Apple scones

Almost every weekend, the same thing happens to me: I feel like baking. To be honest, I also get that feeling during the week, but I only get baking on weekends. After all, my freezer is filled to the brim with meat and eating everything I bake at once isn't that much a good idea for my health (and weight..).

I made these scones twice so far. The dough turned out quite differently in both cases, while using the same ingredients in the same amounts. Turns out the size of the eggs you use actually matters. I used large eggs the first time and medium the second. It didn't affect the flavor, yet it was impossible to form scones with the first batch of dough and they turned out a little stickier. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I still liked the result of the second batch a little better; it was more 'scone-worthy'. That's why this recipe clearly calls for medium sized eggs.

Apple scones (10 pieces)

Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified
- 2-4 tbsp honey
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 sweet apple, core discared and finely chopped
- 1 handful of raisins
- 1 handful of chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Combine almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs together with the coconut oil and honey.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir until well combined and a thick batter forms.
5. Stir in the apple, raisins and walnuts.
6. Put small heapings of the batter on the baking tray, keeping them approx. 1 inch apart, and shape them into scones by using your hands. When your batter is really thick and sticky, it helps to wet your hands a little before you start shaping.
7. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool, serve and enjoy!

Coffee cookies

Why am I posting a recipe for cookies while I'm on the Whole30??
Because I made these today, for my parents, and they loved them. I didn't have any, didn't even feel like it, but my parents liked these so much that I figured I might as well share the recipe with everyone.
The picture shows my dad's cookie. We had just agreed that I should post the recipe, when I realised I hadn't taken a picture yet so I made him stop eating and quickly snapped a shot!


The batter makes approx. 4 cookies, although I only made 2 huge ones so I wouldn't even be tempted to have any. (thinking ahead! I simply don't trust myself with cookies.. yet..)


Coffee cookies
- 1 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cookie spices
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, liquefied
- 1/4 cup freshly brewed coffee
- 2 tbsp agave nectar
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, mix the almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon and cookie spices.
3. Stir in the coconut oil, coffee and agave and mix until a sticky dough forms.
4. Stir in the raisins and walnuts and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll these into balls.
5. Drop the balls on the prepared baking tray and flatten them with your hands to form cookies.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes, so they will become firmer. Enjoy!

Walnut cookies

What's a girl to do when she finds herself at home on a Saturday night, it's raining outside, she just got a huge amount of walnuts, she's addicted to carbs, is recovering from a 'birthday cake hangover' and doesn't start the Whole 30 until tomorrow??

That's right, she bakes a batch of cookies! (and eats them while watching a movie..)

I spent about 45 minutes cracking walnuts to get enough for this recipe, but it was worth it.

Some time ago someone saw my supply of walnuts and mentioned to me I could also buy ones that have already been cracked. There's nothing wrong with putting in some effort to get yourself some food; it actually a really primal thought.

I also totally understand why primal people never ate that many nuts. They didn't have nut crackers back in the days so it must have taken one hell of a long time to crack them. I wonder how they did that..

Perhaps they smacked them with a rock or something like that. Maybe we could give some nuts to a chimp or orangutan and see what they do with it, that might give us an idea.

For now, just enjoy the fact that cracking nuts is an easy job for us and try making some cookies with them.
If you want you can save a couple of walnut halves and press them into the cookies for decoration right before baking, like I did.

Chocolate pistachio cookies

I'm about to head to the train station to go to my parents, but figured I'd share a recipe with you all before leaving! Chocolate pistachio cookies!!
And yes, these are really yummy! (I mean, what can go wrong if you use almond, pistachios, coconut and chocolate!?)
So I wish everyone a great weekend, and perhaps some baking fun when you feel like it. I'm off to have a tasty BBQ now ;-)

Apricot spice cookies

I made these cookies last Saturday because my mom came over to visit. I hate it when I don't have any baked goods available for my guests. The amount of dough could've easily made 8-10 cookies, but I decided to make just 4 cookies. While these were baking I quickly dusted and vacuumed my home, and I took a shower while they were cooling.
Dried apricots make a great base for any cookie or cake, they add sweetness, a lovely texture and help everything stick together like it should. These cookies are firm on the outside, but still have a bit of softness on the inside, yum!


