Holiday Shortbread for a (Stop-Everything-and-Hibernate) Cold Christmas

We drove nearly two hours for gluten free perogies. Up past rows of newly built houses and across lights that flickered red to green and back again. We took the scenic route, turning left off the highway to stop suddenly at a small garage at the end of a vineyard. Inside, buckets lined the wall, along with grapes, apples, pears, and squash ($1.00 each!) that were all for sale. 

We fumbled around our pockets for change, hopping from one foot to another in equal excitement and desperation. Such delicious grapes those were, but we had to leave empty-handed, not a coin had found its way into our hands to be exchanged for the delicious produce laid out. 

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Nanaimo Bars at the Little Bakery

There must be an easier method to shelling almonds. I stood at the counter with a pot of almonds that were soaking for a few hours, peeling the husk off each one in a pile of 130 grams.

It wasn't all that bad though, leaning from right foot to left and back again. I had the radio playing gently behind me, and fell into a rhythm of peeling, pulling, dropping, and repeating with a new almond each time, building one pile of clean, naked almonds, and slowly pulling away from a mound of brown and streaked. Each almond had its own look, its own feel, and the longer they soaked, the easier it was for me to tear the husk away.

It turned an hour or two of baking nanaimo bars into a whole afternoon, but I'm always happiest in the kitchen anyway, and I sipped on a cup of tea while repeatedly refilling it from a pot brewing warmly at the side.

I remember the old bakery on Bowen that always had fresh nanaimo bars for the many islanders needing a sweet treat, some conversation, and even a bit of coffee while they waited in line for the ferry. Construction workers ordered double sandwiches and extra large cookies, mums and their kids took away hot chocolates in the pouring rain. There were always customers streaming in and out of that bakery, whether it was for a piping hot sausage roll served while still on it's rack from the oven, and placed in a white paper bag to warm your hands, or for one of the biggest white chocolate macadamia nut cookies to share with dad as the line of cars slowly snaked is way onto the ferry.

I even remember the morning that bakery was suddenly gone, along with its brownies and pies set out in the front cooler, and the trays containing the nanaimo bar I was looking forward to on my way down to the ferry.

So suddenly, all that was left was a charred black square, a few lines of yellow tape, and the air hanging thick with questions left unanswered.

The front room of the bakery was always small, but next door at the Snug Cafe we sat around tables if we planned on hanging around. No one has ever replaced that memory of my first nanaimo bar at the bakery, and the sticky mess I got myself into while excitedly savouring each layer, starting with crumbly chocolate topped with a creamy custard, and finally, thick chocolate that quickly melted in my little hands and made its way along my upper lip, and over my fingers, suddenly making them taste delicious too.

It wasn't until brunch at a gluten free bakery in Victoria with mum that I remembered these delectably sweet moments, ones that will always make me think back fondly on the community we shared, the local coffee shops and bakeries that felt more like a living room with all our family and friends, and those irresistible nanaimo bars that I haven't yet found to replicate that pure, young enjoyment.


It was while we ate our plates of breakfast in a windowed alcove that I looked around to the trays of baked sweets and realised how many times I've recently seen nanaimo bars, since we've moved to Vancouver Island in fact. Suddenly, they seem to be back in fashion, or are popping up to remind me of something.

Something wonderful, they are.

Nanaimo Bars {gluten and grain free, vegan}

{print recipe here}

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Ingredients:

Base
130 g almonds, soaked
110 g dates, soaked
65 g ground walnuts
50 g shredded coconut
60 g cocoa powder

Filling
80 g raw cashews, soaked
2 tbsp raw cashew butter
3/4 coconut cream
1/4 c coconut oil
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Layer
300 g dairy free chocolate chips
50 g coconut oil

 Directions:

Soak your ingredients. In separate bowls, soak the almonds, dates, and cashews overnight.

Shed the almond husks. Peel back the husks of the almonds to reveal the white meat inside. Use a garlic peeler or two sheets of paper towel to rub the husk off for a quicker method, otherwise use your hands. The longer the almonds soak, the easier this process will become.

Make the base. In a food processor, blend the hulled almonds until very fine. Drain the dates, setting the water aside to use later, and add them in the processor with the almonds. Blend again. Combine the ground walnuts, shredded coconut, and cocoa powder in the processor, blending until all the ingredients are well mixed.

