Brookies!!

Thanks to Aimee for the name! Part cookie, and part brownie these grain & refined sugar free Brookies are the ultimate in healthy greed!!

The base is a delicious chewy chocolate chip cookie, and the topping a rich fudgy brownie... You can't decide if you want a cookie or a brownie? Thank GLBTK for these awesome Brookies!

The best part? They're made using recipes I've already shared! With a little imagination you can adapt all my recipes to change flavours and keep things varied... or you can wait for me to do it for you!

To make the Brookies:

So for the cookie base, I used this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe... they're pretty awesome when made as cookies too!

Start by preheating the oven to 160d (fan). Line 7" square tin with baking parchment.

Make the cookie dough as per the recipe (I used Cacao Nibs).

Set aside to chill while you prepare the brownie batter. I just used the brownie part of this recipe (ie. without the cheesecake topping).

To assemble:

Press the chilled cookie dough into an even layer in the base of the prepared tin.

Top with the brownie batter and spread evenly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (this really depends on your oven). You'll know the Brookies are baked when they are firm with a slight wobble in the centre. They will continue to cook a little from the heat of the tin once removed. Don't leave them as underbaked as you would with brownies or the gooey chocolate will seep into the biscuit base making it soft.

Set aside to cool before cutting into bitesize squares.

These are about as indulgent as it gets! Serious awesomeness right here!

Tea Cakes

I LOVE a challenge...I'm always looking for suggestions for recipes to add to the page. I want the recipes to be the type of food you want to eat...

It's not about being fancy or complex... It's about getting the message out that it's not expensive or time consuming to eat healthy food...

So a friend requested healthy Tea Cakes... you know the ones from when you were little... biscuit base, mallow & coated in chocolate... YUM! But full of sugar so not something I'm going to indulge in any time soon...

I love these challenges....wondering if I can actually recreate them in a healthy way & for them to actually taste good... I'm pretty sure I can't express how thrilled I was with how these turned out... they tasted INCREDIBLE!! 

There are a few steps involved, so be prepared to spend an afternoon making these... it's well worth it though! 

For the biscuit base:

• 80g coconut oil, melted
• 25g raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 220g almond flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 160d (fan). 

Simple as always... throw everything into a bowl, mix until well combined & holding together as a stiff dough.

Since you'll be rolling out the dough, it'll be easier to work with if you leave it to chill in the fridge for at least an hour. This allows the coconut oil to solidify & gives a firm dough which rolls out without sticking or cracking.

Once the dough has chilled, roll out to about 1/2 cm thickness between two sheets of parchment paper.

Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough & place on a non stick baking tray.

Bake for approx 10 mins.. until cookies are firm and pale brown.

Set aside to cool on a wire rack.


For the marshmallow filling:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• pinch of salt

Heat oven to 120d (fan). 

Place all the ingredients into a heat proof bowl set above a pan of gently simmering water. 

Whisk constantly (and I mean constantly or you'll end up with scrambled egg whites)....

It will take approx 8 minutes to end up with stiff, glossy opaque peaks. At this stage, you might want to taste the filling... I don't like things really sweet so you may want to add more sweetener, though these got the seal of approval from a lot of taste testers so I think you'll be ok with 1 tbsp...

Once the filling is ready, place heaped tablespoons onto the biscuits. I'd usually pipe the filling to make it look pretty, but a tablespoon works fine. 

When all the biscuits are ready, you need to place them back on a baking tray & into the oven for 10 minutes. This will help stabilise the filling & give it a firm structure. Note the really low temperature so you shouldn't expect them to come out of the oven browned..just slightly more firm.

For the chocolate covering:

I'm going to recommend using really dark chocolate for this... mainly because it solidifies better than homemade Paleo chocolate. 

Just make sure it's got a super high cocoa solid content... like 85%+ is ok in my book.. 

• 150g dark chocolate, melted

Simply melted the chocolate, and dip each of the tea cakes into the chocolate to coat. 

Allow to set on a sheet of parchment paper. 

I was seriously thrilled when I made these... they turned out better than I expected & the tasted pretty awesome too... 

Give them a go & let me know how you get on... send me pics on the Facebook page :)

If there's anything you'd like to see recreated in a healthy way, let me know... I'm always looking for suggestions! 

Oh... and in case I didn't mention it, lots of people said they were nicer than the original... RESULT!!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I must admit, I've experimented lots with grain free cookies, but they've always fallen short of expectations.. I blame coconut flour. As much as I love the coconut flavour it gives food, I absolutely hate the way it tends to dry out recipes and leaves food a little grey..

These cookies are really nice, they're crunchy & a little chewy at the same time... You do need a little bit of time on your hands though since you'll need to chill the dough for a few hours to allow them to firm up. It's worth the wait!

• 60g coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp raw organic honey
• 1 egg
• 175g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 50g chopped Paleo friendly chocolate or any chocolate with a high cocoa solid content... 

Start by beating the melted coconut oil, vanilla, honey & egg together until well combined.

Next, add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

That's it!... Best & easiest recipe ever!!! Leave the cookie dough in the fridge for 2-3 hours. This allows the coconut oil to harden, giving you a firm dough. If you skip this step, you will have greasy cookies.... don't say I didn't warn you....

Once the cookies are chilled, take generous teaspoon size mounds of dough and roll into balls.

Place on a non stick baking tray, and flatten gently with your finger tips. The cookies only spread a tiny bit, so don't worry about leaving much room between them.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 160d (fan oven), until the cookies are firm & golden brown.

Allow to cool on the baking tray, or just eat them warm...You can freeze the dough too, but I know you're not going to do that!

Coconut cookies

I've got to be honest here... I hate macaroons. I don't like the consistency or the bland flavour... BUT I played around with the recipe (I love fixing things), and these are AMAZING. 

Sugar free, grain free cookies with all natural ingredients... and they taste so Christmassy & make the kitchen smell great :) 

• 50g flaked raw coconut (check the ingredient list to make sure there's no added sugar or vegetable oil)

• 50g unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 50g flaked almonds
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
• zest of 1 large orange 
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp Keen almond butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

I'm all about keeping it simple... so believe me, you can't get this wrong! 

Add all the ingredients to a heat proof bowl. 

Place above gently simmering water and keep stirring for about 5 minutes.. The reason we're doing this is to allow the flavours to develop before baking, and to create a more pliable cookie dough.. if you don't do this, the dough will be too wet to work with and the cookies won't hold together.. 

Remove from the heat & allow to cool. You can store the dough in the fridge for 3 days at this stage.

 

It's usually easier to work with if you have chilled it a little, overnight is best... but 30 mins will be ok too. 

Using a teaspoon, divide the dough into balls and flatten gently on a non-stick baking tray.

Bake for 10 mins at 160d (fan oven). Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn, and since some oven temperatures vary, make sure you don't over bake them since you're looking for a crunchy cookie that's still chewy on the inside. 

I have been known to drizzle some of my homemade chocolate over these cookies, and it works really well... they're great the way they are too though :)