Tag: dessert

Hidden Sources of Sugar

Hidden Sources of Sugar

Let’s imagine you have been working on your diet and doing well. You are working toward a healthy diet and clean eating… even goals like 5k runs and exercise groups or (gasp) even a half marathon. The problem is, you have been told by your 

Malted Maca Black Tahini Cookies (vegan)

Malted Maca Black Tahini Cookies (vegan)

Anyone who knows me or has hung around this blog long enough knows I am obsessed with tahini cookies.  It took me years to develop a cookie that had the chew, and texture of what I grew up knowing as a good and proper cookie.  

Dark Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream (Keto & Paleo)

Dark Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream (Keto & Paleo)

This is another adaptation of my mother’s keto ice cream genius.  She went to work to create a keto version of Chocolate Moose Tracks and after quite a few tries she nailed it!  I cannot do dairy so I adapted it for me and used coconut milk and cut out the 1:1 keto sweeteners.  You can reduce the monk fruit and add a bit of chicory root sweetener (Just Like Sugar), allulose, Swerve or another birch based non-GMO erythritol, but I prefer keeping things as clean and simple as possible and I don’t mind the taste of monkfruit.  Trust your taste buds though, because everyone is different!

This is best when made with an ice cream maker like this one of my mom’s or like my Kitchen Aid Bowl Attachment but you can just remove the dish from the freezer every twenty minutes to give it a stir, or pour it into silicone popsicle molds.  I would recommend adding a bit of vodka to keep it from getting to icy in that case.

I do hope you enjoy it!

Brenna xo

Dark Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

Brenna May
This is a gorgeous Dark Chocolate Paleo & Keto Ice cream that is not for the faint of heart. It's richness resembles Chocolate Moose Tracks and is definitely more of a mom ice cream than a child's! Enjoy!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
2 hours 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, keto, paleo

Equipment

  • Saucepan & whisk
  • Ice Cream Maker or Ice Cream Bowl Attachment
  • Freezer safe glass container

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups coconut milk or cream
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp monk fruit powder (I use 1 tsp and omit the other sweeteners)
  • 2 tbsp chicory root sweetener just like sugar
  • 1 tbsp beef gelatin
  • 1-2 tsp vegetable glycerine
  • 4 oz chocolate baking bar finely chopped and melted into cream
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp vodka or whiskey optional

Instructions
 

  • Heat the coconut cream in a saucepan to 175ºF
  • Add sweeteners while whisking
  • Add beef gelatin while whisking
  • Add gelatin and whisk
  • Separate eggs and whisk the yolks
  • Scoop out about a half cup of the hot coconut cream and start to drizzle it into the egg yolks while whisking. Keep adding until you have combined them. Repeat with another half cup of cream until eggs are fully tempered.
  • Add the cream and egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan of cream and whisk.
  • Add the finely chopped chocolate and whisk.
  • Add the cacao powder and whisk until smooth.
  • Add vanilla and whisk. (and vodka if using)
  • Pour contents into a heat safe dish and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
  • Pour into ice cream maker and set for 20 minutes. Alternatively you can freeze it and pull it out every twenty minutes to stir it until it is set.
Keyword chocolate, coconut, coconut ice cream, keto, paleo
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

Dark Chocolate Keto Brownies

Dark Chocolate Keto Brownies

This recipe is basically my dark chocolate espresso cookies, but poured into a brownie pan.  People kept asking though so I thought I’d best get it up here as it’s own thing.  The espresso is optional, the seed butter can be swapped out with any 

Keto Chocolate Stout Cake (Flourless & Gluten-Free)

Keto Chocolate Stout Cake (Flourless & Gluten-Free)

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!  What could be better than a Guinness?  Well, when you’re keto, maybe a slice of keto chocolate stout cake. This cake was first introduced to me in Scotland and served up by a lanky Swedish man. I’m fairly 

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (keto, paleo, vegan)

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (keto, paleo, vegan)

Alright my friends.  This is a recipe that I have posted before but it has undergone a subtle but very important change.  If I’m honest I was literally terrified to post it at first because I have imagined in my loopy introverted world that someone might steal my idea.  Okay… forgive me please as I was dealing with 38 years of built up toxins that my body could not purge.  After figuring out this “subtle” egg replacement and finally getting this recipe as I wanted it, my gut and health issues took a drastic turn for the worse. More on that here if you’re bold enough to read it.  I couldn’t eat coconut flour without experiencing some terrible inflammation so I had to take a break.  Months of bone broth and nearly carnivore/pescavore diet later my gut is in much much better shape and I can eat some vegetables again, but mostly only the “fruit” of the plant: green beans, asparagas, squash etc and the occasional sweet potato!  But it’s FOOD!  So I’m happy and grateful that I’m at least in part back.  But friends, I had a dear friend over and the last time I saw her this recipe was in it’s beginning process and it has come so far!  So I decided it was the day to try it again and guess what!?!  NO INFLAMMATION!  I’m so happy. (Saying that in a whisper with my hands together… so excited I don’t want to jinx it.)  Laugh. Out. Loud.

Gaaahhh they are so yummy and chewy.  First of all, I have a small obsession with tahini… I had to give it up for a while so having it back is a real treat!  I use the Pascha Organic 100% Cacao Unsweetened Dark Chocolate Chips if I’m going for super dark or Lily’s for a bit sweeter.  Now, for a while I was worried about Lily’s because they used soy lecithin in their chips.  To be clear, if you have a soy allergy, don’t go for their dark chocolate option.  They have since I originally posted this however, changed to sunflower lecithin for all their chips but the dark.  But on that note… soy lecithin and soybean oil are both absent of soy protein, which is the part that contains the estrogen mimicking isoflavones that can cause so much trouble.  So worry not my fellow Hashimoto’s folks!  If you like sweet chocolate and can abide soy then go with the Lily’s Sweets Stevia Sweetened Dark Chocolate Chips. But of late I have started using Whole Foods 365 Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Chips and really like them.