Add the date water. Using the leftover water from soaking the dates, slowly pour in a tablespoon at a time to the base mixture, blending each time, until it begins to come together in a large ball. It should stick together, but should not be gooey.

Press into the pan. Line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper, and press the base mixture evenly onto the bottom. Place in the fridge.

Make the creamy filling. Rinse out the food processor and blend the soaked cashews, drained, until it becomes almost creamy. Add the cashew butter and process again. Next, add coconut oil, then maple syrup and vanilla extract. Process on high for a couple of minutes until it is completely smooth. Scrape down the sides and blend again.

Pour on the filling. Remove the base from the fridge and set it on a flat surface. Using a soft spatula to scrape the filling from the processor, pour it over the chocolate base, starting in the middle and working your way in a spiral to the edges. Even it out quickly before returning the whole pan to the fridge.

Make the chocolate topping. Over medium-high heat, bring a pot of water to boil on the stove top. Place a bowl over the boiling water and add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Stirring continuously, melt together the chocolate and coconut oil. Remove the bowl from the saucepan when the mixture is completely smooth, letting it stand a minute or two before pouring it over the base and creamy filling of your nanaimo bars. Pour slowly, as the hot chocolate could melt the filling. Pour in the same pattern, starting in the centre and working your way outwards.

Freeze to set. Place the pan in the freezer for 1 - 2 hours, placing it in the fridge at least 45 minutes before serving. Cut with a hot knife, wiping it clean and reheating it between each slice.

Enjoy! xx S

Enjoying Gluten Free Brunch

The camera felt too heavy to hold and snap up photos this week, even though I was cooking and experimenting each day in the kitchen, with new ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And despite being busy with a new job, a new schedule, I was still cooking and baking, but neglecting to write down anything, my only records being photos quickly snapped up with my phone and a quick two-line caption for Instagram. I have to say that this past week has given me lots of food for thought... quite literally, and I have more ideas for recipes which I will hopefully have time to make before another round of days where I'll be working.

Here's some of the last week's shots, an incomplete diary of gluten free meal ideas, but definitely some of my favourites, and some of my favourite creativity with breakfast and lunch. Brunch.

Starting last week with training at my new job, a receptionist at one of Sooke's hotels, I spent the last of my lazy weekends stretching mornings out, spending time with family, and hiking up one of the mountains nearby. One Sunday morning was spent in my fuzzy pajamas, a hot almond milk mocha, and some gluten free toast. The bread I use now comes from a local bakery called Little Vienna, where they have an array of speciality foods, from cakes and pastries to cookies and doughnuts, and a whole menu of soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch. Among them, many items are wheat free, so we often stop by for a cup of coffee and a small bite under the sun, leaving with buns of bread for dad, and some gluten free for me. And so, for an autumn breakfast, these buns toasted, one half topped with raw chocolate hazelnut butter, the other with local marmalade, and for a perfect finish, some sliced banana, are delicious any morning.

It was a lazy Sunday morning after all, one complete with a little fog that quickly dissipated as the sun warmed, so I felt little need to cook up eggs, keeping my inner laziness happy for just a little while longer.

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Better than Chocolate? Pots au Chocolat

There is chocolate, and then there are pots au chocolat. Warm, silky, and irresistibly smooth desserts made from the only ingredient that I can undeniably and unregrettably crave in each and every winter dessert. Or any dessert. As days become shorter and daylight is filled with more rain and clouds than the sun, I want desserts made with rich ingredients that fill the house with as much holiday aroma while it cooks. I want a dessert that is easy enough to prepare, but has the flavour and appearance of a professionals wooden spoon.

Of the many chocolate desserts I've made previously, including Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding, Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes, Ginger Coco-Cran Chocolate Clusters, or even the Chocolate Cheesecake, none of them quite capture the smooth melted chocolate centres of these pots, nor the warmth of a mug of hot chocolate on a snowy afternoon that fills every chilly part of you in each and every bite, and keeps you wrapped in a delicious chocolaty hug. A perfect dessert for holidays, or for guests to share beside the crackling fire, these pots have lasted me throughout the first pang of dessert-cravings when I began this blog, to entertaining guests that were sceptical about gluten free to start with. A little secret it has remained, as I felt it was almost too good to share, and I kept it hidden away for nearly 14 months - all the while enjoying it in a guilty chocolaty trance. (I'm sorry).

