Desserts Archives - 2 Cats and Chloe

Paleo Almond Butter Kiss Cookies

Tis the Season for Christmas Cookies! My all time favorite Christmas Cookie is, and always has been, the Peanut Butter Kiss Cookie. However, I have cut peanut butter, sugar and crap out of my life. But it’s Christmas y’all! If you’re going to sneak a treat, this is the time to do it! That being said, I decided to peace out the peanut butter cookie and make a Paleo Almond Butter Cookie!

Before the Paleo Police hop all over me on this one… the actual Almond Butter Cookie IS paleo. It’s gluten free, processed-sugar free, dairy free… yadda yadda yadda. The addition of the Hershey Kiss is a must for me, because, in my opinion, the kiss makes this cookie a Christmas Cookie. I don’t feel like this needs to be stated, but the Hershey Kiss is NOT paleo. But, it’s Christmas. If your body can handle it, I say live a little!

Santa brought me my Christmas present a couple of days early this year! While I am a bit sad to not have anything exciting to open up on Christmas Day - having this Seafoam KitchenAid Mixer made cookie baking soooo much easier! (And yes, I’m well aware that the mixer matches my camper!)

Paleo Almond Butter Kiss Cookies

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

8 mins

Total time

18 mins

Author: Susan {2 cats & chloe.}

Recipe type: Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free

Serves: 24 Cookies

Ingredients

1 Cup of Creamy Almond Butter
⅓ Cup of Pure Maple Syrup
2 Eggs
½ tsp of Baking Soda
5 Tbsp of Coconut Flour
2 Tbsp of Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp of Agave
½ Cup of Coconut sugar - to roll the dough balls in.
Hershey Kisses (optional!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375*F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the Coconut Sugar and Hershey Kisses.
Mix well until for about 3 minutes or until it takes a less crumbly, dough shape.
Put the Coconut Sugar in a small bowl.
Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Roll the dough balls in the Coconut Sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets.
Use a fork to gently press the dough balls down flat.
Bake at 375*F for approximately 8 minutes or until edges are more golden.
While they are baking, if you are going to use Hershey Kisses, start unwrapping these!
Remove from oven and gently press Hershey Kisses into each cookie.
Use a spatula to place each cookie on a cooling rack!
Delicious when served warm! Enjoy!

The finished cookie will have a more doughy, bready feel than a super crisp cookie. This is great because the Kisses just melt right into them!

Since these are not your traditional Christmas Cookie, you may not find them to be super sweet. Feel free to add a bit more Agave if you like them sweet and you do not plan on using the Hershey Kiss. I felt like though, with the addition of the kiss, they were plenty sweet enough for my liking.

Make ’em. Serve ’em. And don’t tell anyone that they are Paleo, Gluten Free or Dairy Free! While they are a bit “paleo” for non-paleo people’s norm… I don’t don’t think anyone would even notice!

What is your favorite Christmas Cookie? Are you doing any Paleo Baking this year?

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: Whipped Coconut Cream

by Susan

So I’m really not so sure if this is a seasonally accurate post or not… My plan was to play around with this concept prior to Valentine’s Day, snap some pictures, share it on the blog and all that jazz. However, life happened and I didn’t have time to play with coconut cream until it was actually Valentine’s Day. (FYI - I took all weekend off and did absolutely nothing except watching a few seasons of House on Netflix… It was wonderful.)

Like I was saying though - now that Valentine’s Day has come and gone - unless you are on a Whole30 or you’re simply trying to cut sugar, I don’t see this recipe being all that handy until summer hits and fruit is running rampant all over the south. It’s just so amazing and incredibly easy. It needed to be shared immediately.

In case you’re new here, let me catch you up. I’m obsessed with the Whole30 and clean, paleo eating. I am currently on day 47 of a Whole60… no processed sugar, no booze, no grains or rice, no legumes and no dairy. And honestly, per the rules, no dessert, even if the ingredients fit all the rules. (Come back tomorrow to see my day 45 check-in!) So on Valentine’s Day, when my husband made me dinner and I made “dessert” I was kinda breaking the Whole30 mindset rules… except our dessert was complaint ingredients: fruit and coconut cream. (The Whole30 folks call it S.W.Y.P.O. Google it.)