Today is going to be a busy day for me! I'm going to the market for my weekly veggie supply, do some studying, write a letter to a penpal (yes I have those, and it's great fun!) and I'll probably look into my holiday plans once again as well. Oh and not to forget some running! And I also still want new shoes.. I guess I better get going right now!

Back home, lots of pictures, and a recipe for Antillean Chicken

Finally, I've got the time (and energy) to post to my blog again, after a really busy weekend at my parents' home.
As I told in my last post, my mom's birthday was last Saturday, so we celebrated that first of all. I'd made her some of my Paleo chocolate hazelnut cookies, which I put in a jar with some ribbons. I'd already given her a raw food cookbook in New York, so this was just a little extra gift.
My mom had been doing some serious baking and pie-making!
First off, she served a strawberry cake, topped with cashew vanilla cream and fresh strawberries. Yum!!
The recipe for the cake was based on Elana's Strawberry cupcakes.

Chocolate pumpkin cookies

Why would you make pumpkin cookies when you could also make chocolate pumpkin cookies?
Right, that's what I thought!
I don't know why I'm craving cookies all the time, but I really like experimenting with them these days. So far, these are one of my favourites!
Quite moist on the inside, rich chocolate flavour, walnuts..

These would be perfect for an Easter treat! And that's why I decided to join in Kelly's recipe roundup for 'Our Spunky Holiday', the Easter edition!
She has some wonderful recipes on her own blog, go check it out over here: The Spunky Coconut

Apricot coconut macaroons

Here's one of my very few recipes (or perhaps it's the only one) for baking without using any nuts. Ok, well, I did use coconut, but that's different, right?
Either way, I really enjoyed these macaroons while watching some Prison Break last night. I just love my Friday night treats..

Paleo Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

I needed chocolate and cookies today.. And I had a good reason for that.
The best way to combine my needs: chocolate cookies!
I kept them simple, only used 5 different ingredients and sweetened them with dates instead of agave or something similar. I like my chocolate to be bitter, so if you like yours to be a little sweeter, simply add a few more dates.
Right now, I'm watching Prison Break, my latest addiction, and am enjoying these cookies at the same time. Pretty good!

Carrot cookies

Ok, so I have to admit.. My cravings got even worse yesterday! Causing me to bake these carrot cookies. I didn't allow myself to eat the whole batch, by immediately freezing most of them. They are really good though, so I'm sharing the recipe with you.

I have a vague idea on where my cravings came from; Friday night's cookies. (and the fact that I ate the whole batch at once)
Of course I felt sick again after eating my cookies and my stomach still doesn't feel too good. I'm definitely going to take things easy today; going to the market for my veggies (finally I get to go there again, I missed it over the last 2 weeks), some cooking, some studying and I think I'm going to go shopping too. I'm still looking for a pair of shoes to wear in New York!
Anyway, without further ado; the cookie recipe:

Quick paleo cookies

My nut- and fruit free weeks are over! In total I stuck to it for 2.5 weeks and I felt great! My only cheat days were last weekend, when staying with my parents and enjoying that awesome high tea.
These days I get way less cravings, my blood sugar is pretty much stable throughout the day and I feel much fitter. Most of the time I don't even feel like eating any fruits or nuts because my meals keep me full all the way through to my next meal.
From now on I'll only be having fruits and nuts as a treat on weekends. They're so easy to grab during the day as a quick snack, but in the end they won't make me feel any better, just more tired and craving for more. So it's weekends only!

Apple cinnamon cookies

I'm so glad these cookies worked out well! They're really tasty and nutty, especially because of the walnuts, but the apples make them taste refreshing too. I really enjoyed having one after breakfast this morning, together with my morning cup of jasmine green tea.
There's no need to add any agave or other sweetener to these cookies, because the apples make them sweet enough.
So if anyone's looking for a paleo snack, you could try these!