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No More False Appearances, Tossed Vegetables Make Us All Happiest

I was thrilled when I read a post so openly criticising what Pinterest and Instagram have become, making each of us focus on how everything looks again. Each site is filled with food bloggers and perfectly posed photos under an array of lights to cast the oh-so-natural-but-not-real lighting streaming in through what appears to be a window propped open that leads to a fresh cut lawn and a platter of home made cookies and pitcher of freshly squeezed lemonade for everyone to enjoy, because there are no enemies in this world right? I remember starting this blog to get away from an image-obsessed world and the popularity contest that ruled the halls, and finally feeling a freedom in being able to start from scratch, and from there, to build a place where I could write, write, and write even more, being in a place away.

When did it become being about that 60-second elation upon receiving another notification for which, yet another, stranger has double tapped your photo. They chose my photo! You might scream out, only to glance upon another user's photo that has quietly surpassed any number of likes you've received. And the best part, this little elation dwindles quickly, leaving behind only an immense amount of disappointment. Maybe this one will do it, you think with each added hash tag to the caption of another photo, a towering plate of cookies that never tasted very good anyway, maybe more people will notice this time.

Oh. My. God. No. Since when did this become a network for the popularity-obsessed, each prying for one another's attention, and solely forgetting the interests that are clearly stated in each person's bio. I read a recent blog post from Gluten Free Girl, and have to say, that I couldn't have been happier that finally, someone had acknowledged how far this has gone, and how far it has come into each blog, as little as we realised. 

Now as I look around Instagram and Pinterest, it truly feels as if the attention has turned to being solely preoccupied with looking our best, and above all, making everything perfect. And for a perfectionist like me, someone who isn't often left happy with a "good" job, I'm sent into spirals and loops while I continually question all the effort I have already put into this blog, and the work I've had to put in to break away from high school pressures, mainly striving to be perfect in a world full of unattainable standards. 

Is it really fair to ourselves that the food we make, cooked so we feel better, healthier, is now a measurement of how others see us? That each photo taken can scale how good we have life, rather than just an outlet a long along with the creative process of cooking, and of blogging. So who cares if a hand peeks into the frame while a photo is snapped? The food I make is for people to enjoy, forks in hand, plates ready, so isn't it right that they would be there, with the food? And all those times we've left a table full of people waiting while the perfect shot has yet to be taken, only to present a plate that's cooled down, lost its brilliance of being straight from the oven, only to mumble, well at least I got a photo. 

No!

It's this post from Gluten Free Girl that captured what I've been meaning to scream for too long now, after realising that those moments immediately after scrolling a news feed teeming with foodography were when I felt the worst, almost as if I had to live up to each brilliant, glittery photo. But how could I? When each post was unattainably attractive, without a dog hair in the frame, a perfect slice of apple pie that doesn't crumble when it's cut, and would never spill any of the evenly chopped apples inside. And of course it's free of anything that makes food taste good! As she says, "It’s just fake, all of it, this perfect food. I’m so damned tired of perfect food." And so am I. 

So here's to throwing pleasing, being perfect, and trying to attain something that, really, I would never want to be, out that perfectly propped open window and into the tray of baked cookies and lemonade. Besides, I'd rather have them warm from the oven. And a cake without sugar?  Puh-lease. 

Back to tossing vegetables together for dinner, throwing in an array of spices, and mixing up the colours to see what will come out the kitchen this time. There's excitement in that, and best of all, complete and utter joy while we enjoy the flavours in a plate that's still steaming in front of us. Behind that shine of perfection we see in photos on our Pinterest feeds is a whole lot of stifled creativity, and I'll have none of that, for this blog, and these dishes prepared, are for living without being heralded by appearances, perceptions, or worries.

This blog after all, has been a way for me to be happy, and I hope to keep it that way. 

