Cookies like Ginger Snaps or Snickerdoodles are a holiday tradition! This version lets anyone enjoy and participate with replacements for gluten, dairy products, and processed sugar. Choose soft and chewy with a shorter bake time, or make these more like a crisp ginger snap with a longer bake time.
I chose a flour blend in this case for a young client who was moving out of a food sensitivity for almond. We were slowly reintroducing almond sources while restoring gut biome and health. The blend of grain free flours with some almond flour helped make it a success, and the texture was perfect! You can also make this recipe using only almond flour for the full amount as shown here, if you want strict SCD, GAPS or Paleo compliance. And if almond butter doesn’t work, try sunflower butter or any other safe nut or seed butter. Sunflower butter is quite bitter when unsweetened, so consider adding a dash of stevia (either in glycerite drops or powder) if you would like to improve the flavor without affecting texture.
A perfectly spiced holiday cookie that works for most any elimination diet or food sensitivity. For SCD, GAPS or Paleo compliance, use only almond flour for the full 1 and 1/4 cups. Option to add colorful sprinkles to cookies just prior to bake, or stir in chocolate chips or chopped nuts too!
A perfectly spiced holiday cookie that works for most any elimination diet or food sensitivity. For SCD, GAPS or Paleo compliance, use only almond flour for the full 1 and 1/4 cups. Option to add colorful sprinkles to cookies just prior to bake, or stir in chocolate chips or chopped nuts too!
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease two medium or one large baking sheets, line with parchment paper, and set aside.
Combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl.
In a smaller bowl, use a sturdy wooden spoon to stir almond butter, honey, and vanilla extract. It will be stiff. Add almond milk as needed to make this whip smoothly into an even, thick liquid texture.
Mix wet ingredients into the dry and stir thoroughly to evenly combine. The dough will be very sticky.
Grease your palms with a small amount of coconut oil. Scoop spoonfuls of batter into your palms to make ~1" size balls. Place these about 2" apart on the cookie sheet. The coconut oil on your palms makes this task go more smoothly and gives the cookies a nice texture, add more to your palms as needed.
Bake time varies. For a soft chewy cookie, try an 8-10 minute bake time. For a crisp snap cookie, bake 12-15 minutes. Either way, bake until cookies begin to firm up on the outside.
Allow to cool for a few minutes on baking sheet before moving to a wire rack or serving plate. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
For SCD, GAPS or Paleo compliance, use only almond flour for the full 1 and 1/4 cups. Option to add colorful sprinkles to cookies just prior to bake, or stir in chocolate chips or chopped nuts too!
Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) leans hard on eggs. Eggs are great, but not everyone can eat them, let alone every day in quantity for breakfast. Here’s an option that minimizes the daily eggs-for-breakfast habit while giving some helpful SCD-legal carbohydrates too. Plus, who doesn’t love pancakes? Enjoy plain or drop in fruits as your child’s progression in the SCD stages allows. Or, top with soft cooked diced apples! If egg is an issue, double the applesauce and omit the egg entirely. Pancakes will be more dense but still work.
SCD Apple Pancakes
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These SCD legal pancakes are delicate, mildly sweet and savory all at the same time. Enjoy plain or drop in fruits as your child's progression in the SCD stages allows.
These SCD legal pancakes are delicate, mildly sweet and savory all at the same time. Enjoy plain or drop in fruits as your child's progression in the SCD stages allows.
Mix the wet ingredients (first five ingredients - applesauce, honey, vanilla, coconut milk, and egg) evenly in a bowl.
Mix dry ingredients evenly in a separate bowl (the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon).
Combine the wet and dry ingredients by adding the dry to the wet. Stir to mix evenly.
Melt ghee or coconut oil in skillet and heat on medium heat. Drop generous spoonfuls of batter onto skillet once the fat is hot/melted. Skillet should be hot enough so batter quickly sets, but doesn't burn. After a few moments, slide a spatula under the pancakes to make sure they aren't sticking. If they are, add a bit more ghee or coconut oil and let it flow under and around pancakes.
If you like, this is when to add fruit: Drop blueberries, raspberries, or thin banana slices into the pancake as it starts cooking.
Cook til bubbles just appear in the pancakes. Flip the pancakes to cook other side. Cook for about a minute or two, then remove from skillet. If there is enough fat/oil in skillet, they will cook without sticking. Add more if need be, and lift edges of pancakes with skillet to allow fat/oil to flow under them so they won't stick.
SCD eaters have a hard time finding carbs that are comfortable and safe to eat – especially the ones I know, who are little – but this SCD legal Apple Banana Cake is a problem solver!
