Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Cookies {healthy, gluten free, egg free}

This is our go to cookie recipe year round. We have them a few times a month for breakfast and I send them to school as a healthy sweet treat in the munchkins lunch boxes. They are perfect for an afternoon snack emergency and are tons healthier than most pumpkin cookies out there. 

I knew I had to find a healthier alternative to the big. fat. deliciously. sweet. pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joes. They are my kryptonite. My mom actually came up with this recipe a ways back and whenever I get that sneaky chocolate + pumpkin craving I whip these babies up. 

Much, much healthier.  Wheeww!  Later Kryptonite.

Thank you for purchasing my favorite healthy ingredients and kitchen products from Simply Healthy Family's store and thereby, supporting this blog! 

We make these cookies eggless by using flax "eggs" simply because flax is so darn good for you! They are high in lignans, a fiber like compound and also in antioxidants, B Vitamins and good for you Omega-3 fatty acids. 

We also throw in hemp seeds or hemp hearts which are another super food. Raw hemp provides an array of health benefits such as: weight loss, increased and sustained energy, rapid recovery from disease, lowered cholesterol and blood pressure, reduced inflammation, improvement in circulation and immune system as well as natural blood sugar control.

The pumpkin puree in these cookies not only makes them super moist and adds everyone's favorite fall flavor but contribute many good for you vitamins and nutrients as well. Did you know that pumpkin helps your body by

• Keeping your eyes sharp by providing carotenoids vitamin A 
• Aids in weight loss from it's high fiber content which helps you feel fuller longer.
• May reduce your risk of getting cancer due to high levels of antioxidant beta carotene
• Protects your skin and reduces signs of wrinkles from it's free-radical-neutralizing powers of the carotenoids
• Boost your mood by producing more serotonin in your body thanks to the amino acid tryptophan, the famed ingredient in turkey.
• Helps your body recover after a workout. A cup of cooked pumpkin has more potassium than a banana. A little extra potassium helps restore the body's balance of electrolytes after a heavy workout and keeps muscles functioning at their best.
• Boosts your immune system. 1 cup of cooked pumpkin provides 20% of your daily recommended dose of Vitamin C.

You gotta love a sweet treat that is good for you on so many levels.

These cookies are gluten free, dairy and egg free and sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup (or honey) a handful of chocolate chips but of course you could skip them if you prefer.  Make sure you have a glass of ice cold milk handy to wash down these cookies!

You Will Need

2 flax 'eggs' {2 tablespoons flax meal + 1/4 cup warm water} or 1 egg
1/2 cup cooked (or canned) *pumpkin
1/2 cup natural, sugar free peanut butter, almond butter or *tahini
1/2 teaspoon *aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of *iodized salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (not imitation)
1/4 cup *real maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup *flax meal (ground flax seed)
1 cup *rolled oats
1/2 cup (optional) chopped walnuts, pecans and/or raisins
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or cacao chips
2 tablespoons hemp hearts

Preheat oven to 350˚F
In a small bowl combine ground flax meal and water with a fork and let rest about 5 minutes. Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl and dry ingredients in another bowl. 
Add flax eggs to the wet ingredients and stir in dry ingredients. 
Drop cookies by spoonfuls on a Silpat (or a lightly greased baking sheet). Put silpat on cookie pan and place in oven. They will not expand much while cooking. Bake at 350F for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. 
Let rest on a baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. After completely cooled, store in an air tight container for up to 3 days. Refrigerate or freeze if storing longer than that. 

Happy Harvesting!

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Pumpkin Belgian Waffles with Cranberry Orange Compote

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Chocolate Espresso Kahlua Cake

Disclaimer: This is not a healthy recipe. This is a died and gone to heaven, lick your plate clean, roll your eyes to the back of your head amazingly good chocolate cake recipe. 


Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved cake. However, not just any ordinary cake would do. Only the most decadent, moist and  sinfully  rich chocolate cake would please this girl. Only a chocolate cake that had notes of espresso in every bite and left a lingering of Kahlua liqueur on her lips.  Oh yes.  This was not any ordinary girl nor should she have any ordinary chocolate cake.

This was........

The Birthday Girl !!!

 Moi. Yours truly. Not telling you how old I am but I will say that sometime in the last few years I have gone from people telling me  "You're just a baby"  to  "Oh! Well you look good for your age." Which is almost as much of a compliment as when I get the "OH! Well you look good for having 4 children."

sigh.

