Oh you are going to love these morsels of ooey gooey comfort! They are so akin to my favourite childhood chocolate chip cookies that it sort of scares me. Because they’re not, these cookies are blow your mind grain free goodness, no weird hydrogenated oils or any of that nonsense. Simple to put together but very difficult waiting for them to cool. I shed a tear for my pops who’s doing a ketogenic/atkins diet and couldn’t indulge, his strength in resisting these babies is inspiring.
The original recipe is from Slim Palates Josh Weissman, he adds a touch of flaked sea salt to each cookie to really amp it up. The original recipe calls for raw almond butter, he says it adds to the caramelized effect. All I had was roasted almond butter so I used that and it turned out just lovely. Its up to you- either way these cookies are a hit and will find a permanent home in my cookie collection.
4 ounces dark chocolate coarsely chopped (I recommend 70-85% the actual cookie is fairly sweet so a darker chocolate contrasts best) or chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Combine coconut or cane sugar with the almond butter until smooth, add baking soda,vanilla and salt.
In a separate bowl combine the egg and egg yolk, add to the almond butter mixture and combine until well incorporated.
Mix in the chocolate chunks.
Drop about 1-11/2 Tbs of the dough onto baking sheets, make sure to leave adequate space between cookies as they spread out quite a bit. 6 cookies per sheet works well, or you can do it in batches.
Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
3.2.1311
The past 2 weeks have been a veritable whirlwind whipping by. Seriously hard to believe it is September and the leaves are commencing their shift into auburn shades. I missed you all, the writing, the sharing, all that good stuff. Along with our transition into a new community, we’ve elevated our internet prowess to the high speed variety. Now I can actually have more than one window open at a time, hip pity hip hooray! Integration is slow and steady, smiling faces welcome us and the mountains here give you even more of a feeling of sitting in the palms of mother nature herself. Living in a small town seems to be more impact prone than a rustic woodland cabin but I am already seeing the opposite is the case. No more driving 20 minutes for a dollop of cream, now we can just go for a stroll. With a manageable amount of garden to tend, and a plethora of local producers around, I feel we’ve found a lifestyle that we can sustain. The blessings showered by my parents to help us make a little home were monumental and so appreciated. Thanks to my crafty dad we now have a hefty island to roll around to places with the best light for photographing all the gorgeous food we procure. I promise next summer we’ll have our sh!t together and you can actually have fun and go for some hikes and adventures!
WordPress informs me, that it is our 6 year anniversary! What better occasion for such a divine little cardamom plum and berry tart such as this. I’ve really only been actively blogging for closer to 6 months, but the intention has always been there, I was just too shy all those years. Now here I am, baring it all, showing the world my gluten-free delights and stories about baby poo. They say the magic happens right outside your comfort zone, which strikes a chord on my heart strings. My imagination has doubled in size since I started Naked Cuisine, I’m always dreaming up the next best recipe to make your tastebuds smile. So thanks for reading, it makes me really happy 🙂
Today’s recipe is inspired by my friend Irene who I got to see today for the first time in years, it was really fun catching up, life changes so quickly but reconnecting with old friends always feels like no times passed at all. I remembered her love for cardamom, a spice which I don’t use much anymore because of J’s distaste for it. However, he is mad. Cardamom is a little green gem of deliciousness, the worlds third most expensive spice by weight only outdone by vanilla and saffron. The most amazing spices always have such brilliant flowers. You’d almost think this delicious tart was inspired by the cardamom flower, a striking resemblance. Some sort of subliminal affair.
“Flower of cardamom” by Reji Jacob
If you don’t have access to saskatoon berries you can substitute blueberry and even just use all plums. I really like a silky smooth, almost jam like filling so I strained the plums in a cheesecloth, feel free to skip this step if you like the tart peel and seeds of the berries.
1 C fresh or frozen berries (saskatoon, blueberry or blackberry)
3 Tbs coconut sugar
8 cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed OR 1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ C toasted coconut (optional)
Instructions
Add plums and berries to a saucepan and cover on low for about 5 minutes.
Add coconut sugar,vanilla and cardamom and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes.
In a food processor or high-powered blender add almonds, raisins,salt and coconut oil. Blend until mixture is thick and uniform.
Press crust evenly in a springform pan ideally or a pie dish, coming up about an inch on the side of the pan. Set aside.
In your blender or using a hand blender puree the plums and berries. Push through a cheese cloth and combine the strained liquid with 2 Tbs coconut oil.
Spread the plum sauce evenly on your crust and place in the fridge to set for at least an hour.
Top with toasted coconut flakes.
3.2.1311
Happy to be a member of the rebel score over at fight back fridays on the food renegade, check it out!
My quota for a happy Sunday, equals, lazy sleep in, beach time, happy animal blessings- a huge frog, our resident soaring eagle and the hummingbird who says hello now and again. An afternoon spent making Kimchi (working on perfecting the recipe) 8 bountiful jars to be exact and to top it all off this melt in your mouth, even the cat licked the plate, brown butter pear & apple crisp, oh my! No oats were harmed in the making of this crisp, it’s grain-free and oh so nourishing. I really wanted that carmel brown butter effect, it goes so beautifully with pears, but you could definitely swap it out for ghee, or coconut oil and make this palesupeofied (super paleofied). If you aren’t fully into the dino-chow and you enjoy a few toasty oats, check out my blackberry rhubarb crumble and sub the berries and rhubarb for apples and pears. But I promise you won’t miss the oats, really, you don’t even need ’em to have a luscious summer crisp as this.
Getting a little fancy, a scoop of coconut ice cream ( I like larry & luna’s) is divine atop this creation! Of course its also delicious naked as it is, which is how I will be having it for breakfast tomorrow, with a nice coffee.
