Coconut Flour – Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

I have more coconut flour than I really know what to use it for……. so I decided to try cookies.

Gluten free cookies that mimic the wheat flour ones don’t taste the same…. flour for flour, so additional flavorings and touch-ups are needed.

 

I often add shredded coconut to oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies to give them that little oomph.

 

Coconut flour alone is more like fine corn meal rather than flour, so it benefits from the addition of a starch like tapioca. I still haven’t perfected the perfect all-purpose blend, because cookies use a different ratio than cake or cupcakes would.  I really do like DIY mixes rather than premixes, although I buy those too.

 

So here goes the recipe….enjoy!

 

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

 

 

Ingredients

 

Dry Ingredients

1/4 cup Coconut Flour, sifted

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1 pinch salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

 

Wet Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup Stevia blend (Pyure)

1/4 cup Coconut sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Add-Ins

3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

Procedures

 

Whisk the eggs, butter, sweeteners and extract until blended.

Whisk in the coconut, then the combined Dry Ingredients

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop batter in spoon-sized mounds 1 inch apart on parchment paper covered baking sheet.

Bake in preheated 350F oven for about 10 minutes or until bottoms are beginning to brown

Remove from cookie sheet using a lifter to a wire rack.

Optionally drizzle with melted chocolate

 

 

Makes about 24 small cookies.

 

 

Servings: 24

 

Nutrition (per cookie): 72 calories, 48 calories from fat, 5.2g total fat, 20.6mg cholesterol, 25mg sodium, 6.5mg potassium, <1mg iron, 7.6mg calcium, 72 calories, 6g carbohydrates, 1.1g fiber, 5g net carbohydrates, 1.4g sugar, 1g protein.

---

© 2015 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Gluten Free Dark Decadent Brownies

We have had monsoon rains all summer, but it turned cold after the one last night.  I needed a sweater and hat to check the mail!

 

Today, as I was finishing up reorganizing my kitchen and changing the storage for my gluten free mixes and flour to glass jars, I decided to make a brownie from scratch.

 

After all, the oven wouldn’t heat up the kitchen!  

I had almost a cup of a flour blend that did not fit into one jar, so decided to use it in the brownie. 

 

This recipe uses 12 tbsp of fat and 1 1/2 cups sweetener.  I have different types of shortening, so decided to mix them.  I also like to mix stevia with sugar to reduce the sugar grams.

 

Feel free to use all sugar and/or butter.  Stevia blends don’t have the moisture that sugar has, so a bit of liquid sweetener was used

 

I like dark chocolate thus this is a dark chocolate brownie.  If you are a milk chocolate lover, add another 1/4 cup sweetener and remove 1 tbsp of cocoa.

 

---

Gluten Free Dark Decadent Brownies  

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

Brownie Mix / Flour Mix

 

3/4 cups King Arthur Gluten Free Whole Grain Flour Blend

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup Stevia blend (or sugar)

3/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa

 

Wet ingredients and Fats

 

8 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 tbsp Nutiva Shortening (red palm & coconut oil blend)

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp Red Palm Oil

2 large eggs

2 tbsp Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Nectar

1/4 cup chocolate syrup (used Hershey's Special Dark)

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Water as Needed

 

1/4 cup hot water

 

Add Ins

 

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

 

Topping

 

1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp coconut, unsweetened, shredded (Let's Do Organic)

 

Procedure

 

·         Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" shiny pan.  A 1/4 sheet pan is comparable.

·         Whisk all Brownie Mix ingredients together and set aside

·         Beat the Wet ingredients and Fats until blended

·         Beat in the combined Brownie mix until blended, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Gradually add in the hot water beating until blended

 

·         Fold in the Add Ins

 

 

 

·         Spread batter into a lightly greased shiny pan.  Top evenly with Toppings

 

 

·         Bake the brownies for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a tiny amount of moist crumbs clinging to it.

·         The edges of the brownies should be set, but the middle still soft.

·         Remove the brownies from the oven, and cool them completely before cutting and serving

 

 

 

Servings: 24

Yield: 24 brownie bars

 

Nutrition as prepared (per serving): 163 calories, 10.2g total fat, 1.5g monounsaturated fat, <1g polyunsaturated fat, 0g trans fatty acids, 0g trans-monoenoic fatty acids, <1g linoleic acid, <1g alpha linolenic acid, 6.3g saturated fat, 29.5mg cholesterol, 91.2mg sodium, 23.6mg calcium, 13.2mg potassium, 3.4mcg folate, 32.4mg phosphorus, <1mg phytosterols, <1mcg lycopene, 1.4mcg selenium, <1mg thiamin, <1mcg vitamin b12, <1mg vitamin b6, <1mg vitamin c, 1.5IU vitamin d, <1mg zinc, 17.8g carbohydrates, 2.2g fiber, 15.6g net carbohydrates, 9g sugar, <1g fructose, <1g galactose, <1g glucose, <1g lactose, <1g maltose, <1g sucrose, <1mg stigmasterol, 2g protein.