The problem with SCD for kids is that it can stunt growth. Those are fightin’ words I know! But, when children eat a high protein, high fat, low carb diet (as was true for the infamous Atkins diet of the ’80s), they will not only not gain weight very well, they may not grow well either – even when they eat ample daily total calories.
Why is this? Because little humans need carbohydrates for growth. Carbs protect protein for other tasks during growth. They also help build a healthy gut biome, when the right carbs are eaten. When kids go keto, they are using protein and ketones for energy. Protein is a lousy fuel source. Relying on it day after day will overburden kidney. Ketones (as you probably know) are a great fuel source. While this works great for adults and anyone who does not need to lose weight, it doesn’t work so well for children who need to gain weight and correct a growth pattern that has flattened. Ketones can also suppress appetite, making it even harder to eat the amounts of food children need to repair growth patterns
Once you get past Intro, Stage 1 and Stage 2 of SCD, try this recipe. I took extra care to cook apples before baking them in to the cake (a tool like this, if you don’t already have one, makes the core/cut/peel part of the task fast and easy). If you’re further along in the Stages of SCD, you may be fine putting cut raw apples into the bake. If you don’t have time to cook the apples, use SCD legal applesauce (2 cups).
I also took extra caution with the orange juice, and fresh-squeezed my own for the recipe (with one of these – makes this job a snap too, and many versions abound. I’ve had mine for over 30 years and it’s still going strong). Or, you can use any store bought SCD legal OJ instead (Whole Foods 365 fresh squeezed for example) to save time.
The third thing I was careful to do was grind the pumpkin seeds into meal before adding to the recipe. Again, SCDers who are stable, past early phases, and not trying to resolve active symptoms may be able to skip that step and just place the seeds in the batter.
Ok enough tips – bake and enjoy. This is moist and yummy, almost like a kugel, minus the grains and sugar!
SCD Apple Banana Cake
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Moist, rich, delicious...like a kugel or bread pudding - but Paleo and SCD legal!
Grease a 9 inch square baking pan with coconut oil or ghee, and line with parchment baking paper. Preheat oven to 350.
Place pumpkin seeds in a food processor. Grind to fine meal. Add this to a medium size bowl and combine with dry ingredients: Almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, raw maca powder.
In a separate bowl or in a stand mixer bowl, combine eggs, honey, vanilla. Beat til smooth and evenly mixed.
Mash banana to gloppy liquid in another bowl. Add the cooked apples (or applesauce) to the banana mash, and stir both to mix together evenly.
Add the banana/apple mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir to evenly combine everything.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stir til evenly mixed. Batter will be thick and wet. Spoon into baking pan. Bake for one hour, til top is browned and cake has begun pulling from edges of pan. Enjoy!
Paleo + Chocolate + Tahini in an easy recipe? I’m in! This is my new favorite recipe, and there are several versions of it around. These are basically classic Millionaire Bars, adapted to fit into grain free, dairy free, egg free, and no cane sugar parameters. Millionaire Bars have been a favorite in Scotland for years, where they may have originated, and where you might see them with names like Caramel Shortbread, or Millionaire’s Slice. They start with a shortbread crust, have a caramel middle, and chocolate layer on top. Decadent!
The recipe I am using here is adapted from this one which happens to be vegan as well as Paleo. Luckily, it’s easy to adapt Millionaire Bars to a Paleo version. The sweet relies on maple syrup here – a lot of it. That brings up the question of whether maple syrup is Paleo. If it is, how much is ok?
This is a recipe that in itself – in my opinion – is too sugary to be valid as Paleo. We know that native North American tribes made and enjoyed maple syrup – there’s even a legend that it made them lazy and less interested in other food – hmmm! It was indeed in the hunter-gather repertoire, at least in the northeastern US.
But, if you’re looking for a sweet treat for kids who can’t eat peanut, wheat, dairy (including butter), or eggs, and you’re avoiding processed sweeteners, this is an good option for a special occasion or happy after school snack.
I haven’t yet tinkered with the maple syrup to tahini ratio in the “caramel” layer, but there may be some room there to reduce the syrup. This will reduce the volume overall of the caramel layer, unless you likewise up the tahini, or other ingredient. Some recipes use dates and less syrup. It may work to blend in an unsweetened additional nut butter (almond or cashew?) if your child tolerates that, and sweeten with some stevia, to make up for reduced syrup.
Changes in my version include adding some flax (technically a seed, not a grain) to enhance the crust, plus a different source for the chocolate chips (I like Lily’s Stevia Sweetened Dark Chocolate Chips) – yes they have soy lecithin. In my experience, this is not a deal breaker for IgE soy allergy or for soy exorphins potential.
