These chocolate chip cookie dough truffles are made with almonds, coconut oil, honey, chocolate chips, vanilla and a dash of salt, and can be coated with chocolate or served plain. (The first batch disappeared before I got a chance to dip them.) Once you try these tasty little cookie bites, you’ll be hooked. Even my somewhat finicky husband loves them. They’re a great way to get more coconut oil into your diet. (The Tropical Traditions website has a great recipe page with dozens of recipes using coconut products.)
It’s strawberry season in our area, and the boys and I have hit two different pick your own patches (more on that later). For now, I’ll just share a recipe, as I’ve been a little busy this week and am behind on my posts. (More on that later, too. I had nearly two tons of grain in my garage on Monday.)
With all the strawberries in the house, I had a taste for strawberry shortcake, but I really wanted to try a version with almond flour. It just seemed to me that strawberries and almonds would go well together. I did some hunting online (I think I may have to add the Almond Flour cookbook to my wishlist), but most of the recipes I found either used a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners. Finally, I decided to tweak a recipe from one of my favorite gluten free bloggers – Kelly at The Spunky Coconut. Kelly made a really pretty Strawberry Birthday cake for her daughter, so I modified her recipe a bit and teamed it up with strawberries and whipped cream.
Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake with Almond Flour recipe
5 whisked eggs (I used 2 duck eggs and one small chicken egg)
2/3 cup yogurt (the original recipe called for applesauce, but I didn’t have any on hand)
1/8 tsp Vanilla Creme liquid stevia
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup coconut flour, sifted
2/3 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup Bob’s almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup coconut oil, liquified (grapeseed oil would probably work also)
Grease two nine inch round cake pans. (I put parchment paper in the bottom, too, but didn’t have a problem with sticking.) Preheat oven to 325 F.
Blend together eggs, yogurt, liquid stevia, honey and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients until evenly mixed. Mix together dry and wet ingredients. (Kelly just says to put everything in one bowl, but I like to premix just to make sure everything blends evenly.)
Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for about 18 minutes, until lightly browned.
Let cool for a few minutes, then flip onto wire racks to cool completely.
While the cakes are cooling, rinse and hull your strawberries. Chop/mash them with a pastry blender or potato masher
to release the juices.
Please, please do not slice your berries and then add water to them for juice. This is not a yummy. (Apologies to a dear family member if you read this.) You may use the berries unsweetened, or add stevia, vanilla stevia, or other sweetener to taste. When we had this with my in-laws, I added 8 drops liquid vanilla creme stevia to 4 cups of chopped berries (my FIL is diabetic). For just the boys and I, I added 2 tablespoons of sugar to 4 cups of berries. A little goes a long way.
For the whipping cream, I whipped one cup of organic heavy whipping cream, and then, for the in-laws, added about six drops of vanilla creme stevia. For just us, I added two tablespoons powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla (my youngest is not a fan of stevia).
I sliced the cakes into wedges and served them up in bowls with strawberries and whipped cream. Delicious! Do refrigerate leftovers, if there are any.