 

 

Storage containers

 

---

© 2014 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com

Sugar Crusted Tropical Muffins - Gluten Free

If you like coconut flour and make your own almond milk, these muffins will be very easy to make.

Normally, I use coconut flour in cookies or in making crepes.  But, I had the remains from making DIY almond milk and did not want to freeze it.

The best way to describe these muffins is to say; they are lower-carb tender coconut muffins. 

The muffins can be made larger with baking time taking longer.  No butter or spread is needed. They are best at room temperature.

Maybe a better name would have been Sugar Crusted Pineapple Coconut Muffins

---

Sugar Crusted Tropical Muffins - Gluten Free

 

Ingredients

Dry Mix

3 tbsp coconut flour

1 tbsp tapioca flour/starch

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

 

Wet ingredients and Fats

2 tbsp Sugar, granulated

1/4 cup granulated Stevia (used Stevia in the Raw)

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp orange or pineapple extract

2 eggs

1/3 cup almond meal (left-over from DIY almond milk) should be moist

Add In

1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened, ground

1/3 cup cooked, unsweetened pineapple, drained, finely diced

Topping

1 Tbsp Turbinado sugar

Procedure

Whisk together Dry Mix; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 ° F. and line 10 cups of a 12- cup muffin pan with paper liners.

 

Finely dice the pineapple, set aside. Pulse the coconut until finely ground.  It will take on a creamy look.

Pulse the almond meal again in a small food processor, set aside

 

 

Beat butter and coconut oil with the sweeteners until fluffy, scrape down the bowl and beaters.  Beat in the eggs until fluffy, scraping down bowl.  Beat in the flavoring

 

 

Beat in the almond meal until fluffy, scrape down the beaters and bowl.

Beat in the Dry Mix until fluffy, scrape down the beaters and bowl.

Beat in the coconut until fluffy, scrape down the beaters and bowl.

Beat in the pineapple and repeat scraping down.

 

 

 

Gently scrape down the bowl and beaters and gently fold the batter with a spatula to incorporate any pineapple that was attached to beaters.

 

Gently spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin.  Do not push down on the batter.  Use a toothpick to gently swirl the batter to make it more even.  It does not need smoothing as that will happen when baking.

 

 

Sprinkle  the Turbinado sugar over the muffin tops, dividing it evenly.

 

Bake for 17-20 minutes, middle of oven or until the tops spring back when lightly touched and the tops begin to lightly brown.

Remove from oven and allow cooling.

 

unfortunately, the camera battery was depleted when they came out the oven…..

 Servings: 10

Nutrition (per muffin as prepared): 119 calories, 8.8g total fat, 1.7g monounsaturated fat, <1g polyunsaturated fat, 0g trans fatty acids, <1g trans-monoenoic fatty acids, <1g trans-polyenoic fatty acids, <1g linoleic acid, <1g alpha linolenic acid, 5.8g saturated fat, 48.4mg cholesterol, 42.3mg sodium, 38.6mg calcium, 48.8mg potassium, 6.2mcg folate, 65.9mg phosphorus, 0mcg lycopene, 3.3mcg selenium, <1mg thiamin, <1mcg vitamin b12, <1mg vitamin b6, <1mg vitamin c, 3.5IU vitamin d, <1mg zinc, 8g carbohydrates, 1.5g fiber, 6.5g net carbohydrates, 4.8g sugar, <1g fructose, <1g galactose, <1g glucose, <1g lactose, <1g maltose, <1g sucrose, <1mg stigmasterol, 2.2g protein.

---

The muffins may be stored covered on the kitchen counter in a cool dry (not humid) kitchen for up to at least 2 days.  A warm and humid area will cause mold to grow.  The coconut flavor becomes more pronounced after the first 24 hours.

These are tender muffins, but the texture of the coconut is slightly noticed.  They are not chewy.

---

© 2013 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Coconut Cheesecake Bars - with Toasted Oatmeal Crust

Over the past weekend, I rolled into baking mode, so I have been baking up a daily storm. Monday, it was Coconut Cheesecake Bars. My sister Barb sampled four items and said the cheesecake bars were at the top of the list.

My friend Shirley told me once that she couldn’t eat my food, because of the sugar and fat. So this is for you Shirley.

These bars use Splenda, reduced fat cream cheese, (and/or) reduced fat sour cream and oatmeal.

I have made two versions, substituting sour cream for 1/2 of the cream cheese and using brown rice syrup for part of the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend. The brown rice syrup provides moisture to the crust. Brown rice syrup is reported to have a lower glycemic index than most sweeteners. Only agave nectar, raw honey and stevia reportedly have a lower glycemic load than brown rice syrup. Both versions of the bars look about the same coming out of the oven.
I prefer version I. I like the taste that sour cream gives to cheesecake.

