"The Devil Made Me Do It" bars

Oh they are good!  They are very yummy!  nom-nom-nom-nom!  Originally I started trying to make these to be a baklava replacement for my hubby.  Those are the treats of his homeland but they ended up being a sort of devilishly good yummy-ness in their own right.    So here's how you make 'em!  I even made up a nutrition label on the suggestion of my fantastic coach so we have a better idea of what is in them.  So let's get to it!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. coconut oil
1/2 c. olive oil  (or less...use your judgment based on elevation and consistency.)
2/3 coconut powder (optional)*
1 c. Honey Powder**
1 c. Walnuts chopped
2-3 c. Pecan Flour***

Put eggs, baking powder, and vanilla in mixer.  Mix.  Then add coconut oil and olive oil.  Blend until it's got a nice consistency.  I put my coconut oil in the nuker for about 20 seconds just to soften it a bit as it's currently in it's solid state based on the temperature.  Coconut oil has a very LOW melting point though so it depends on your household and where your coconut oil is at as far as solid or liquid state.

Add Honey powder and blend.  Add chopped walnuts and blend.  Once that is all blended start adding pecan flour about half a cup at a time in between blending.  This is where you have to eyeball it a bit.  You will want the batter to be fairly stiff.  It will soften a LOT in the oven.  It will taste good either way - but you may end up using anywhere from 2-3 cups of pecan flour depending.

Spread it all out on a regular cookie sheet.  Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.  I find that some days it's 30 minutes.  Some days it's 35.  After they have cooled they are extra yummy if cut into squares and stored in the fridge.  I just had a square with a nice cup of coffee on this brisk fall day. :D Enjoy! Nutritional info on bottom of page! 

*Coconut powder is a food used in Indian cooking.  It's like pulverized coconut but still has the texture and feel of fresh coconut.  It's unsweetened and just coconut-y, plus it's Cheap!!!  Here's a link to some on Amazon. 
**A friend of mine introduced me to Honey Powder.  I love this stuff!  It makes cooking and baking in Paleo a bit easier as it measures like traditional sugar.  This eliminates trying to calculate the difference of liquid in regular honey when baking etc.  I also found some on Amazon and the link is Here.  There are many out there.  I have found some supplement with added fructose.  Be sure to check the ingredients or you could get tricked.
***Locally in El Paso the same friend who introduced me to honey powder, also introduced me to a little itty bitty store in Bassett Mall for Ramirez Pecan Farm.  They sell a 3 pound bag of pecan flour for anywhere from $6 - $10 depending on the season.  I googled real quick and it seems it's available online too under either "Pecan Flour" or "Pecan Meal."

This label is based on 2 cups of pecan meal.  Serving size is a 2" x 2" square.

Paleo Banana Bread

This recipe - also sans picture until I make it and take one or you do and send it to me - comes from my Mom!  My mom was a baker in a bakery for many years and now has jumped on the paleo bandwagon with the rest of us!  Here is her recipe for Banana bread!  She warns us that this only makes a small pan - or a baby loaf.  If you want a bigger loaf you would probably have to double the recipe and adjust baking time.  Also another note: My mother's oven is possessed by the devil so to give you cooking times according to her oven would be woefully unfair!  Once I make it, I will come back in and edit but in the interim. . . here you go!

Paleo Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350

2-3 Banana's
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Honey

Blend these three ingredients together in your stand mixer then add:

1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 Cup nut flour (almond, coconut etc)
Pinch of Salt

Blend together then pour into your baby loaf pan.   Bake for (we are guessing here) 20 minutes then check.  You want a toothpick to come out clean, the sides to begin to pull away from the pan and potentially for the top of the loaf to start to crack.  Once those happen - your loaf is done!

Enjoy!!!

Almond Cookies

So my husband comes from a culture where dessert is King!  That and a King get's dessert!  I do enjoy baking and am still determined that we can follow a paleo diet without him having to give up something that is so ingrained in him.  I have been playing around with this recipe for a couple of months.  I think I have hit upon the right combination when my husband returned after 2 weeks of TDY to say, "I've been dreaming about those almond cookies."  We have a winner! (I think!)  So here's how I make them:

Oven @ 350

1/4 c. grassfed butter
2 whole eggs or 3-4 whites
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Honey *to taste*
Optional:  Molasses *to taste*  (Hubby and I really like it cuz it adds a smokey dark flavor but it's up to you!)
If you want to make it 100% no carb you can probably use Sucralose (brand name Splenda or Stevia or some other non-caloric sweetener.)
3-3.5 c. whole blanched almonds milled into almond meal*.

In food processor, put in butter (I melt mine slightly first), eggs, soda, powder & vanilla.  Blend.  Then add your sweetener to your taste.   Add your almond meal - probably 2.5 cups at first.  Check to see the consistency once blended.  The consistency needs to be as such that a cookie dough scooper can scoop it out and it will remain in a ball shape once on the cookie sheet.  If it loses it's shape, it will be a very flat but delicious cookie once you take it out.  If it's not thick enough add more almond.  Check the taste again to make sure it's where you like it.  Now scoop them out, a dozen per cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes.  Yum!!!