There’s really nothing better than dessert for breakfast. I wonder how bulletproof coffee would taste with a little brown butter?
In a small saucepan, melt butter (If using ghee or coconut you can skip this step) on medium low heat until the milk solids start to turn brown, this usually takes about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
In a cast iron skillet add 1 Tbs of brown butter as well as the apples, pears and vanilla. Cover and allow fruit to get nice and soft before removing from heat.
Mix together the almond meal, sea salt, cinnamon, walnuts, coconut flour and the remaining brown butter to form a crumbly topping.
Sprinkle topping on the fruit mixture and put skillet in the oven for 10 minutes.
Add some extra walnuts on top and serve
3.2.1311
Mmmmmmm…enjoying the fruit while it’s here! Love, love, LOVE.
& a delicious quote to inspire your soul.
“As it is, we are merely bolting our lives—gulping down undigested experiences as fast as we can stuff them in—because awareness of our own existence is so superficial and so narrow that nothing seems to us more boring than simple being. If I ask you what you did, saw, heard, smelled, touched and tasted yesterday, I am likely to get nothing more than the thin, sketchy outline of the few things that you noticed, and of those only what you thought worth remembering. Is it surprising that an existence so experienced seems so empty and bare that its hunger for an infinite future is insatiable? But suppose you could answer, “It would take me forever to tell you, and I am much too interested in what’s happening now.” How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such enchanted musical instruments as the ears, and such a fabulous arabesque of nerves as the brain can experience itself as anything less than a god? And, when you consider that this incalculably subtle organism is inseparable from the still more marvelous patterns of its environment—from the minutest electrical designs to the whole company of the galaxies—how is it conceivable that this incarnation of all eternity can be bored with being?”
~ Alan Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
Nom nom nom, these bars will blow your mind with textural supremacy! They are like a raw nanaimo bar, without all the junk. Seriously, they’re so loaded with goodness that you won’t even need more than one. Well, maybe just one more. Raw treats are my thang, especially in summer when the house is already an inferno oven. We just pack a few of these to the beach everyday and we’re good to go.
Ahh that beach, we are so fortunate to live within steps of the Slocan River, it’s a place most people come to vacation. All day long we bask in the sun and swim in the eddy, watching the various drifters floating down on tubes with cases of beer in tow. The float is about 3 hours, going through a few rapids but mostly calm, peaceful waters to guide you along. I haven’t gone this year, pretty sure it’s frowned upon to bring a 5 month old baby on a float down the river, but he really does love the water! Last night I dreamt that baby rolled off a table, ah the lovely dreams of a new momma.
For the crust: Melt all the coconut oil in a double-boiler or small saucepan if you aren't desiring a fully raw product. In a blender or food processor add almonds, coconut flakes, ½ C of coconut oil, 2 Tbs cacao and the dates or raisins. Process until mixture is thick and well blended, use a tamper in your blender to make sure it's evenly mixed.
In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread a layer of crust mixture evenly and pop this into the fridge while you make the cream layer.
Wash out your blender or food processor and add to it the drained cashews, ¼ C coconut oil, ¼ C coconut sugar or honey, lemon juice, water and salt. Blend until super creamy and smooth.
Layer this creamy mix over top of the crust and pop it back in the freezer while you make the ganache.
Mix together 2 Tbs cacao, with ¼ C coconut sugar and ¼ C of the melted coconut oil. Pour the ganache over top of the creamy layer and pop it in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour before cutting and serving.
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Real food rules! Check out more awesome tip & tricks and recipes on fight back friday.
Elder flowers are the fragrant flower that comes before the elder berry. They are sweet like a rose yet distinct in their specific nature, divinely scented and begging to be infused in desserts and sweet drinks alike. The elder plant is found all over the world, though most abundant in North America. Elderflower also has medicinal uses, it’s anti-viral, anti-bacterial properties help ward off illness and strengthen the immune system.
“Research in Ireland showed that elderflower extract was effective in killing many common hospital pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)1. This study gave scientific proof of elderflower’s antibacterial properties against most gram negative and gram positive bacteria tested that align with traditional medicine uses of the past. Further study of elderflower components showed the potential for antiviral and anti-inflammatory benefits as well.”
Be advised to only use the white flower, fully separated from the stems, the stems and leaves are toxic but the flowers are deemed safe and edible.
Use Elderflower Syrup in…
creamy desserts, such as, panna cotta, or creme brûlée
Yeah I know it sounds weird and sort of nasty but trust me, my friends, these sweet potato brownies are sooooo good! Believe me, I was skeptical, I’m one of those people that thinks marshmallows on mashed sweet potatoes is a thanksgiving abomination. However, the old saying rings true, what ever grows together, goes together. Yams and cacao come from the same places and they mingle just beautifully. You will be able to fool your homies with these stellar, moist and healthy brownies. Instead of sugar we are using naturally sweet dates and no need for heavy cream and butter because the smooth sweet potatoes cover that department too.
A cool wind blew through the mountains today, carrying memories of those long days spent wondering what the wind was. I crunched some leaves as I sat beside the river and remembered my affinity for such things, simple pleasures. Memories of this wind only brought me back to a simple time where the future and the past didn’t exist. I look at my baby boy, and I remind myself constantly, all I have is this moment, this moment is all I have. When my nose floats over his head and catches that most sweet smell. It won’t last forever, he won’t let me smell his head when he’s a grown man, or maybe he will if I do a good job.
I am doing a good job in life, if I can taste every bite, without worrying what the next bite is going to taste like.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
The best gooey paleo chocolate chip cookies ,that plate disappeared mighty fast…J is a cookie monster.
