Gingerbread S'mores Cookies

 

Happy New Year!

I know I've continued to be AWOL for a while, but I have several holiday recipes to post in the next few days. Also, will probably be updating my health saga on a separate page, since of course there's a new development on that front as well.

The good stuff: Gingerbread Marshmallow S'more's Cookies! Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Dairy-free, as always.  These were my favorite Christmas cookies this year- festive and quite delicious!

THE RECIPE:

Dough:

Look at that creaming action! So light! So fluffy!

1/4 c (non-virgin) coconut oil
1/4 ghee
3/4 c coconut sugar             

--> cream fats and sugar until mixture lightens in color and increases in volume (takes 5-10 minutes)

2 eggs
1/4 c brown rice syrup         

--> add wet ingredients, mix thoroughly

1 1/4 c teff flour
1 c millet flour
1/2 c tapioca flour
1/2 c gluten-free oat flour     --> combine flours

2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt                          --> add other dry ingredients to flour mixture

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients; mix thoroughly.

Roll out a portion of cough between two sheets of waxed paper, until 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.  Cut with your favorite cookie cutters.  Grease cookie sheets with an acceptable oil/fat, or line with parchment paper to prevent cookie-sticking.

The un-broken (aka, un-eaten) batch.

Bake at 350 for ~6 minutes, or until top of cookies just begins to be firm to the touch.  They won't brown much, so don't wait too long to take them out!

If you didn't use parchment paper (which I did not), use a metal spatula to remove cookies immediately from sheet. If you wait til they cool (or the usual 10 minutes), they will stick and break! And then you will be forced to eat stomachfuls of headless, armless gingerbread girls to destroy the evidence.

At this stage, cookies can be eaten as-is, OR they can be TAKEN TO THE NEXT LEVEL and s'more-ified.


S'MORE-IFICATION:

You will need these two essential components:

Two gingerbread girls: one light, one dark...

1. vegan marshmallow fluff   (ingredients: brown rice syrup, guar gum... plus MAGIC)

2. chocolate filling/frosting:   (extra can also can be used as truffle shells!*)

4 oz unsweetened solid chocolate
3/8 c coconut sugar
3 tbs agave nectar
2 tbs coconut oil    --> use a double-boiled to melt chocolate over medium heat, then mix in other ingredients.

S'mored!

Take two cookies of corresponding shapes. Spread marshmallow fluff over one, and chocolate over the other-- then BAM sandwich them together.

Decorating options based on how lazy you are feeling:

Pretty Lazy - dip a toothpick into chocolate filling and 'paint' chocolate onto cookies
Medium Lazy - put chocolate into a piping bag, and pipe on decorations
Zero Lazy - make some other frosting, all-natural-food-color it, etc., and knock yourself out.

 

S'mored AND beautified. Check out Slutty New Year's Dress Girl on the left there.

* To use this as truffle coating:

Option A, and Option B. Option C? Eat that chocolate plain!

a) use silicone ice-cube trays, preferably pre-greased with coconut oil, and coat with chocolate. Add a dollop of whatever filling, then cover that with a layer of chocolate. Place in freezer to set, then move to fridge. (They will look pretty!

b) use waxed paper - place a 1cm-to-1inch sized dollop of chocolate on waxed paper. Then dollop your filling on top of that, and then seal it all in a final coat of chocolate. Place in freezer/fridge to set. (Lots of dollops. And they will look lumpy.)


I used extra povitica filling for the inside of the truffles... this recipe will be up next! Stay tuned.

Magic Cookies Bars

Magic! (cookie bar)

Magic cookie bars (also known frequently as Seven Layer Bars-- although I'm nver quite sure what the 7th layer is... maybe the pan?!) are one of the first desserts I learned to make by myself. The original recipe came from an EagleBrand Sweetened Condensed Milk can. I remember layering the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, walnuts, and coconut flakes on many a late-night dessert-making spree, often accompanied assisted by friends, and often followed by gobbling up the whole pan while watching movies and gossiping in my basement.




Fast forward to now, and my current recipe is really just as easy to make and just as delicious to eat. (I may or may not have eaten it for breakfast all week... which actually worked great!) Benefit over the traditional version: no crushing graham crackers. Downside: spreading marshmallow fluff is a pain. Either way, they're still easy and worth it.

MmmMmm, pan of gooey deliciousness...

THE RECIPE:

Layer in a baking pan: (8x8, or 9x13)

Uncooked.

crust, in 2:2:1 ratio - almond meal, flaxseed meal, coconut sugar
melted coconut oil - add to crust, mix with fork until consistency is gooey but not wet, and covers entire bottom of the pan
vegan marshmallow fluff (I get mine at WholeFoods) - spread (or rather, lump/drizzle on) until it more-or-less thinly covers the whole pan
chocolate chips - use ~10 oz to cover the whole area
chopped walnuts - again, sprinkle or spread over surface
shredded coconut - sprinkle over surface


By now the chocolate chips, walnuts, and coconut should have entirely covered the gooey fluff layer-- thus, you can use your hands to gently press all along the top layer to compact the layers together. 


Heat oven to 350 and bake until chocolate is melted and coconut begins to toast - around 20 minutes.

Cooked, served, half-eaten.