So while this breaks no food rules of the whole30 - if you’re going BY THE BOOK (WHICH YOU SHOULD BE unless it’s Valentine’s Day and you’ve already done 45 days of the Whole30) technically you cannot eat it as dessert. So eat it as part of your lunch! I’m not a big fruit eater, but with this amazing cream on top of it, you better believe it will be on my menu a bit more frequently.

Homemade Whipped Coconut Cream

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Susan {2 cats & chloe.}

Recipe type: Whole30, Paleo, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free

Ingredients

1 Can of Heavy Coconut Cream
OPTIONAL: Liquid Stevia
OPTIONAL: Vanilla

Instructions

Put a can of heavy coconut cream in the fridge overnight.
Once cold, open can and drain any liquid.
Put coconut cream in bowl and whip it with a hand blender or mixer. (My hand blender worked perfectly in just a couple minutes!) It may take a few of minutes, but trust me, it will whip up light and fluffy!
If you want to add options to this whipped coconut cream, do it now... I don't add anything to mine and think it's great. But if you want to make it sweeter you can add a few drops of liquid stevia and a couple drops of vanilla.
Use immediately. Put any leftovers in the fridge and use later. (You may have to whip it up again though.)

Since it was Valentine’s Day (and because I’m a blogger) I decided to make my Paleo Whipped Coconut Cream “pretty” with the good old ziplock baggie. (Cut the corner off and squeeze it out!)

In the midst of “making it pretty” though, my husband got tired of me snapping pictures of food so I just dolloped it on the middle of my fruit plate!

Give it a shot! This is a WONDERFUL replacement to cool-whip or any other cream packed with crap. And it’s just so darn easy. I love it when clean eating is easy. It gives my friends less ammo when they criticize my eating choices. Oh, and the leftovers also make the most delicious coffee creamer the next day. You’re Welcome!

I’d love to hear what you think!

I’m linking up here today.

Now you cool kids linkup a recipe, craft, home decor, fashion, travel or any other post you want here! Let’s Celebrate Southern!

Loading InLinkz ...

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: The Best Paleo Apple Crisp

by Susan

I am LOVING Tuesdays now. Have you joined our Celebrate Southern Linkup fun yet? Personally, I think it’s become such a great group of creatives and fashionistas. Last week, when I shared pictures of cotton fields in Carolina with you, we had a wonderful turnout! Thank you to each and every one of you who participated! Now are you ready to enjoy a plate full of only natural sugar, dairy free, and gluten free, Paleo Apple Crisp?

Wait! Before I begin with today’s AMAZING clean, southern recipe - I wanted to spotlight two of my favorite posts from last week!

Blanket Scarf by A Lovely Living

Don’t you just LOVE Marisa’s Blanket Scarf and outfit? I adore everything about this look and hope to recreate it for myself!

Fall Inspired Dining Set by Orphans with Makeup

Didn’t Mary work her magic with this fall inspired buffet?? This would be perfect for my new house!

You can see a lot of the other posts from last week via our official Celebrate Southern Pin Board!

So again, many thanks to everyone that has joined us over the past few weeks, and even more thanks to everyone who is linking up with J {Bless Her Heart Y’all} and myself again today! Be sure to join the fun at the bottom of this post! Now on with The Best Paleo Apple Crisp you will ever eat!

Since it is fall, and since our weekend was oh so festive - I worked on creating the best Paleo Apple Crisp you will ever eat. Although my husband tasted and claimed “it would be a bit better if you added sugar!” my guests {one who said “I don’t normally like apple crisp but this is great!”} really seemed to enjoy it. Please keep in mind this is a clean dessert and I didn’t add my husbands processed sugar for that reason. 🙂 Personally, I don’t think it even needs it!

I promise you, this time of year, this recipe will be a hit. Other than all natural honey, there is no added or processed sugar at all! Huzzah! ~~I would~~ My husband would recommend you use a sweeter apple to help make it a sweeter dessert. While it doesn’t have a traditional “crust” this is a great alternative to a Thanksgiving Apple Pie. And I’m sure you could stick with a very similar recipe, but use a different fruit. Maybe peaches?

