Hope you all had an incredibly Merry Christmas.  Katie and I received a waffle cone maker and a donut maker for Christmas "from a gluten-free (but not Blitzen-free) Santa."  Our dad is so crazy.  We'll be taking a break while be enjoy time with our family while using our new baking toys.  Have a wonderful holiday week!

Almond joys. Addicting? I think YES!!! How can a combination of coconut, chocolate, and almonds not be addicting! Everyone in our family loves almond joys. Who doesn't? These delightful candies are a Christmas tradition, being one of many candies made just for the holidays.
This recipe was easy, simple, and delicious!!! Christmas comes once a year, so celebrate with something yummy!

3/4 c sweetened coconut
1/2 c coconut oil, softened
1/4 c organic powdered sugar
1 c dairy free chocolate chips
15 almonds (optional)

Mix first three ingredients together in a bowl and chill for about an hour. It should be hard, but still soft enough to mold. Once chilled form into about fifteen balls. If you want stick an almond into each candy. Melt the chocolate. Cover coconut balls entirely with melted chocolate. Keep in refrigerator until hardened.  Enjoy, and treat yourself to more than one!

As long as I can remember, my family has made fudge at Christmas time.  My grandma used to do the same for my mom's family at Christmas.  In fact, this is based off my Gram's recipe - hence the name.  (I prefer being sentimental instead of coming to the realization that this probably came of a marshmallow fluff jar.)

Last year I decided it would be fine to simply eat some normal fudge.  My stomach punished me enough to realize I would have to skip one of my favorite desserts from there on out.  In swooped ricemellow creme and saved the day!


 


Grandma's Fudge Recipe:

1/2 c. butter substitute
4 1/2 c. organic sugar
2 c. almond milk
1 c. ricemellow creme
2  12 oz. packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
1  13 oz. bar German sweet chocolate, grated (optional)
2 t. vanilla
2 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional - I prefer mine without)

Boil almond milk until remaining liquid measures 1 1/3 c. (Note: If you boil down too much, you can simply add more almond milk to get the correct measurement.)  Combine butter substitute, sugar, and milk in a large (5 qt.) pot.  Cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring occasionally.  Boil for 8 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add remaining ingredients, except nuts (if using).  Beat until well mixed.  Add nuts.  Pour into greased jelly roll pan or 13x9 in. pan.  Cool in fridge for 12 hours, then cut.

These are super easy and yet everyone loves them.  I have yet to use cream cheese substitute in the cookies, since I made these for a party full of normal people.  This is for you gluten-freers out there. (I am referring to the "sandwich cookie" as I have always known it, even though I know these are technically not oreo cookies since they are another brand.)



Oreo Truffles

1 package of cream cheese
1 package of gluten-free oreo cookies
1-2 packages white and/or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crush package of oreos in the blender.  Add cream cheese and blend until smooth.  Roll into 1 inch balls and put in freezer until hardened.  Melt chocolate in double boiler (keeping the two kinds separate if you choose to do both).  Roll each ball in either white of semi-sweet chocolate.  Decorate with colored sugars or opposite kind of chocolate.

Coffee, whether caffeinated or not, is someone I am not supposed to drink because of my nerve problem. Thus when I am freezing cold and looking for something sweet to warm me up, I turn to the deliciousness of hot cocoa.
For as long as I can remember, we always had hot cocoa after coming in from playing in the snow. We did not even have to ask. Mom always had (and still has) a steady supply of hot chocolate mixes in her cupboards (despite the lack of snow). So was I going to forget about it after we could not find any that did not contain dairy or corn? Ummmm, no. Of course not. Below is a recipe that I enjoy. I used raw honey, which let me tell you is addicting...

Honey Hot Chocolate
1/2 c raw honey
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 /2 c water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 c almond milk
Add first three ingredients to a saucepan and mix well. Pour in the milk and vanilla. Over medium high heat stir well until hot.
serves 4 people


Note from Hannah:  I like mine better with agave.  Use peppermint extract (though you may want to cut the amount in half) for a tasty twist!

I got lost in the land of work and kids this week.  I promise we'll be back soon with a recipe.  Until then you should check out the best bagels in the world right here.



I love them so dearly.  Cinnamon raisin are the best.  You cannot tell they are gluten-free and allergy-friendly.  Slather goat cheese, if you can have it, over the top and  ... excuse me while I raid our freezer for my remaining bagel.  Sammi's Bakery has plenty more products that are especially good if you cannot have yeast.  You will have to order online unless you live near Tampa Bay, Florida.

Katie and I made this pie again just this weekend.  I was going to take it to a meeting I had with a bunch of friends from church.  The pie turned out beautiful, mostly due to Katie's handiwork with the crust.  It was fat, rounded, and artful.  It reminded me of a romantic picture of an old fashioned grandmother's pie.  Little granny just plucked it out of the oven, and she is going to set it on the windowsill to cool.  I proudly put the apple pie in its carried and went to put it in my car.  It slipped a little ways out of my hands as I was trying to adjust the pie's position.  The pie was no longer gorgeous, and I hadn't even tried to get a picture beforehand.  Thankfully, the top was still intact, despite the cracks and spilled juice.



I failed to mention to my friends that the pie was gluten-free and allergy-friendly.  I wanted to see if they would notice, which they did not.  Seeing as pies are a must at Thanksgiving, here is the recipe:

Apple Pie

double crust pie dough (our favorite mixes here)

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2  t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
3/8 t. salt
3 T. tapioca starch or flour
11 c. peeled and sliced apples (I cut half of thick, half thinner)
3 T. butter

Mix together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour.   Add to sliced apples.  Put into deep dish pie pan (with half of the pie crust on the bottom, obviously).  Cut the butter and put on top of apples.  Add the second half of the pie dough to the top.  Crimp the edges of the upper and lower crust together.  Cut four small slits in the middle of the top pie crust.  Bake at 400 degrees for twenty minutes, then reduce head to 350 and bake for forty more minutes.

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!