Pumpkin cookies

Seems like I ran out of inspiration when it comes to the pumpkin puree I had. I didn't have that much left anymore (only 3/4 cup) so I decided to make my own pumpkin cookie version; inspired by this recipe at Everydaypaleo.com.
I used some banana to sweeten my cookies instead of maple syrup.
They're easy to make, and it doesn't take much time either. They're absolutely delicious, and what I love about these is that they're nice and soft in the center. They make a great snack or could be part of a quick breakfast.

Celeriac cookies

In my last post I mentioned I didn't know what to do with my leftover celeriac puree. Today I tried making cookies with it, and they tasted really good!
After all, celeriac tastes a little like parsnip (which made very good cookies) and it's a root vegetable, so it purees well. The cookies just have a slight celeriac taste, but much less bitter because of the banana.
I didn't add any walnuts to them, simply because I was tired and didn't feel like cracking all those nuts again. They would make a good addition though!
These cookies work really well when you have them as dessert or a snack and you could even make them part of your breakfast. It's an easy way to use leftover puree too!

Celeriac cookies (makes 10 cookies)
- 1/4 celeriac, peeled and cubed
- 1 large, very ripe banana
- 2 tbsp agave syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp gingerbread spices
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Steam celeriac cubes for approx. 6-8 minutes until fork tender.
3. Puree celeriac and banana until smooth.
4. Add agave and eggs, stir well.
5. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, baking powder and spices.
6. Add celeriac mixture and optional walnuts to the bowl and stir until well-combined.
7. Drop heaping tablespoons of the mixture on the baking tray and slightly flatten with the back of a spoon to form a cookie.
8. Bake for approx. 45 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool for about half an hour and enjoy!

Parsnip cookies

What to do with my other portion of parsnip mash, that's what I asked myself yesterday. Since those pumpkin cookies last week worked out so well, I figured I might be able to make parsnip cookies as well.
I had one for breakfast this morning and it was really good!
It's a whole different way of using parsnips but it works.
Today I really needed to have something nice to eat after work; we had drinks and snacks to end 2010 and for a good start in 2011. Of course I couldn't take any of the snacks so I got home hungry, but a little too late to -in my opinion- make dinner. I also had to cycle all the way through the snow so I was pretty wet and looked like Frosty's sister.
Having tea and a cookie made me feel so much better!

 

Parsnip cookies (makes 10 cookies)
- 1 batch parsnip apple mash (for recipe, see previous post)
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp gingerbread spice
- 2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
2. Put parsnip mash in a bowl, stir in eggs.
3. Add other ingredients and stir until well-combined.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake cookies on middle rack for about 40 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Let cool for a while and serve.

Treating myself

Well, yesterday was a really lazy Saturday for me. I had to wait for some parcels to be delivered to me (my new winter coat I ordered online and some food supplements), and of course they didn't come until late in the afternoon.
That gave me the time to treat myself a little yesterday! And without the potato crisps this time, for which I'm kind of proud of myself. I didn't even crave them. Thank you Paleo diet!

I did however feel like treating myself a little. So in the morning, while going to the mall for some groceries, I got myself a new lip gloss. I actually came to buy ground flax seed in that store but I noticed that they all of a sudden carry some Burt's Bees items now, which happens to be one of my favourite brands.
I got some Lip Shimmer, in the colour Rhubarb. It was hard to choose, maybe because my zodiac sign is Gemini (twins), but I often have that problem when a choice needs to be made. (a lot of times I just end up taking both options)

So, all happy with my new lip shimmer, I made myself comfortable on the couch yesterday. I read half of a book I'd been wanting to read for a few months, I enjoyed my decorated home, listened to Christmas songs and watched a few movies.
Normally I'm like a busy bee, but being able to have a nice and relaxing day like this definitely made me feel better. I think I also have an underlying cold (my throat is a bit sore, I'm having a dry cough and my lymph nodes in my neck are swollen and painful) so a day 'off' was what I needed.

My other treat to myself was baking some cookies; very healthy cookies, and possibly the best cookies ever; Pumpkin spice cookies!
I followed this recipe from Everyday Paleo, it's called 'Laura's Amazing Cookies'. Well, amazing is what they are!
For the rest of my meals, it was leftover day. I had some leftover curry for lunch, and for dinner my leftover beet salad with some chicken, leek and garlic stir-fry. How easy!