Lemon Coconut Cream
(Vegan, soy/seed/refined sugar/wheat free – gluten free if you use certified oats)
healthy food = party pooper?
Misty had his first “Santa” experience today. To be honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of Santa, but I will play along – Christmas is for the kids, right?
The whole notion of Santa weirds me out a little. Viper calls me The Scrooge as he is all for everything Christmas-related. Anyway, the point of my little Santa-rant is to bring up my issue of the day. Today my plate of home made, healthful muffins (or cupcakes) was left in the kitchen at Misty’s Play Group Christmas party. This was no accident, and I didn’t realise until later what had happened. Typical Misty didn’t really want a bar of the whole “Christmas Party Orchestration” and had made a beeline outside to play.
By the time Misty and myself had made it indoors, the shared morning tea was pretty much done and dusted. My plate was still in the kitchen, all alone. Too brown? Too boring? Not laden with sprinkles, colourful frosting or doused in sugar? I don’t know about you, but I would consider these REAL food – and they ARE tasty – Misty ate 3 in a row when he decided it was time to eat. Good boy. It’s funny, I thought I was being responsible bringing a nut/gluten/refined sugar free treat to a children’s party (!)
I’m not trying to be preachy or anything – I’m not going to tell anyone what to eat, or what they should feed their child. I’m not going to touch that can of worms with a 10 foot pole…. yeah I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to public confrontation. I just think if kids become used to “food” being of the processed, additive-laden, multi-coloured variety, then we are just setting up this new generation for a life time of health implications. It’s not about being a “Scrooge” or a “Kill-Joy-Hippie” – real, wholesome, nutritious food IS delicious, we as the adults have to set the example, am I right?
Speaking of nutritious, delicious food, my gorgeous friend made this recipe for healthy gingerbread cookies for the party – and Misty loved them. Why can’t healthy yummy food such as this be the majority, not the minority? Photo credit goes to her for the Santa-snap above too.
Fruity Nut-Free Cup Cakes
(Nut/wheat/refined sugar free – gluten free if you use certified oats)
Dry
- 1/2C oats
- 1C sunflower seeds
- 2T coconut sugar (or any granulated sugar such as rapadura)
- 1/4t sea salt
- 1/3C dark raisins
- 1/3C dried strawberries (or any dried fruit – cranberries or apricots would work well)
- 1/4t baking soda
- 1t baking powder
Wet
- 1C mashed banana (about 2 medium sized bananas)
- 1 large egg
- 1/3C milk (any full fat milk will be fine here – almond, soy, cow, coconut)
- 2t apple cider vinegar
- 1/2t pure vanilla extract
- 1T liquid coconut oil or other neutral tasting oil (melted butter would be fine too)
- Pre heat oven to 170 degrees C fan bake.
- Make your “flour” by whizzing together the sunflower seeds and oats in a food processor until a fine meal is formed.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Lightly whisk together wet ingredients, and carefully fold into the dry.
- Spoon into silicone cup cake moulds, or a lined/greased muffin tin…. I only filled the cup cake moulds about 2/3 full for a smaller cake.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown and “springy” to the touch.
They may not be the most attractive looking cakes, but an important lesson for kids to learn is to not judge a book by it’s cover, right?
Thoughts? Am I being over-the-top or do you agree?
trying toddler times: the feeding game #4
The recipe I came up with today isn’t really a cookie as such…. but it’s a cookie shape so I’m going to call it a cookie. Everybody loves a cookie, right? Anyway, Misty is becoming rather picky of late – I mean, I don’t blame him, after that nasty bout of gastro last week, no wonder his appetite is a little up and down.
It’s quite textural at the moment for Misty – he’s getting a lot more savvy at expressing what he likes and what he deems unacceptable. Usually the latter is swiped away with a defiant “NO!” or “YUCK!” Yeah, he’s so polite this child of mine. He doesn’t like sticky, he doesn’t like smooshy, he doesn’t like crumbly and he doesn’t like crunchy. Well, today anyway – tomorrow? Who knows!