*I blanch my own almonds and use the ever wondrous magic bullet and flat blade to mill my almonds.  It's probably pretty approximate but if you are so lucky as to have purchased almond flour pre-milled, just judge by the cookie scoop method.  It should ultimately be stiff enough to stand alone before baking.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!  They should be crispy on the outside but stay nice and soft on the inside!!!!

Good Enough for a Caveman Lemon Meringue PIe

I made this for my husband when he came home for a visit over Thanksgiving. Oh and I also made it for the Paleo Thanksgiving come to think of it!  Well, I know for sure that my Caveman LOVED it!!!    In fact he loved all the cave-cuisine I made while he was here.  *Yay!*  I found this recipe on Crossfit Central's website.  I made a couple of adaptations.  It was definitely yummy!!!

 Paleo Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients

Lemon Filling
1 cup lemon juice
5tsp finely grated lemon rind
(approximately 4 lemons)
1/2 cup honey (Crossfit Central recipe uses Maple Syrup.)
1 /2 cup coconut milk
4 Tbsp. coconut flour (for thickening)  Crossfit Central's recipe used Arrowroot.
5 egg yolks

Meringue
5 egg whites
2 tsp (or so) of lime juice.  This helps the egg whites form stiff peaks.  "Traditional" recipes use cream of tatar for this purpose - I discovered Lime juice back in the days of being a nanny.
2tbs agave (Crossfit Central used Maple Syrup)

Crust:
2 and a half cups crushed pecans
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp unsalted butter melted

Form crust in pie dish.  I like to use cellophane between my hands and the crust.  It allows me to really use my hands in combination with a rubber spatula to form the crust the way I want it in the pie pan.    Chill crust in fridge until hard. Then add filling.  It takes a bit to chill the crust.  You might want to make the crust the night before.

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place lemon juice, lemon rind and honey in a medium size pan on low heat.

In a small bowl, combine coconut milk and coconut flour.  I recommend sifting it in since it tends to be lumpy.   Add to lemon juice mixture, stirring consistently until simmering.

Beat egg yolks together in a small bowl then add to simmering lemon mixture, stir constantly for 3-4 minutes, or until mixture has thickened. Pour into a pie dish.  (Mine took longer than 3-4 minutes.  I would say I stirred mine for probably close to 10 minutes.  Do not panic if yours has not thickened by 4 minutes.)

To make the meringue, beat the egg whites on a high speed until frothy.  Add the lime juice.  Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.  Slowly add in the avage - while the mixer continues to beat.  (Stand Mixers make this soooo much easier!)

Spoon the meringue on top of the lemon filling.  I prefer to make a seal with the meringue where it meets the crust.  I always have - don't know if it makes a significant difference or not.   Place the pie into oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool before serving.

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
1 c. or so Fresh or unsweetened Coconut toasted
6-8 egg whites - room temperature is best
1 tsp. Lime Juice *or*  if you would rather - cream of tarter but lime juice works just as well!
Sweetener of Choice (Agave, Honey or if you are a stevia person. . .)

Now there are other recipes out there that incorporate coconut flour etc and make a much more dense treat. I like this one because it is light and I'm a big fan of meringue.

Preaheat Oven to 400

For the coconut - I like fresh coconut best.  The flavor is amazing!  It beats all other coconut hands down to me - but if you are intimidated - buy unsweetened shredded. Just check the label for additives.  If you are intimidated by fresh coconut - I recently learned that many produce sections will cut the coconut in half for you if you ask them to.  I know for *sure* Albertsons brand stores do (Jewel, Albertsons, SuperValu etc).  I am pretty sure Safeway brand probably does as well (Safeway, Dominck's, Von's etc.).  Anyway - that answers the coconut question.

Shred your coconut until you have about a cup - maybe a little more.
Put coconut in a big skillet on a med-low heat to toast.  (5-10  minutes)  Stir somewhat frequently.
Hopefully you have a stand mixer - it makes meringue so much easier!
Beat your egg whites - once they get rather frothy - add your lime juice or cream of tarter.
This helps the egg whites stiffen.  They will get all shiny and beautiful once they start to form stiff peaks. At that point start to add your sweetener.  Add it until you find it sweet enough.  I hate to put a quantity because everyone likes their things to a different sweetness. Plus if you use agave vs honey they have a different sweet to them.  Add it slowly while the beating of the eggs continues.  Beat them awhile longer on high so you have some really nice stiff now sweet peaks.

Meanwhile you have been stirring your coconut so you have some nicely toasted coconut. Fold it in the mix.  Either slow your mixer down so it can do the folding for you or turn it off and fold the coconut in yourself.  Now make your spoonfuls.  Pop them on a cookie sheet -if you line the cookie sheet with parchment paper - getting them off will be so much easier.  Plus meringue seems to cook better on parchment.

The only tricky part to all of this is that meringue tends to break down rather quickly. . . especially with the coconut in it.  When I make them - I try to make 2 cookie sheets at a time.  They will not expand past the size they are when you put them on the sheet so you can group them closely together.  In my perfect world - bake the whole batch the first time around.

Bake them for 10-15 minutes until there is a little tiny bit of browning on the tips of the cookies.  If you don't like brown tips - go closer to 10 minutes.  Meringue cooks really quickly.  Every oven varies so you will have to judge for yourself a little bit.

Hope you enjoy them!

BTW - if you didn't know - coconut is a gut healer!  What a tasty way to heal one's gut!!! Yum!!!