Baked Root Vegetables Tossed in Fresh Rosemary

{print recipe here}

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This was a great recipe as it used up some of our fresh vegetables, and fresh herbs that we picked up at a market in Saanich, with very little effort. Beets this time of year are juicy and full of flavour, as well as many other root vegetables such as yams and potatoes, that complement each other with taste and colour. 

serves 4

Ingredients:

3 medium sized beets
1 onion, sliced
1 small yam, diced
3 - 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, cut from the stem
1 teaspoon salt

 Directions:

Start by cooking the beets, preheating the oven to 415 F, and chopping off the stems of each beet. Place the beets in a shallow baking dish and fill with water reaching halfway up the sides of the beets. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 40 - 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss together sliced onion, yam and potatoes, olive oil, rosemary and salt, and lay out onto a baking sheet. Place this in the oven, with the beets, and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the beets from the oven and allow to cool, or run under cold water. Using a knife, or gently pressing with your fingers, peel the beets, rinsing frequently to avoid staining your hands. They will stain everything if not rinsed immediately.

Cut the beets into small cubes and toss with tray of yams and potatoes, quickly returning to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Serve hot, enjoy a delicious meal with fresh ingredients!

Sipping Soup Surrounded by Autumn Leaves

Thanksgiving. A holiday filled with family, food, laughter, and most of all, lots and lots of pumpkin. Fresh pumpkins lining the tops of tables and mantles, or puréed and cooked pumpkin with maple and spice and baked in the form of pies, cheesecakes, tarts, or all three laid down the centre of an extended dining table in between decorative pumpkins, surrounded by black corn and autumn's leaves.

I spent this past thanksgiving weekend back on Bowen, and the better part of two days travelling from one island to the next, via the mainland, during which I spent most of my time thinking about what it would be like back on the island where I grew up, and back in my friends familiar house, but unable to quickly pop up the hill to where we used to live. I also spent the better part of the ferry rides gazing out the window to where I thought Bowen was, terrified. Terrified of how different it would seem, and how it would feel to be among everything so familiar but changed myself with living in a new place, new people, and most of all, a completely new routine to run by. 

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Forget Everything but a Peanut Butter Cookie

I wanted to make a cookie that was made from the purest ingredients. Using whole foods that can be held in your hands before they become a cookie so full with flavour, and so full of love, that you can't resist just one more... But there's no guilt in all natural foods right? So why not, indulge. 

And so this is all about the cookie. The most delicious, easiest, foolproof, spectacular... well it is a cookie. I mean don't all cookies make the world crumble away, and our focus narrows to the way it melts in our mouth, the way it absorbs milk when you dunk it, and the way the cookie makes you feel, all warm and fuzzy inside? Yes, that's what a real cookie can do.

It started with a huge bag of raw peanuts I picked up at the bulk store, a place filled with everything in bulk, from gluten free flours to dried fruits and nuts, even freshly ground nut butters and honey. And the best part, was an entire aisle dedicated to gluten free products, including pizza and cake mixes. We stumbled upon this goldmine while searching stores for a new dresser, because as it seems, mum and dad have more clothes than I... Really! But after a long winded search, driving from store to store, we turned around and circled back to where we had begun, and with chocolate chai lattes in hand, this building suddenly appeared. And yes, it was like something from a movie, it just appeared, and it hadn't been there before.

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Wrapped Up Falafel and Pita Style

 

Last nights dinner, warm home made kale falafels on top of fresh greens and slices of tomatoes from the farm, with a bed of piping hot pita breads straight from the oven, was the perfect end to a hot day that suddenly turned when the fog set in the bay, and a breeze swept up any leaves that tittered around the front deck. Dancing feet outside our open doors were fluttered away in one strong gust, and just the squeals of an open door caught up in the wind could be heard. I set to baking early in the afternoon, and with my chin resting on my hands, staring at this bunch of fresh kale, there was a separate whirlwind of thoughts, recipes, and ideas for the luscious green vegetable. The fresh kale from a nearby farm was how falafels became something else, a whole new flavour was added, as well as intrigue, and falafels were taken up a notch.

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The Comfort of Things

Cozy. Comforting. Words that fill me with the feeling that everything will be alright, that soon, this will pass, and there will be something just around the corner to excite and rejuvenate us. It is human nature to gravitate towards those things which make us comfortable, and it is often during times when we are so close to the end, the end of high school for me, and near the end of living on Bowen for our family, that we need a little reminder of these things to keep us motivated to keep going until that moment of change. In my last post I began by reminding myself of a few things that I love about living on an island, and some of the memories of growing up in a rural, peaceful environment. Here is a list, one that you can easily start for yourself, that helps us all to return to who we are, remember what we love, and importantly, what brings us a love and energy as well as inspiration in our lives.

