Chewy Molasses Cookies

Is it too late for a Christmas cookie?

If it is, I understand.  I hope you'll consider this as you're choosing a Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, or random January afternoon cookie.  Chewy grain-free molasses cookies work anytime.

Normally I don't love cookies unless there's chocolate or caramel involved, but I've made an exception here.  There's something about the rich flavor of molasses in a chewy cookie with a hint of crunch from a coating of sparkling sugar that I can really get into.

5 Last-Minute Christmas Treats (Gluten-free)

Did you suddenly realize you were in need of a quick but impressive dessert for Christmas day?  I have five ideas for you.  You probably have most of the necessary ingredients in your pantry already, but if not, stores should be open for a few more hours!  Make your day merrier by whipping up one or more of these last-minute delicacies.

Chocolate Bark with infinite variations (10 minutes to make, 30 minutes to set):  If you have some chocolate on hand (milk, semisweet, white--pick your favorite!), melt it, spread it on a parchment-lined sheet, and swirl in toppings of your choice.  This recipe calls for pepitas and sea salt, but here are three more ideas: dried cranberries, chopped pecans, and sea salt; crushed candy canes; chopped almonds and toffee bits.  After about half an hour in the freezer, just break the chocolate up into pieces and you're done!

Mexican Brownies (15 minutes to make, 20 minutes to bake):  These are a snap to make if you have paleo flour blend on hand.  If not, you can measure out almond flour, tapioca starch, and coconut flour individually.  If your family enjoys desserts with a little kick, they will absolutely love these!

Mexican Brownies (Gluten-free, Paleo)

These brownies are SO good!  Rich and fudgy in the middle and irresistibly crunchy around the edges--I can't stop thinking about them.  Their flavor is enhanced by a dose of a cinnamon and a hint of cayenne pepper, but you can totally leave those out if you want a more classic brownie.

I made a big pan of these (doubled the below recipe) for the first meeting of my school's Spanish Club, and they were a huge hit!  The meeting was at ten am, but nobody complained about being served brownies for breakfast.  I made them again day before yesterday in these Christmas molds, and I was going to give them as gifts . . . but we ate them all.  Restraint is futile when faced with Mexican brownies, especially if they are shaped like Christmas trees.

These brownies do not taste gluten-free to me at all!  The original recipe called for a relatively small amount of flour, so I knew it would be a great candidate for using my paleo flour blend.  If you don't have the flour blend on hand, I've also provided measurements for each individual type of flour.  The ratio is slightly different from that of the flour blend for ease of measurement, but I have made the brownies both ways and did not notice a difference in taste or texture.

If you're looking for a last-minute edible gift, why not whip up a batch of these Mexican brownies?  Just make sure to give them away quickly before you break down and eat them all.  Or, go ahead and make them for yourself for breakfast!  ¡Feliz navidad a todos!

Cranberry Chocolate Truffles (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-free)

I promise that after today's post we will take a *short* break from all the cranberries.

Did you make a batch of cranberry maple syrup and cran-maple compote yet?  You're going to need it for these amazing cranberry chocolate truffles! 

The inside of these candies is a beautiful dark pink color thanks to the cranberry maple syrup, and has just a hint of cocoa powder.  The truffles are dipped in dark chocolate to make their snappy outer shell, and then sprinkled with shredded coconut or chopped pecans just before the coating has time to set.  They may be the most festive thing I've ever made, other than this tart.  They are great for gifting.  I love the way the tart cranberry filling tastes with the rich dark chocolate, and I bet you and your lucky giftees will, too.

I think I just made up a word.  It's probably time to for me to stop and just get on with the recipe.

One more thing: these are adorable packaged in an egg carton.  Wrap that all up and see how befuddled people are when they open it and think you're giving them a carton of eggs for Christmas.

Lemon Sugar Cookies (Vegan, Nut-free)

I was invited to a Hanukah party last night, and needed to bring a dessert that was nut-free and vegan.  I wanted to bring a traditional Hanukah dessert, but soon realized I didn't know of any.  I guess I never really made it past the mountains of latkes at my family's Hanukah celebrations.  A quick search revealed that oily, fried foods like jelly-filled doughnuts are often eaten at Hanukah, but I wasn't about to fry up a big pile of donuts to be eaten hours later.  I also don't really like jelly-filled desserts; I feel that jelly belongs at breakfast.  Since I had dreidel and Star of David cookie cutters, I decided Hanukah sugar cookies would have to be traditional enough.  I also got out my snowman and snowflake cookie cutters, since winter is almost here.

My next task was to find a great vegan cookie recipe.  Since the cookies had to be nut-free, I soon realized it would be very hard to make them gluten-free as well.  So, these cookies are a total gluten bomb.  I promise to be back with more gluten-free eats very soon!