I also suggest a different timing for firming up the middle layer, which took much longer than the 30 minutes suggested in the recipe I worked from. I found that the “caramel” layer needs a good two hours in the fridge to set. I got even better results when I let it set overnight.
Once you’ve got this easy recipe assembled, keep stored in fridge or even the freezer if you like. The tahini-maple caramel will soften to runny texture at room temperature.
Paleo Chocolate Tahini Millionaire Bars
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Easy to make. Just leave time for each layer to set, and you're good to go. Salty chocolatey caramel-y goodness, without the wheat, dairy allergens, or cane sugar!
Easy to make. Just leave time for each layer to set, and you're good to go. Salty chocolatey caramel-y goodness, without the wheat, dairy allergens, or cane sugar!
Line an 8x8 inch square pan with baking parchment (a 9x9 pan will be too big).
Melt the coconut oil (microwave or stove top). In a medium bowl, mix it with the almond flour, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Use a fork to blend it together so it forms a thick crumb texture. Add to pan, and use your fingers or the bottom of a glass or jar to evenly press it down into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, and allow crust to cool at least 10 minutes before adding caramel mixture. You can place it in the fridge to speed this part up.
For The Caramel Layer
Add the tahini, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract and sea salt to a medium pot. Place over medium-low heat for approximately 2 minutes. Stir until evenly blended and smooth.
Pour over the cooled crust. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours or longer, ideally overnight, for a firm, evenly chilled crust. Freezing is not recommended to hasten this part. It can change the texture of your caramel to have icy crystals on top that will melt to water on serving.
For The Chocolate Layer
Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or on stove top, with the coconut oil. Stir to blend together til smooth. Spread this on your chilled and hardened caramel layer. Place it back in fridge to harden, about 30 minutes or longer.
Recipe Notes
Leave time for each layer in the process to set, and you're good to go. Make the base crust ("shortbread") layer, which bakes in just 10 minutes. Let it cool, then spread on your "caramel" layer. This takes longer to set. Ideally, refrigerate the caramel layer overnight for a good hard set. At a minimum, refrigerate it for two hours before adding the chocolate layer (which is a snap to make in microwave). Though the original recipe suggests placing this in the freezer if you're in a hurry to set the caramel, don't. It will change the texture so that ice can form at the top of the caramel. This will become watery at room temp. Once all assembled and firmed up in your fridge, it's fine to store these Paleo Chocolate Tahini Millionaire Bars in your freezer if you like!
A shortbread cookie classic, perfect for holiday time. These are adorned with sugar sprinkles, but if you find those objectionable, use any preferred frosting or icing, raisins, grated dark chocolate, or cinnamon. For a sugar free frosting, click here.
Favorite Gluten Free Christmas Cookies - with Paleo Option
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Easy and less sugary than most cookies. Coconut sugar is used here, but brown sugar is excellent too, if your family can tolerate it. Makes a couple dozen cookies, more or less depending on how thick you like them. See notes below for organic and dye free sprinkle ideas. For a Paleo version, see substitutions below.
Favorite Gluten Free Christmas Cookies - with Paleo Option
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Easy and less sugary than most cookies. Coconut sugar is used here, but brown sugar is excellent too, if your family can tolerate it. Makes a couple dozen cookies, more or less depending on how thick you like them. See notes below for organic and dye free sprinkle ideas. For a Paleo version, see substitutions below.
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease two cookie sheets with coconut oil, and line with parchment paper.
Place butter or ghee (at room temperature, not melted) in a stand mixer and cream until white. This may take a few minutes. Meanwhile, blend the flours, xanthan gum, and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.
When butter is soft and white, add sugar, and continue beating til fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, and stir in the dry ingredients. Keep mixing til you have a soft cookie dough.
Lightly dust a counter top with GF (white rice flour will work better than brown rice) or Paleo flour (tapioca or manioc will work better than almond flour). Roll the dough out into a round that is 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. If you like a golden glaze finish, brush with egg yolk and coconut milk (or heavy cream). Use cookie cutter rounds or holiday shaped cutters to cut cookies, and place on baking sheet. Dust with your choice of sprinkles, grated chocolate, or cinnamon.
Roll leftover pieces out again, and repeat the process of cutting cookies, placing on sheet, and sprinkling with whatever you like. After cookies are on sheets, you can set raisins in each cookie if preferred.
Bake for 9-18 minutes, depending on thickness. Don't over bake. Edges will be light golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack. Once cooled, you may frost the cookies if you like.
Recipe Notes
Sprinkles are available dye free, organic, or plain old artificial everything - use what works in your house. If kids can tolerate these, an occasional exposure is something to let them enjoy and celebrate with friends and family!
Sprinkles are available