These cookies pack in a bunch of nutritious goodies, while holding together (no crumbling) and are nice and soft. Perhaps it’s the teething thing, but Misty is not fond of hard morsels at the moment. My challenge was I had to use up whatever I had on hand in the pantry, as I have banned myself from going to the store…. yeah the healthy-cheap-skate-fridge-scraper reigns supreme. This also means Viper gets to enjoy a lentil and chicken curry 3 nights in a row, and I get to have falafel salad wraps for the same duration. Oh yes, we are on a budget-kick at the moment. Anyway, these cookies we created vegan-by-default as I have no eggs or butter in my house. No problem.
Spiced Pumpkin Cookies – for fussy Toddlers
(Vegan, nut, corn, soy, refined sugar free)
- 1/2C pumpkin puree
- 1/2C dessicated coconut
- 1/3C quick oats
- 1 flax “egg” – 1T ground flax seed, 3T water
- 1/4t ground cinnamon
- 1/8t sea salt
- 2T brown rice syrup (or maple syrup/honey/agave)
- 2T tahini
- 1/2C raisins (or any dried fruit)
- 1/2C wholemeal plain flour (whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1/2t vanilla extract (optional)
- Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C, and prepare a baking tray with baking paper.
- Whisk together your flax “egg” and set aside for 10 minutes or so to gel.
- Combine all ingredients with the flax egg – mix well.
- Wet and and pat golf balls of mixture into cookies shapes – you should get 12, depending on your sizing. If the mix is too sticky to handle, just pop in the fridge for a few minutes – it should firm up a bit.
- Bake for 8 minutes, the flip all cookies over, and continue to cook for a further 8 minutes or firm to the touch and slightly golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack.
- Store in the fridge.
As the title suggests, these are a great transportable snack, and could even be a breakfast-on-the-run (or eaten in the car seat as we drop Viper at work). Snacks that HOLD together and don’t create a huge disgusting mess in my car are always welcome.
I’m not going to suggest these are going to be a hit with every toddler, as we know how fickle these little creatures are. Speaking of fickle, only a few weeks ago, Misty was enjoying a more traditional-style (crumbly) cookie with gusto – not any more. Anyway, if you want to check out any more of my “trying toddler” snacks:
It’s like a little bowl of porridge (oatmeal) in a cookie. Without the mess and oaty-gloop-covered-hands-hair-and clothes….. success.
Any tips for feeding fussy toddlers?
virtual vegan potluck, round 2.
I think most people tend to “play-it-safe” when it comes to dinner parties and entertaining. The same (fail safe) recipes are used time an time again – and that’s fine, you stick to what you know, and the likelihood of a disaster is lessoned considerably.
Maybe I’m a rebel. Maybe I’m crazy (I know the answer to this one). I like to get change things up a bit, take risks and create something a little different. Yes, I could end up with a pile of strange tasting, unidentifiable slop on my platter to present to m guests, but I’m willing to take that chance. If my dish is a failure, I shall just drink more wine and all shall be forgiven (forgotten? Drink more wine).
Beetroot, Chai spices and carob seem like an odd little threesome, yes? Well they are, but I think they get on rather nicely – they all have a similar earthiness to them, which is balanced out in this recipe by some creamy coconut, and a little freshness from mint & lemon. To keep things a little left of centre (as I like it) the pastry base uses chickpeas, because we all love protein, yes? Call me crazy, but I kind of dig it.
Creamy Beetroot & Coconut Tart with Chai Spices and Fresh Mint
(Vegan, wheat, nut, corn, refined sugar free)
Beetroot & Coconut Filling
- 1 heaping cup chopped beetroot (raw)
- 3C water
- 2 star anise
- 4 crushed cardamom pods
- 2t ground cinnamon
- 1/4t sea salt
- 1t mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice)
- 1/4t ground ginger
- 1T lemon juice
- 1t lemon zest
- 1/8C fresh mint leaves
- 200g silken tofu (the shelf stable varieties like mori nu and moringa are the most “neutral” tasting and best texture in my opinion)
- 1/4C coconut butter
- 3T maple syrup
- 1/3C coconut milk (full fat)
- 1/2t pure vanilla extract
Chick Pea Oat “Pastry”
- 1 can chick peas
- 2T ground flax
- 4T oat bran
- 1T psyllium husks
- 3T coconut sugar
- 1/4t sea salt
- 1/2t pure vanilla extract
- 2T carob powder
- 4T melted coconut oil
- 1T maple syrup
- Tiny pinch sea salt
- 1/4t vanilla extract
- First up, make the pastry. Pre heat your oven to 170 degrees fan bake.
