Have you ever met someone (or are someone) who is on a specific diet? One week you're paleo, the next you're gluten-free only, the next you're on an elimination diet so you can basically eat only vegetables. It's always changing, so only certain recipes work for certain times.
Well these cookies have been, for me, the most versatile and delightful little treasures for a number of reasons. I'll list three.
1. They are safe for about 85% of current trending alternative diets. That is, they are grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, low FODMAP, vegan, dairy-free, and the list continues. And they're actually SUPER delicious too!
2. The recipe includes really simple ingredients. A lot of grain-free and gluten-free cookbooks have additives like arrowroot starch. For some, they can tolerate it just fine. But unfortunately, I can't, so this recipe is perfect!
3. You can experiment very easily with new flavors. For example, I have tried making these as chocolate swirl, chocolate chip, vanilla lavender, marzipan and cherry, just to name a few. The ingredients seem to keep their moist consistency inside with a little bit of crackle on the outside.
Vanilla Lavender Cookies
Gluten-free, Grain-free, Vegan
Ingredients
1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup or cane sugar (if using sugar, you may need to add a little more coconut oil or maple syrup if dry)
2-3 drops edible lavender essential oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp dried food-grade lavender, plus more to drizzle
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine wet ingredients (coconut oil, maple syrup or sugar, lavender essential oil and vanilla extract).
Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients. After combined, gently fold in the dried lavender. Put the batter in the fridge for 5 min. to harden up the coconut oil/firm up the dough if necessary.
Cover a sheet with parchment paper, and roll out dough balls with hands. Then, flatten slightly.
Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes. Place on a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Keep in an airtight container for up to four days. Refrigeration works as well, but it changes the consistency of the cookies to make them more dense.
Another variation: snowball cookies!
Snowball Cookies
Gluten-free, Grain-free, Vegan
Ingredients
1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup or cane sugar (if using sugar, you may need to add a little more coconut oil or maple syrup if dry)
1-3 tsp almond extract (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped roasted pecans, hazelnuts or walnuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine wet ingredients (coconut oil, maple syrup or sugar, almond extract and vanilla extract).
Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients. After combined, gently fold in the nuts. Put the batter in the fridge for 5 min. to harden up the coconut oil/firm up the dough if necessary.
Cover a sheet with parchment paper, and roll out dough balls with hands. Do not flatten.
Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes. Place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then roll each cookie in the powdered sugar twice until completely covered. Enjoy!
Keep in an airtight container for up to four days. Refrigeration not recommended.
Alternative flavor combos:
Lemon Poppyseed: add 2-3 drops edible lemon essential oil, 2-3 tsp lemon zest, 3-4 tbsp poppyseeds
Chocolate Swirl: 1/8 cup cocoa powder (may need to add a little more liquid if too dry), 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Chocolate chip: 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Cherry marzipan: 1/4-1/2 cup chopped cherries (fresh or from syrup), marzipan or chopped almonds, almond extract