The Best Paleo Apple Crisp

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

Author: Susan {2 cats & chloe.}

Recipe type: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, {Processed} Sugar Free

Cuisine: Dessert

Ingredients

2½ Teaspoons of Cinnamon
4 Apples {Peeled or unpeeled per your preference}
Lemon Juice
½ Teaspoon of Nutmeg
⅓ Cup of Real Honey {plus one table spoon to drizzle on top of baked crisp}
⅓ Cup of Raisins
6 Tablespoons of Ghee
1 Cup of Almond Flour
¾ Cup of Pecan Halves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice and core apples. {If you prefer them peeled, peel first. I peeled half of mine to vary the texture.}
Lay apple slices in the 9 inch pie dish.
Spritz apple slices with lemon juice.
Sprinkle Cinnamon and Nutmeg over apples evenly. Drizzle Honey over apples. Evenly distribute raisins over apples.
In a separate, microwave safe dish, melt ghee.
Add Almond Flour to melted ghee. Mix until flour becomes crumbly. Add pecans and mix.
Spread Flour/Ghee/Pecan mix over the top of the apples.
Bake in oven at 350 degrees, covered in tin foil, for 30 minutes.
Uncover, drizzle with one tablespoon of honey, bake for another 30 minutes uncovered.
Serve hot.

So there you have it! Your guests will be ooooh-ing and ahhhh-ing over this healthy and clean-eats paleo dessert! I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did while we were carving our pumpkins and embracing this last week of October!

Now it’s your turn! Join J and myself while we celebrate anything and everything “Southern!” Grab our button and/or link to both of us and you are good to go! You can even use an older post!

Celebrate Southern Linkup: 2 cats & chloe.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.2catsandchloe.com" title="Celebrate Southern Linkup: 2 cats & chloe."><img src="http://i58.tinypic.com/2dm615s.jpg" alt="Celebrate Southern Linkup: 2 cats & chloe." style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Loading InLinkz ...

Paleo Campfire Meals: Fire-Baked Almost-Peach-Cobbler

by Susan

Boy are you in for a treat today! No seriously, it is one of the best treats I have had in a reallllllly long time. Last week I went camping in the South-Western part of Virginia with my husband, J, and her hubby. Being the food creative that I am, I knew that I wanted to experiment with at least one meal over the fire. Unfortunately but fortunately, I was hungry while grocery shopping prior to our trip. And we all know what happens when you visit a grocery store while your stomach is growling… Yup, I bought way too much with very little inspiration for my creative “over-the-fire” dish.When I got home from the store I had to unpack my grocery bags and repack our camping bags. I realized I bought way too much fruit {is there such a thing?!} and that my creative meal had to involve my recently purchased bushel of berries.With that, I bring you my Could-Be-Paleo Fire-Baked Almost-Peach-Cobler.

Ingredients:

Fresh Peaches

Assorted Berries {we used strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries}

Honey

Ghee {much cheaper in stores}

Marshmallows

Chocolate {Dark Chocolate would be best, but you’re camping so use what you have!}

Cinnamon

You also need aluminum foil and a fire with a cooking grill or rack.

Directions:

First of all, wash all of your fruit and get your fire going.

Assuming you successfully built a fire or started up the grill, we are good to go!

This is going to be one of the easiest and most delicious desserts you will ever make. Let’s forget s’mores… this will become your new must-have camping treat!

Slice the peaches in half, remove the pit. Place the peach on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle honey and add a spoonful of ghee over the peach. Then pick your favorite toppings and set them on top of or around the peach. The best part about this dessert, especially if you have kids, is that it is hands on and everyone can create the dessert they want!

Once you have all of your “peach toppings” with your peach, be sure to sprinkle some cinnamon on it and then ball up the foil nice and tight. Depending on the heat and height of your fire {or grill! you can make this at home too!} your peach will need to bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Wanna make sure this recipe stays paleo and healthy? You are good to go with the ghee and the honey… you just need to skip the ‘mallow and the hershey’s! Personally though, I say, you are on vacation and you are camping! For crying out loud, live it up with the marshmallows! When the chocolate, mallows, honey, ghee and cinnamon melt together you have one heck of a dessert gravy all over that peach!

Let me know what you think! I swear by this newly discovered, delectable dessert! And you better believe we will be using all of the leftover “toppings” this weekend to make these peaches over our grill at home!

This dessert can be created to be 100% paleo, 100% whole30 or 100% sugary! Whatever you prefer!