- Pulse together all pastry ingredients, then let the mix sit for about 10 minutes…. this just makes it a little easier to work with.
- Press the “dough” down firmly into a tart pan with a loose bottom. Be sure to get the dough spread out as evenly as possible – this ensures it will bake accordingly.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until pastry becomes golden and looks like it is slightly cracking.
- Remove from oven and set aside while you prepare the tart filling.
- To make tart filling, take beetroot and place in a small saucepan. Cover with the water and add star anise and cardamom pods to the cooking water. Bring to the boil, reduce to a quick simmer and continue cooking until beets are tender.
- Drain beets, discard water and spices.
- Combine all remaining ingredients with the beets in a food processor and whizz until very smooth.
- Spoon mix into your tart shell, smooth down and chill in the fridge for at least an hour…. or until nice and firm.
- For the drizzling sauce, simply combine all ingredients and splosh onto chilled tart at your leisure (it turns into a hard “magic shell” which is quite fun).
- Garnish with additional fresh mint, and enjoy.
If this flavour combo isn’t your thing, then you can’t deny the beauty of beetroot’s hue, now can you?
Thanks to all for another fabulous soiree of delicious Vegan eats – organisers and contributors alike… I can’t wait to peruse the delicacies on offer.
simple is good.
Sometimes keeping things simple is best.
Coconut milk. This is the best brand I’ve come across (in Aussie) – no nasty additives/preservatives…. and SO creamy.
Place a can in the fridge over night…..scoop off the top, creamy thick layer…… Use the watery stuff in your smoothies.
Simple Cacao Coconut Spread
(Vegan – gluten/wheat/nut/soy/corn/grain/refined sugar free – Anti Candida)
- 1/2C coconut milk (as described above – the THICK part)
- 10 drops vanilla stevia liquid (or 1-2t of your favourite liquid sweetener – agave/rice syrup/maple – or more to taste)
- Tiny pinch sea salt
- 3t cacao powder (or cocoa/carob)
- Mix all ingredients together until well combined & smooth.
You can spread this on bread, fruit slices, or use as a “frosting” on baked goods. It’s amazing just eaten as it, with some cacao nibs/chocolate chips stirred though – almost instant pudding (thats good for you). It will harden slightly on chilling.
Simple.
I also like to keep it simple with Misty’s morning cereal. Plain toasted oats, with a little sweet spice. Keeping the oats plain(ish) means we can add whatever we have on hand in the kitchen – and whatever Misty is in the mood for.
Simple Spiced Toasty Oats
- 1+1/2 C quick oats
- 1 +1/2t liquid sweetener (agave/maple/rice syrup/honey etc)
- 1T solid coconut oil
- 1/2t ground cinnamon
- Tiny pinch of salt
- Combine all ingredients well.
- Spread onto a lined baking sheet (or silicone baking tray) and bake at 160 degrees C for about 15 minutes (or until golden brown) stirring a few times to ensure even toasting.
- Turn off oven and leave tray inside so the oats go nice and crisp.
- Store in an airtight jar.
I like keeping things simple for Misty – if I keep the grain component plain(ish) he likes to top it with whatever he fancies. One day, banana, the next, raisins, the next strawberries and chocolate milk (albeit cashew/cacao “milk” but anyhow). Keeps life interesting.
Shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds, All-Fruit jam, plain yoghurt, sunflower seeds, raisins, chopped dates, nut butters, fresh fruit – chopped or grated, cottage cheese, cranberries, chocolate chips – get creative with your toppings and mix ins.
The good thing is, you can double or triple this plain-oats recipe and keep it in a sealed container in the pantry – lasts for ages. Life is complicated enough, no? Also, I think somebody (the one wearing the bones-suit) needs a haircut. I’m not game.
sneaky cookies and coconut musings.
