Oats & Bits Cookies

Today I am sharing a recipe for what I have called Oats & Bits Cookies.

There are some cookies that the supermarket bakery sell that we quite like. However they are not gluten free and are high in sugars, preservatives and so on. So I decided to see if I could make my own homemade variety.

I am sharing the gluten free recipe I came up with. I am calling them Oats & Bits Cookies, as I am certain that you could change up the ‘bits’ or ‘fold in ingredients’ depending on personal preference.

Oats & Bits Cookies

Makes 16-18

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups of oats

1 cup almond flour

½ cup maple syrup

85 gms butter (melted)

pinch of salt

1 tbsp vanilla paste

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Bits (or Fold in) Ingredients

40g raisins, currants or dried blueberries

1 tbsp pepitas

1 tbsp choc chips (I used dark, dairy free chips)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180’c and line a baking tray with baking paper.

– Pulse 1¾ cups of the oats in a food processor till they are a fine crumb, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

– Then add the remaining oats, almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the bowl.

– In another smaller bowl, whisk the vanilla, syrup and butter together.

– When combined, add to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well.

– Lastly fold in the raisins, pepitas and choc chips.

– Using a tablespoon, place spoons of the mix onto the tray and press lightly into shape.

Bake for 20 min, or until golden.

Let the cookies cool on the tray for a while before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I think that the beauty of these cookies is that you could add anything from the pantry as a fold in ingredient.

Things like – chopped nuts, chopped dried apricots, your favourite muesli or granola, whatever you fancy.

I hope you have fun creating your style of Oats & Bits Cookies.

 

Till the next post,

 

Live clean n Prosper

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry, a recipe

Today I’m sharing a favourite recipe – Cheesy Cauliflower Curry.

This last week has been so busy with work and other commitments, I’m glad I got back into meal planning. It was really helpful having meal ideas bookmarked, knowing that all the ingredients were in the fridge and pantry.

The original recipe for this dish comes from a book called ‘The Inspired Vegetarian’, that I received from a very dear friend.

We are still endeavouring to eat more of a plant-based diet. So with that in mind, this is an easy recipe to create and is a repeat winner according to Scott. Though not good for anyone on a ‘dairy free’ diet, it is a very tasty dish and quite filling.

As per his suggestion, I am sharing it with you today.

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients,

1 medium sized Cauliflower, cut into small florets.

1 medium onion, diced

2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

3 tbsp plain, gluten free flour

2 tbsp margarine or butter

1 tsp curry powder (I used 2)

2 cups milk

100 g grated cheese

½ tsp thyme (I used fresh thyme)

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp of toasted pepitas (or if you prefer – a handful of ‘soup croutons’ )

Method

*Sauté the onion and put aside into an ovenproof dish.

*Steam the cauliflower till just tender. Drain and add to ovenproof dish, mixing with the onion.

*Scatter over chopped egg.

*Put flour, curry powder, butter into a saucepan and mix well.

*Slowly add milk, mixing till the sauce thickens.

*Add chopped herbs and allow to simmer for a minute or two, to allow the flavours to develop.

*Remove from Heat and stir in ¾ of the cheese.

*Pour the sauce over the cauliflower mix and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

*Scatter the pepitas (or croutons) over the top and put the dish in the oven under a hot grill until golden.

 

We ate this as a main meal, however it would also work well as a side dish.

 

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do.

 

Till the next post,

 

 

Live Clean n Prosper

Cranberry & Choc chip Digestive Biscuits

Today I’m sharing a recipe for Digestive Biscuits with a twist, using Cranberries and Choc chips.

I recently saw a recipe for old-fashioned oat & spelt digestive biscuits and I thought I would make some. Previously I have written about the health benefits of oats, I also prefer not to use wheat in my baking if possible. So, in keeping with the idea of good ‘digestion’, I decided to use buckwheat flour.

Both oats & buckwheat are very beneficial for gut health.

I also decided to add a bit more texture and flavour to my biscuits with cranberries, dark choc chips and pepitas.

Cranberry & Choc chip Digestive Biscuits

Makes approx. 20 biscuits

Ingredients

150 g butter (soft)

70 g Coconut sugar

2 tbsp Maple syrup

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

180 g Oat flour

220 g Buckwheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tbsp rolled oats

3 tbsp dried cranberries

2 tbsp pepitas

2 tbsp dark choc chips

 Method

Preheat your oven to 200’c and line 2 biscuit trays with baking paper.

* Mix the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer till creamy

* Add in the Maple syrup and the eggs, continuing to mix well, followed by the cinnamon, salt and baking powder.

* Add in the flours a spoonful at a time.

I added in the cranberries, pepitas and chocolate chips after mixing in approximately 1/3 of the flours. This helped them to be distributed more evenly through the mix.

As you get towards the end of the flours, the dough will get quite stiff.

I used my tablespoon to portion the dough into mounds on the trays. I then squashed them with a fork.

Bake the biscuits in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes.

These biscuits are a drier consistency so they are best enjoyed with a glass of milk or cup of tea.

 Hope you enjoy them.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper