Paleo Dessert: Apple Crumble

Like many people, we had two Thanksgivings this weekend. Since I get nervous about desserts since I’ve gone Paleo, that means I made two desserts. They were both awesome, and highly recommended. This apple crumble was stolen directly from Empowering Mommy.

Paleo Apple Crumble

Ingredients:
6 medium size apples, peeled and diced
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 35o degrees and lightly grease a pie pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together the honey and vanilla extract in a bowl with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and combined.
Cut in the coconut oil and stir with a fork until it forms a crumbled mixture. Spread the apples in the bottom of the pie pan and top with the crumbled mixture.
Cover with foil then bake for about 45 minutes until the apples are tender. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Paleo(ish) Dessert: Sweet Potato Pie

I love Thanksgiving. It is my absolute favorite holiday. I’m not sure what about it is the most wonderful to me; it is definitely a combination of awesomeness. Fall, all of my favorite foods – pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, stuffing – and it always falls at the perfect time of year. It’s far enough into the school year that you can see the light at the end of the fall semester tunnel, and the break is always long enough to go home, see friends, and do a bunch of things you’ve been putting off doing but it’s not long enough to make you feel bored or useless like I tend to do with other breaks. Plus, the day after Thanksgiving means setting up our Christmas tree, which is another one of my favorite things to do.

Thanksgiving can be a Paleo eater’s dream or nightmare, though. Personally, I didn’t feel bad munching on a few crackers with cheese before dinner, and I definitely didn’t feel bad scooping out a little bit of stuffing during dinner. Like I told my brother, if cavemen had stuffing, they definitely would have eaten it. (Listen, I had earned a little cheating and I also have no problem with moderation. My theory is that if you always deny yourself the things you love, once you let yourself have them again, you won’t stop until you’ve completely undone everything you’ve worked so hard for.)

My problem always comes with dessert. This is not just a Thanksgiving problem, but something that comes up with any meal shared with family. When Tim and I eat together, we never have dessert. Sometimes we munch on some fruit or a slice of super dark chocolate as we’re chatting at the dinner table, but I just don’t ever make desserts for us. I’ve never been a fan of sweets, so I really don’t miss it. However, when we are at large family gatherings, there is always dessert – sometimes three or four options. While I don’t ever really want the dessert, I have a hard time saying no. I know how much love and care goes into homemade confections, and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by passing or, even worse, by not finishing what they’ve given me. I also hate being the girl that asks for just a sliver of pie or cake. No, I’m not pretending to be on a diet by only eating a tiny bit of this diet-killer. If I eat a lot of it, my stomach will revolt and the rest of my evening will not be fun, thank-you-very-much.

So, since I’ve started my Paleo journey, I’ve been offering to bring dessert more and more. Even though I hate baking. If there is one gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free option, the hours I’ve spent baking seem worth it. Plus, when people eat my concoctions and I tell them what’s not in it, they go bonkers. Who knew baked apples could be just as good as cake and not leave you in a sugar coma?!

Since pumpkin pie is my all-time fave, I wanted to make something similar but not too close because my mom’s pumpkin pie is amazing. In all honesty, I did eat some of that, too. Just for a side-by-side comparison, I swear. While this sweet potato pie didn’t come close to my mom’s pumpkin pie, it definitely did not suck, and I will definitely make it again.

This recipe is adapted from Ready Paleo, but I added a little sugar (hence “Paleo(ish)”) and some allspice because I like my pie to taste like pie, not like a side dish.

Paleo(ish) Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil melted
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:
2 cup sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed.
1 tbsp coconut oil melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup coconut milk (light or full fat)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 c honey
1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

Directions:

First, make the crust.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients (almond flour, pecans and salt) in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients (oil, honey and vanilla extract). Stir the wet ingredients into to the dry ingredients until completely combined. Using your fingers press the dough into a 9 1/2 inch pie pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool. The crust will slip down while it is baking, so once you take it out of the oven and while it is still warm, use the back of a spoon with a little coconut oil on it to press it back up on the sides. Let cool completely before filing.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl mix sweet potatoes and butter. Add in eggs and mix until fluffy. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, combine cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine coconut milk, apple cider vinegar and mixture of spices to the bowl containing the sweet potatoes. Mix until fully combined. Add honey and sugar to taste. (I tasted the batter a few times during this process so I could get just the right amount of sweetness.) Pour contents into prepared pie crust and bake for 10 minutes at 400 F, then reduce heat to 325 F and bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. The pie will be a little jiggly when you pull it out, but it will set as it cools.