I never used to like coconut. I remember I actually used to say I was “allergic” to it when I was a kid, to get out of eating it. Ha, how times (and taste buds change). We all go through it, our taste buds mature, and we begin to “get” why certain foods are INCREDIBLE, when a few years previous, we would have turned up our nose in disgust. I never used to like mushrooms until I moved to Australia – it was strange – as soon as I jumped the ditch, I tried mushrooms properly and LOVED them. Same thing with capers, olives, good quality olive oil, wine – it’s like my sense of taste hit a new stride, and ditched it’s rather bland childhood/teenager favourites for the more sophisticated nosh.
Coconut has been my biggest infatuation of late. Not just due to the taste, if you can believe it. The health benefits of coconut OIL, in particular, are pretty incredible. I really do believe consuming large amounts of the stuff has really helped me on my Anti Candida Crusade; it’s anti-fungal properties are not to be scoffed at.
Oil pulling using coconut oil has been awesome, weird at first – but I SWEAR my teeth are whiter. I’ve even had almost instantaneous success using coconut oil on a little case of Cradle Cap Misty had…. within a day his symptoms (dry, scaley patches on the scalp) had softened, and in a few days was gone completely.
I know there is all sorts of negative hype surrounding saturated fats (which coconut oil is HIGH) in – but personally I couldn’t give two hoots about that. I know what makes me feel good, and coconut oil is my main squeeze.
Taste buds change as we grow older, yes, and I think it’s a really good thing to keep in mind that we CAN “re-set” our taste buds if we want to, at any time. I mean, if you eat a diet that is full of sugary-trans fatty-overly salted-preservative/additive laden foods, the of course a simple veggie stew and quinoa dinner is going to taste a little “blah” in comparison. Once you cut out all the fake, processed crap from your diet, you really begin to be able to truly TASTE food as nature intended it. I have discovered that by cutting out all sugar on the Anti Candida Diet, my taste buds have really grown adept at discovering the natural sweetness in veggies and whole grains. Stevia is there as my crucial crutch, yes, but my NEED for sugar sugar sweetie sugar has really died down.
Speaking of sweet-treats (that aren’t SO sweet) I’m on a Macaroon-kinda-kick. I think it’s because I kept stumbling across bags of coconut in my Mum’s pantry – and she says she hates dessicated/shredded coconut – so I was just being a good daughter and ridding her of it, yes?
I’m always a big fan of sneaking secret-nutrient-ingredients into baked good too. This recipe uses chickpeas and chia seeds to help bind the dough together, and ensure that the cookies stay a little chewy. Ingredient fixation of the day (Week? Month? Year?) coconut oil makes up the topping. Now who doesn’t love a chocolate-ty, coconut-ty topping?
Vanilla-Cinnamon Cookies with Chocolate Macaroon Topping
(Vegan, wheat/soy/nut/corn/refined sugar free. Anti Candida Friendly)
- 1+ 3/4C chickpeas ( One 400g can, drained of all liquid)
- 3/4C oatbran (oat flour or buckwheat flour – ground from raw groats- could be subbed in here)
- 2T chia seeds
- 1/4t sea salt
- 25 drops vanilla stevia liquid (OR 2T liquid sweetener such as agave/maple etc – REDUCE water to 1T if you use this option)
- 2T water
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1t ground cinnamon
- 1T solid coconut oil
- Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until well combined…. you will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.
- Turn out “dough” onto a lined baking sheet, and squeeze together so it forms a large clump. Rest the dough here for about 10 minutes…. it makes it easier to work with.
- The easiest way to roll it out is to place another sheet of baking paper on top, and either press with your palms or use a rolling pin until it is about 4-5mm in thickness. (If you prefer a crispier cookie then roll the dough out to about 2mm in thickness).
- Cut out cookies using a cookie cutter, or simply cut into squares.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes at 160 degrees C on fan bake setting.
- Turn oven off, leaving cookies inside to dry out further. They will looked cracked and really dry, but they actually stay remarkable chewy in the middle.
- Top with the following….