They are not overly sweet, but keep in mind that ones tastebuds change after one has been keto for a year or so.  So they are not for the faint of heart.  My kids like them though and I have found that health conscious people tend to really like them.  And to be honest, I have fooled your average American group of children with them as well on more than one occasion.

SO THE SECRET:

Okay, if you decide to do this and blog it PLEASE give credit where credit is due because this came from a lot of research and thought and a late night epiphany brought on my my Naturopathic Doctor informing me that I am allergic to eggs.  BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS!  Alright… (breathing) a long time ago I started using konjac root (glucomannan) powder as a replacement for xantham gum in gluten free recipes because… xantham gum is pure evil.  Lol.  Okay, that’s extreme but it really is NOT good for your gut!  Konjac root gels nicely and after so much disappointment with so many vegan egg replacements which are fine in breads and some baked goods but NOT fine in cookies in my opinion.  I was laying awake mourning the loss of eggs and I had an epiphany about konjac root eggs.  I got up… at 11pm at night, and went to work in my little kitchen and the result was just… perfect.  Now, konjac powder is a very common ingredient in many asian countries and has been around for a very long time so for now I trust that it is safe.

If you are vegan and don’t want the collagen, I found an amazing chewy substitute after months of trial and error.  I sub with gelatinized maca.  My favorites are The Maca Team‘s Red Maca (great for women!) and their Black Maca, which is great for men and flu season.  I’ve tried other maca’s and they don’t perform the same nutritionally OR with baking.

So give this a shot and tell me what you think!  And if you like it please share it!  Since changing my hosting and becoming ill I have lost a lot of my followers so I’d love the help getting them back. 

All my blood, sweat, tears… and love,

Brenna xo

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Keto, Paleo, Egg-Free, Vegan Option)

Brenna May
A soft & chewy keto chocolate chip tahini cookie recipe. I have been developing this recipe for a couple years now and I love it. It is not for the uber sweet tooth folks. When you have been no sugar for years your taste buds change. These are a clean cookie with no gut disrupting sweeteners, no eggs (but you can sub them in just fine), no nuts and no flour. I use collagen for flour and it yields a chewy texture and allows the tahini to shine, but for the vegan option I have found that straight maca powder bakes into a lovely malt flavor. I will sometimes do a blend of sacha inchi, maca and pea protein as I've found everyone's preferences are different. Depending on the size of scoop you use it will yield 12-16 cookies.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine egg free, keto, nut free, paleo, Vegan
Servings 12 cookies

Equipment

  • Medium Sized Bowl
  • Whisk
  • Spoon
  • Oven or toaster oven

Ingredients
  

Keto Version

  • 3/4 cup tahini
  • 3/4 cup collagen peptides Vital Proteins
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1.5 tsp konjac powder (in 1 cup water = 3 konjac eggs)
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp pink salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pure monk extract powder
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup keto/paleo chocolate chips I use Pasha 100% cacao chips or Lily's dark chocolate chips depending on who is eating them.

Vegan Version

  • 3/4 cup tahini
  • 3 tbsp maca powder (or blend of sacha inchi, pea protein & maca)
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 3 konjac eggs (1.5 tsp konjac powder in 1 cup water | 1/2 tsp in 1/3 cup water = 1 egg)
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp pink salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pure monkfruit extract powder
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup keto or paleo chocolate chips I use Pasha 100% cacao chips or Lily's dark chocolate chips depending on who is eating them.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325°F
  • In a medium bowl, pour 1 cup water, sprinkle the konjac root powder and whisk. let sit for 2 minutes to thicken.
  • Add tahini and whisk together with the konjac eggs.
  • Add monkfruit, baking soda, pink salt, vanilla, cinnamon and stevia (if using) and whisk until creamy.
  • Add coconut flour and either collagen peptides OR maca powder/maca blend and fold together with a spoon.
  • Add paleo/keto chocolate chips or organic raisins/cranberries/dates of choice.
  • Use cookie scoops or an ice cream scoop with a bit of coconut oil to form balls on the cookie sheet, and then with coconut oiled hands press them down a bit with your palms to flatten them. They do not flatten on their own.
  • Bake at 325°F for 10-13 minutes. 10 min for the bite sized cookie scoops and 12-13 for the medium scoops. If you make bigger cookies you may need to bake them for longer, depending on your oven.

Notes

Now, some people can handle the flavor of stevia and some cannot.  I find it makes little difference in the sweetness when baking but on occasion (such as when serving these to children) I will add a couple tiny scoops of the vegan concentrated stevia powder from Trader Joe's.  But know your audience.  My husband and another friend seem to be able to taste it from a mile off and my own personal preference is to leave it to the monkfruit powder to work it's magic.  And the monk is a concentrated powder rather than something like Lakanto which has erythritol in it.
Keyword chocolate chip cookies, cookies, keto, paleo, tahini, vegan
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (Paleo, Keto, Vegan Option)

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (Paleo, Keto, Vegan Option)

Recipe by Brenna May @culturedbite It would be modest to say I have a tahini addiction. It is probably on par with my love of chocolate and coffee. Or coffee and chocolate. No matter. I have been looking to make my very own tahini cookie 

Chocolate Brownie Batter Hummus

Chocolate Brownie Batter Hummus

Brownie Batter Hummus It seems my son only likes beans in two forms.  One is infused with ham like in grandma’s Bacon Baked Beans and the other is when it is hidden in the form of chocolate.  My girls love it too.  This recipe came