As always, we should have something to encourage us, to bring us happiness and joy, comfort, peace, and the sense that we have something to fall back on when we need it. This list, and the things I thought of in the process of writing it, has done just that. I got the idea from a blog by Moorea Seal, and just had to make one for myself! Hopefully you can make one too to help you do the same.                      

A LIST OF MY GREATEST COMFORTS

Walking outside at night under a full moon, the quiet

Hearing the purr of the cat 

Bowen's best Signature hot chocolate

Dipping toes into a soapy hot bath

Having a bright bouquet of flowers in the house

Lying on the deck under the warm sun

When someone brings a cup of tea to you in bed

Feeling sort of proud after a blog post

Finding a perfect dress in a cute boutique

Warm gluten free chocolate chip cookies {my favourite recipe can be found here}

Driving with the music up, and belting out the words

Getting lost in a daydream

Telling someone your secret

Roadtrips

Fresh peaches and cherries from the Okanagan

Listening to "A Pocket Full of Sunshine"

Seeing my sister in the airport, coming home

Finding a heart in your latte foam

Driving on my scooter when the wind is warm

Racing my dog down the trails

Photos of mum and dad when they were younger

"Good Morning" texts

Standing by the woodstove in winter

Pulling on fuzzy socks in the morning

The book: The Man Who Listens to Horses

Reading something in French

Riding horses

Mum's Eggplant Parmigiano

Wearing Nana's jewellery

Listening to my sister and dad discuss science

Curling up in a nest of blankets and pillows

Hiking

Watching people, and creating stories for them

Writing

Big open fields

Creating lists

Organizing my closet and room

Roasted root vegetables

Pretending I really can sing

Playing board games

Watching "Easy A" with my sister

Biking on Bowen

Rope swings

Sitting on a beach, the waves against the quiet

The first snowfall

Painting my nails

Snuggling my rabbit

Apples taken and eaten right off the tree

Coffee dates with mum

Gluten free granola for breakfast

Big sunglasses

Chocolate desserts

Laughing with friends over an inside joke

Giving someone a hug when they need it

Picking up blue sea glass from the beach

Feeling salty after swimming in the sea

Avocadoes

China tea cups

Remembering funny moments from when we were little 

The feeling of the plane during take-off

Photos of me when I was little

Finishing a novel

Giving someone a handmade gift

Sharing a tub of Haagen Daaz with your best friend

Running through a sprinkler

Spending time with my entire family

Clotted cream tea

Throwing a stick over and over for my dog

Knowing I have a future full of opportunity: travel, friends and exciting new things

...and homemade crème brûlée in the pouring rain.

Classic Vanilla Crème Brûlée

{Print me here}

A creamy, rich dessert with the decadent and simple flavour of vanilla is the perfect dessert, but all dessert is perfect. With such a simple and elegant presentation of both texture and taste, you really can't go wrong serving crème brûlée to guests or family. Everyone loves breaking the hard caramel topping of each pot, and diving into the slightly warmed custard underneath. And it gives everyone the chance to feel as if they're little again, digging for the precious treasure, only this time your taste buds will find it.

{Makes three individual crème brûlée pots}

{Ingredients:}

300 mL heavy cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

75 grams brown sugar, or coconut (palm) sugar

{Directions:}

Preheat the oven to 300° F.

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, warm the cream. Add in the vanilla to the cream and heat until the cream is just about to begin simmering. Remove from the heat.

Set aside the cream and vanilla to infuse for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs yolks and 25 grams of brown sugar. Pour a small amount of the cream into the egg mixture, stirring well, and then add the rest.

Divide the mixture between three ramekins, and place them in a roasting pan. Fill the pan with enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 

Bake for an hour, or until the crème brûlées are set, with the edges pulling from the edges of the pots and the centre still "wiggly". Remove from the oven and cool slightly, before moving them to the fridge for three hours, or overnight.