Chocolate Macaroon Topping
- 8T solid coconut oil
- 8T toasted coconut shreds (lightly brown in a dry fry pan)
- 4T cacao powder
- 20 drops vanilla stevia liquid (OR liquid sweetener of choice – 2T- omit hot water though)
- 1/4t vanilla extract
- 2T hot water
- Pinch sea salt
- Pour hot water over the coconut oil to help it soften… then add the toasted coconut straight from the pan…. again to help the oil melt.
- Mix in all other ingredients, and ensure no lumps of solid oil remain.
- Scoop onto cooled cookies, and flatten out.
- Chill in fridge to the topping “sets.”
Honestly, I don’t know about the reliability of my taste buds, as you saw what I made/ATE the other day. On all accounts, though, my buds found these particular cookies rather delicious…. so much so, that I made/ATE three batches in as many days.
What are your thoughts on coconut oil? How have YOUR tastebuds progressed in sophistication over the years?
Tuesday Tunes…. more toddler treats
Today’s post is brought to you by the sweet sounds of one of the most successful dub bands from MY homeland of Aotearoa (New Zealand). For my New Zealand readers: yes, you already know this band is awesome – scroll down to the end and there is a recipe for you. Everyone else: LISTEN UP!
Fat Freddy’s Drop is a group of musicians who produce a sort of “fusion” style of music. Think dub, reggae, jazz, soul, R+B, techno, drum + bass just to get the ball rolling. The lovely thing about this group is they have created a sound/style of music that is just theirs. And oh, believe me, it is sweet.
I’ve have been fortunate to see these guys live on quite a few occasions (the last when Misty was still in my belly – but he had a good boogie on down in the womb I can tell you). The good thing about a live performance by Fat Freddy’s Drop is the chance to get a teensy bit closer to the glorious lead man, Dallas Tamaira…. his good looks are only outshone by his voice which I would describe as liquid velvet, encased in deep, dark chocolate.
Deary me I’m weak at the knees just thinking about it. Don’t worry – Viper agrees with me. There is no denying when someone just has that X factor.
Today I am show casing their 2nd album….. Dr Boondigga and the Big BW which in my opinion juuuuuust pips their first album at the post. I can’t even pick a favourite – this whole album is just fantastic…. all I can say is check it out, and while you’re at it, their first album Based on a True Story is stellar as well. I think it just got a bit too much play-time when it was released in NZ – seriously for about 2 years afterwards, EVERY cafe/boutique/bar was playing it.
To end on a sweet(er) note, here is another notion I have come up with for transportable toddler (and everyone else) snacks. It’s basically a bowl of muesli in a bite… coconut oil does the job of “setting” it all together. Better for cooler temperatures as they do soften up once warm…. the Gold Coast has decided to turn up the heat and we are enjoying 30 degree days already. Although Misty didn’t give these little bites a chance to go soft – he gobbled them up no worries,
NO BAKE Muesli Bites
(Vegan – wheat/nut/corn/refined sugar free – gluten free if you use certified oats) NO BAKE.
- 1C quick oats (OR puffed brown rice, rolled quinoa, puffed millet – whatever you like)
- 1/3C dessicated coconut
- 1/3C pepitas
- 1/3C sunflower seeds
- 2T ground flax seed (linseed)
- 1/2C raisins (or preferred dried fruit)
- 1t ground cinnamon
- 1/4t sea salt
- 1T honey (maple syrup or agave would also be fine)
- 2T coconut oil – measure when SOLID
- 1/3c milk (I used full fat soy, but any should work)
- Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Gently melt coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan. Add milk.
- Pour over dry mix and combine well. Leave to sit for 10 minutes.
- Firmly press scoops into silicone cupcake moulds OR spoon entire mix into a baking paper lined loaf-tin.
- Wet hands and press down mix, compacting very firmly.
- Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
- Pop out of moulds/slice into bars.
- Store in the fridge.
You could use any combination of dried fruit/nuts/seeds/chocolate chips….. get creative.
Sorry if things get a bit sporadic around here…. on the topic of New Zealand, Misty and I are bust getting ourselves ready for a jump across the ditch.
Vegan. Stay at home Mum of Misty. Yoga teacher in training. Passionate about REAL food - creating it, eating it, sharing it. I can never stick to a recipe.
