Perfect chocolate chip cookies + grain-free flatbread.

Ohhhh, yum.  These cookies from one of my favorite food blogs, The Urban Poser, are definitely a hit.  "Thick and pudgy" is right...they're perfectly light, made grain-free with almond flour, sweetened with a bit of honey, and there aren't even eggs.  Not that there's anything wrong with eggs.  I was just shocked that a cookie turned out this good without them.

Variations:

• We didn't have any coconut milk on hand when we made them, so we subbed a little coconut cream mixed with water, and they turned out great. 
• I think I prefer these cookies with 100% cacao nibs rather than chocolate chips.  The nibs are already tiny so the chocolate taste doesn't overwhelm the cookie, plus I like the slight bitterness, and they're crunchy!
• Since there aren't any eggs, you could actually just roll the dough into balls, and then freeze it, and eat it raw!  Yum.  Or, what we did the other night is bake them for less than 10 minutes, then put them in the freezer.  They were so good slightly cold and cakey, with a nice cup o' bedtime tea.

And then, there's this crispy flat bread made with almond flour that we tried for dinner last night...

The Urban Poser is actually based here in the Dallas area and just posted a great feature on our small business, Urban Acres.  One of the recipes that she made with the produce was this grain-free flatbread with local arugula and mango-strawberry salsa.  When we made it last night, we topped it with goat cheese, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, chicken sausage, and arugula.  Holy cow, it was delicious.

If you try either of these recipes, let me know what you think.  So thankful for healthier recipe options that actually taste good!

Current favorites: almond flour + coconut milk ice cream

I'm sold on almond flour.  It doesn't kill my stomach like grains tend to do, it tastes wonderful, and it's easy to cook/bake with.  Here are three great recipes I've made lately with almond flour...

Almond Meal Biscuits from Roost.  This has become a staple for us - it substitutes the need for dinner rolls or other bread with dinner, and goes great with soup.  Luci Belle thinks they're cookies and calls them, "coo-coos."  If she thinks these are cookies...GREAT!  Roost's recipe adds rosemary to the biscuits for a savory flavor, but we sometimes omit the reosemary, or add blueberries like in the photo.  When they're warm from the oven, add honey and butter = YUM.

Almond Flour Brownies from Grain-Free Foodies.  These are ridiculously good.  The first time we made them, Steven and I ate two pans of them in two nights.  GULP.  Yes, we did.  A little overboard.  They're not dense, but more light and cakey.  Love them topped with coconut milk ice cream (see recipe below).

Almond Flour Pancakes.  I used the recipe in the Paleo Recipe Book (a downloadable e-book) but I don't want to get in trouble for publishing the recipe here (I'm SUCH a rule-follower).  If you Google "Paleo Almond Flour Pancakes" there are tons of results that come up, though.

Where to buy almond flour?  You can buy it online from Honeyville (not organic) or Benefit Your Life (organic).  Almond flour means the skin has been removed ("blanched") which as I understand, makes it more easily digestible.  Or, you could simply buy raw almonds and grind them in a Vitamix or food processor until it resembles a mealy consistency.  This is almond meal.  You won't get the exact result as the blanched almond flour, but it's worked for me in a pinch.

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Easy Coconut Milk Ice Cream

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk (love this brand, and they don't use BPA in their cans)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
Sprinkle of cinnamon

Optional: add nuts, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, or any other mix-ins such as bananas or blueberries.  Blend in a blender or Vitamix and then process according to the instructions of your ice cream maker.  This makes a lot!  It can easily serve 4 people.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, try this Banana Coconut Ice Cream recipe that you can make in a strong blender or food processor.