Paleo Snack: Dark Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookies

It’s Labor Day weekend. That means an extra day off come Monday, but it also means parties and backyard BBQs. We all know what that means… major temptations to cheat. Lots of buns, beer, and ooey gooey chocolatey desserts call our names and make us think, Oh, just this one time won’t hurt. But when “just this one time” turns into three full days of decadence, you need to find some way to minimize the damage.

I’ve never been a sweets person. I much prefer savory fare if I have the choice. But there is something about going to parties and looking at all of the beautiful cakes and cookies that have me wanting to try all of them. I think this is because I hate feeling left out. It’s easy for me to pass up the appetizers – especially if I have a drink in my hand because then I’m already consuming something so I don’t feel awkward – and I can almost always say no to the bun on the burger, but when everyone is being handed slices of cake and picking up cookies, I hate passing. Inevitably, it ends with someone’s inane comment like, “Oh, well that’s why you’re so skinny!” or “Come on, Ashley. It’s just one cookie.”

I’m not sure why there is this pressure surrounding eating. Maybe because misery loves company? (And those sweet treats sure do leave me feeling miserable!) If I were diabetic or allergic to chocolate, I bet no one would say anything, but since my new lifestyle is a choice, people don’t seem to be able to understand why I can’t just choose to let it go for a day. It was exactly the same way when I was a vegetarian, so I’m used to it, but it’s still annoying. Especially when those cookies actually are really delicious.

So, knowing I was going to my sister-in-law’s birthday dinner yesterday, and knowing that, as with most birthdays, there would be cake, I set out trying to find a Paleo-friendly dessert that I could bring so I’d have something to eat when the cake came out.

Where did I start looking? Pinterest, of course!

I did a quick search for Paleo cookies, looked through some recipes, and eventually landed on this one from FedandFit.com. I had all the ingredients in my pantry, so I didn’t even have to run out to get anything, and it looked pretty easy, so I figured I’d give it a try.

Now, I haven’t had great luck with Paleo desserts before. I tried to make a few muffin recipes, but they ended up dense and chunky and didn’t taste very sweet at all, so I was very skeptical of these cookies. However, they ended up being so amazing that I made extra to take to my Dad’s for his Labor Day get together today, as well. They actually taste like chocolate chip cookies, and they pack a pretty healthy punch with the almond meal and walnuts providing some pretty healthy protein and absolutely zero added sugar or dairy. These were so easy and delicious that I highly recommend them!

Recipe from FedandFit.com

Paleo Dark Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Makes ~24 Cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups Sifted Almond Meal

1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (I prefer Ghirardelli 60%)

1 cup Chopped Walnuts

¼ tsp Kosher Salt

½ tsp Baking Soda

1/3 cup Honey

2 Tbl Virgin Coconut Oil (melted)

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or aluminum foil).

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients together with a fork. Includes: almond meal, salt, and baking soda.

Add the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts to the dry mixture and stir evenly.

In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together (honey, oil, vanilla extract, and egg).

You may need to heat the honey and oil in order to liquefy them. 30 seconds in the microwave will do. Be sure to heat BEFORE you add the egg.

Make a crater in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the whisked wet ingredients.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until evenly mixed.

Using a 1 Tbl scoop or a spoon, spoon out balls of the dough and align them on the baking sheet.

Using either the palm of your hand or the back of a spoon greased with a little coconut oil, smash the balls of cookie dough down. Because the cookies don’t expand much during baking, the shape you make will stick.

Bake for 15 minutes then let cool for at least 5 minutes.

The cookies will not come off the parchment paper (or aluminum foil) very easily if they’re too warm.

Time: 15 minutes prep

Bake Time: 15 minutes