Paleo: Orange Cream Cake with Coconut Pineapple Cream Topping

by Susan

A few years ago I found THE BEST orange creamsicle cake recipe and it became a staple for all summer birthdays.This is not it.This is my attempt at satisfying my sweet tooth, and my love for orange cake, while using clean ingredients.Today’s theme for the Not-So-Dirty 30 Blog Series with J over at Bless Her Heart Y’all is “Birthday Cake or something like it!” As BFFs, both Jess and I struggle with Gluten and Dairy Intolerances. Apparently, BFFs are supposed to share all the important things like celiacs and ability {or lack thereof} to eat a bowl of ice cream.So today, I bring you my first attempt at creating my own gluten free, dairy free, clean-eats, paleo “Orange Cream Cake with a Coconut Pineapple Cream Topping.”

I found it quite fun to play around with ingredients in the kitchen, in hopes of creating a 9 inch circle of deliciousness. Now, to be 100% straight with you, this cake, in no way compares to the taste of the full-of-gluten, full-of-crap, out-of-a-box recipe that I absolutely loved in my past life. But this paleo cake is really good.So good that my non-veggie-loving neighbor and her 16 year old daughter were shocked when I told them there was no wheat flour or white sugar in it! They even raved over the “icing” which is incredibly simple and absolute clean-eats.

This paleo orange cake was a bit denser than I had hoped it would be… prior to adding the topping, it reminded me of a holiday pound cake. I will have to try it again, and add a few festive winter spices. {With extra spices and without the topping I’m sure it could pass as a great holiday treat.}

paleo gluten free orange cream cake recipe

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

2 cups of coconut flour

1 can of mandarin oranges (in water, no added sugary or syrupy junk) - drain these.

3/4 cup of agave nectar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup of heavy coconut cream (I use the Trader Joes “extra thick and creamy”) {and i believe it costs quite a bit less expensive in the trader joes store!}

For the Topping:

1 cup of crushed pineapple

1 can (14 fl. oz) of heavy coconut cream

1/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a medium sized bowl, blend all of the ingredients for the cake’s topping together by hand, blending everything smoothly together. Pop this bowl of deliciousness into the fridge to cool for a couple of hours (or more.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the cake’s ingredients, except the coconut cream. With a mixer, blend the ingredients. The texture of the batter is a bit crumbly at this point. With a spatula, fold in the heavy coconut cream. This will help hold the ingredients together a bit more.

Put cake batter in a greased, 9 inch, round cake pan. I used ghee to grease my pan. As it appears to be more of a pound cake, you may have to spread out the batter by hand, making sure the cake is level and even in the pan. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool on a cooling rack for an hour or so before putting the topping on it. I would highly recommend that you do not add the topping until you are ready to serve the cake. {Because of the coconut cream topping, the paleo orange cake leftovers needs to be refrigerated.}

gluten free, dairy free, orange cream cake

There you have it friends! Like I said, my neighbors were shocked to taste this cake and then find out that it is considered a “non traditional baked good!” I used to be quite the baker, back in the day when I owned a cafe. Now that I am fighting the celiacs battle, I figured baking would be gone for good! It was quite refreshing to play around with a few ingredients that were lurking in my kitchen last night. It’s rewarding to create something so sweet and delicious!

As part of our series that you don’t want to miss, you need to immediately head on over to J’s blog Bless Her Heart Y’all! Check out her pie recipe, and show her some love! I mean really, doesn’t her teaser picture just look absolutely to die for?!

Please give me a shout if you try out this new Paleo Cake! I’m a newbie when it comes to gluten free, dairy free baking so I’d love to hear your feedback on how to make this better or any substitutions you may have for me.

I’d also like to point out one more thing: Just because a recipe “paleo friendly” does not mean it is necessarily a healthy recipe. It’s just better for your body than a lot of other cake and dessert options that are laced with “junk.” Also, this recipe is, by no means, whole30 approved.

For the love of birthdays and all kinds of unique, gluten free, paleo dessert options!

Until next time…

I’m linking up with Living Free’s Naturally Sweet Round Up!

Paleo Almond Butter Kiss Cookies

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: Whipped Coconut Cream

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: The Best Paleo Apple Crisp

Paleo Campfire Meals: Fire-Baked Almost-Peach-Cobbler

Paleo: Orange Cream Cake with Coconut Pineapple Cream Topping

Connect

inst-happening!