This birthday girl didn't ask for diamonds or pearls, she didn't want a big birthday bash nor did she did ask for a trip to Spain (o.k. maybe I did, but I didn't expect it, just have to throw it out there).   

What she did make  perfectly  loud and clear was.................. 

Let there be cake! Kahlua Cake!

Chocolate, Espresso, Beautiful Kahlua Cake.

The End.

Did I mention that I look forward to this cake starting in early May and start talking about it in early June?

I had the props ready to go in early July.

My Birthday is August 1st.  What?

Apparently it was my "Blog Birthday" as well. Simply Healthy Family turned 4 last week. 

That calls for another piece of cake if you ask me!

Thanks for making me the best cake ever (again) mommy! xoxo

Happy Dance!

"It's my birthday, let's party, with Kahlua!"

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup strong coffee, divided
3 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup Kahlua

Frosting Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Kahlua
3 Tablespoons hot coffee
(reserved coffee)


Directions for cake:

Make 1 cup strong coffee and refrigerate overnight.  Grease and flour 2 (9") round cake pans. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat egg whites until frothy; beat in sugar until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.

Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda together in small bowl.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with 3/4 cup cold coffee and the Kahlua (reserve remaining coffee for frosting).  Fold in the egg whites & sugar mixture till just combined. Don't over mix.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until done (when toothpick or knife inserted in center comes out clean).  

Cool 10 minutes, invert onto wire rack and cool before frosting.

Directions for frosting:

In large bowl, cream 6 Tablespoons softened butter with 1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar and 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.  Add in the 3 T Kahlua and 2-3 Tablespoons of the reserved coffee (heated); beat until smooth.  

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Healthy Almond-Coconut Chocolate Thumbprint cookies ~ gluten free

Some days things just don't pan out the way I planned them to. Actually, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception lately. And by lately I mean since I had my first child 18 years ago. Holy crap! I have an 18 year old?!!  Anyway, this weekend I had to work on Saturday and was supposed to be off at 3p.m. and then planned on doing a little shopping at my favorite adds and ends Home store for kitchen props, plates, bowls, napkins etc. then go to Sprouts and then go home make a yummy dinner and possibly get some decent shots to put on the blog. 

At 2:35 p.m. however we get a call that we need to do an emergency tracheotomy on a patient. How rude. What's more, the Dr. didn't have an assistant so I got to double as a first assist and it was a difficult case, couldn't get the trach tube in because the patient had a mushy trachea. So now I'm tired and a bit cranky and it's 4:45p.m. So much for my nice afternoon. So much for making dinner. Pei Wei saves the day!

Fast forward to Sunday...... I was excited to try and recreate one of my favorite childhood breakfasts, cottage cheese pancakes. If you've never had them, don't wrinkle your nose till you've tried them. They are so good! The cottage cheese actually adds a bit of sweet creaminess to the pancakes, almost like a cream cheese crepe. I wanted to try to make them healthier by omitting the flour and tried using almond meal instead. Epic fail! The first batch crashed and burned, literally. The second batch was oily and burned.

Back to the drawing boards. 

Enter these cookies. Every problem or catastrophe can be solve with a good cookie and these are even fairly healthy! Bonus!

PREP TIME    15 MINUTES     BAKE    15 MINUTES     YIELDS   18-20 SMALL COOKIES

Ingredients: 

2 cups almond meal (almond flour w the skins un-removed) 

1 tablespoon flax meal (ground flax seed) 

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1/4 cup local honey  

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

1/4 teaspoon sea salt 

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chips or bar)

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a medium bowl mix together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla and almond extract. 

Gradually stir in the almond flour, flax meal and sea salt, and mix well until a uniform dough is formed. 

Scoop the dough by tablespoons and use your hands to roll into smooth balls. Roll the balls in the coconut flakes to coat. Place the balls onto the lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart, and use your thumb to press into the center of each cookie, creating a well for the chocolate. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes till lightly browned. Remove from oven, let cool. 

Meanwhile, in a small ceramic or microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips or chopped up bar. Microwave on medium power for 90 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 90 seconds or until melted.

Spoon chocolate into the center of the cookies and let cool. 

These cookies are also wonderful with a bit of fruit preserves in the middle, my favorite is apricot!

I am submitting this post to Tasty Tuesday's

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