Coconut Cheesecake Bars - with Toasted Oatmeal Crust Reduced Sugar / Fat
Version I Ingredients
Crust
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1 cup Coarsely Ground Toasted Rolled Oats (after grinding)
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp water
Topping
8 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
1/4 cup reduced fat Sour Cream
1/2 cup SPLENDA, Granulated
2 Large Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Coconut Extract
1 tbsp cornstarch
Final Topping
1/3 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Version II Ingredients
Crust
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 cup Coarsely Ground Toasted Rolled Oats (after grinding)
2 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1 tbsp brown rice syrup
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Topping
2 (8 oz) Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
1/2 cup SPLENDA, Granulated
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 Large Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Coconut Extract
Final Topping
1/3 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Procedures for Version I and Version II
Toast 1 1/4 cups of old fashioned oats using convection oven setting of 250 F for about 30 minutes. Stir them after 15 minutes. It is ok to use untoasted oatmeal, if you wish.
Remove oats from oven and let cool, Pulse in food processor until coarsely ground.
Combine all ‘Crust’ ingredients completely. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch oil sprayed pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix all topping ingredients until smooth.

Add to the pan and spread out evenly over the Crust.
Sprinkle coconut evenly over top of pan.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Check center with toothpick or press to see if center is firm.

Version I Nutrition Facts Servings: 12 (This one is thinner)
Serving size: 1/12 of a recipe.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount per Serving
Calories 156.54
Total Fat 11.29g
Saturated Fat 8.08g
Cholesterol 47.8mg
Sodium 70.53mg
Potassium 51.93mg
Total Carbohydrates 9.15g
Fiber 1.14g
Sugar 0.62g
Protein 4.19g

Version II Nutrition Facts Servings: 16 (the addit.8 oz cream cheese makes a thicker bar)
Serving size: 1/16 of a recipe (7 ounces).
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount Per Serving
Calories 153.17
Total Fat 10.03g
Saturated Fat 5.97g
Cholesterol 42.31mg
Sodium 95.53mg
Potassium 73.45mg
Total Carbohydrates 10.37g
Fiber 1.23g
Sugar 1.25g
Protein 5.17g

Gluten Free Coconut Pound Cake

  Coconut cake was one of the cakes we had growing up for Easter.  My memory of it was moist and sweet with lots of frosting and coconut.  Those were the days when I could eat sweets and not worry about the pounds, as we were very active physically.   Today, I plan the goodies.  Recipes get downsized and rightsized.  That brings back the thought of going thru the rigors of employment: down size, right size, centralize, de-centralize, .......

Since becoming gluten-free(wheat, barley, rye), I haven't had a good non-chocolate cake.  Chocolate can improve the taste of almost any dessert, so I made chocolate. Chocolate dessert is slowly being pushed aside as I have had an over-abundance of it over the past five years.  My tastebuds have been crying for the simple desserts like tea cakes and lemon pound cake.

I made a vanilla pound cake for Christmas, based on a recipe fron landolakes.com.  It was so so in that I prefer not to drizzle frosting on vanilla pound cakes. 

For the past week, I have had visions of coconut cookies or coconut cake.  Finally, yesterday I decided on coconut pound cake.

Coconut Pound Cake
8 servings


Dry Ingredients
1 cups sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 cups rice flour (brown or white) used white
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup whole milk or half and half
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
Add Ins
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
Frosting (optional)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs coconut oil , softened
1 Tbs whole milk or half and half

1 tsp coconut extract

1/4 cup toasted coconut

Procedures

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

2. Stir together all Dry Ingredients in a bag or lidded container. Shake to completely mix. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

3. Combine eggs with milk and cooled melted butter.

4. Gradually add Wet Ingredients to Dry Ingredients, beating at low speed until well mixed (about 2 minutes).    Fold in the unsweetened coconut.

5. Pour batter into greased and floured 4-cup Bundt or 6-inch tube pan.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan.

6. Place all frosting ingredients in a small mixing bowl, blend with a hand mixer until smooth.

7. Drizzle with frosting. Sprinkle toasted coconut lightly over frosting. refrigerate any leftover frosting in a covered container.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (3.5 ounces).
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount Per Serving
Calories 356.98
Total Fat 15.8g
Saturated Fat 13.32g
Cholesterol 54.79mg
Sodium 100.25mg
Potassium 111.01mg
Total Carbohydrates 49.25g
Fiber 1.75g
Sugar 27.6g
Protein 3.82g
There are different sizes and types of pans suitable for pound cakes.  A smaller Bundt pan  (on the right) was used for this cake.