Before serving, heat the rest of the brown sugar in a heavy saucepan. It should become darker in colour, and turn to a caramel texture. Remove from the heat quickly, and pour onto a greased baking pan. Be very careful, the caramel is very hot.

Once hardened, peel the cooled caramel from the baking pan, and break the pieces into small chunks into a food processor. Blend finely to small crystals, and sprinkle evenly overtop the set crème brûlées.

Using the broiler setting of the oven, place the crème brûlées with the ground caramel topping under the grill until the crystals melt and turn a light golden colour. Remove from the oven and allow the topping to harden, then serve.

Enjoy! xx S.

A Thought of Eggs; A New Cookie

My neighbors got chickens this winter. At first there were only two, dark brown little things that chased each other around the yard and squawked little. I remember hearing something about chicken-sitting for a friend, a test of the brand new coop just they had just built amongst a cluster of trees, and a trial at taking care of such delicate little creatures.

I had no idea how sensitive chickens were to stresses around them, and the changes to the mundane patterns in their lifestyles. However, when these two were moved into the little patch of land beside us, they trembled with fright and refused to lay any eggs for at least a couple of weeks.

Suddenly, I've noticed that the number of chickens running freely around on the other side of our fence dividing the properties only in appearance, has doubled. I see four chickens now, and they make twice the amount of noise. I just tell myself that it won't matter when I find the perfect day to wake up before everyone else, a warm day in the summer when the sun rises early, and I'll sneak my way past the end of the line of fencing, and find a perfect, fresh, egg awaiting.

Imagine the possibilities for breakfast with a real egg in my hand, still warm, with an inside glowing and golden. I know my neighbors feed their chickens vegan feed only, and with the exercise around the yard they're guaranteed free range. So much better than any store bought eggs.

I'm not condoning stealing, especially from an innocent animal, no way, but rather describing my need for wholesome, fresh food right from the source of where it's produced. I'd much rather eat food which is limited by the season it's produced in, but be intoxicated with the violent bursts of flavour in each bite, the cacophonous colours of purple carrots, the deep dark forest green of kale, and brilliant orange of egg yolks.

Every time I crack an egg I think to myself as if it were a mantra, and as if the willing tone in my voice could cause it to be true,

"Farm fresh eggs... Farm fresh eggs... Farm fresh eggs..."

Until the dull yellow of the yolk breaks, splashing into the bowl and being pulled apart, I've suddenly forgotten for a moment the thrill of having a fresh egg. We try our best at purchasing organic and free range eggs, only supporting local BC farms and ethical practices, but oftentimes, especially on a small island, we forget the impact in buying something which had travelled across the province, or even the country, to look at the cheapest price. Living in such a vast country it's easy to forget how many boundaries really do divide either side, from the coast of British Columbia to where my sister bundles herself up to face the Montreal storm, and the cost of travelling from one side to the other.

So instead of plotting revenge on the chickens, I think I'll just relax with a warm cookie from the oven, full of tasty goodness and made with whole and healthy ingredients, and save those fresh eggs for breakfast when they've settled down into their new home, and forgotten the trials of travelling in the back of a truck, being bumped up and down over uneven roads of Bowen.

Almond Cookies with Coconut and Chocolate
Print recipe here.

I was so excited about these cookies that I began pinching chunks of chocolate and coconut while gathering my ingredients, and eating the dough when everything was mixed together. There are two things which are absolutely fabulous about this recipe: It is very quick and simple to make (I quickly had to whip up another batch the next day after making these, everyone just kept eating them!), and they are filled with healthy ingredients; I won't forget the fact that the cookies made were completely wonderful, the perfect blend of chocolate chip and coconut, and possibly the best version of chocolate chip cookies that anyone - gluten free or not - would be thrilled to be presented with a plate of. Because even after one day, a plate of twelve cookies had vanished between three of us.

Makes between 12 and 16 cookies

Ingredients

1¼ cups almond meal
¼ cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½ tsp baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup brown sugar

1 egg
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions

In a large bowl, combine almond meal, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Mix, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg before whisking in the melted coconut oil and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until all ingredients are evenly blended.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Using your hands, roll the dough into small balls, approximately 1 - 1 ½ inch wide, and place on the baking sheet with 1 inch between each cookie. Press down with the palm of your hand to flatten a bit.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown.

Enjoy! xx S.