Alfajores

Of course, I love trying new baking recipes especially when I get to play with nonstandard ingredients. And, I really love it when I get to try making treats that are sweetened with things other than refined sugar. I bake fewer sweet things than I used to, and I mostly avoid refined sugar except on special occasions. I’ve had some mixed results with this type of baking. A honey-sweetened carrot cake and some maple syrup-sweetened cookies that I baked were really far better on the first day than the second. And, a vegan, date-sweetened caramel I tried didn’t deliver the thrill of traditional caramel. So, I was cautiously excited to try the recipes in the new book Sweet Laurel by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas of which I received a review copy. I wanted to love the flavors, and I really wanted the recipes to work well. After being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune digestive disorder, Laurel Gallucci became committed to creating delicious baked good with no grains, gluten, dairy, or refined sugar. She and her friend Claire opened the bakery Sweet Laurel to showcase these creations. They offer “indulgent yet healthful” treats made with the simplest ingredients. No gums, fillers, or soy is used in the recipes. In fact, all the ingredient lists are surprisingly short. The chapters cover quick breads and breakfast treats, cookies and bars, pies and tarts, layer cakes, fillings and icings, and decorating techniques. I quickly zeroed in on the doughnuts with various glazes. They’re baked doughnuts made with almond flour, coconut oil, eggs, and maple syrup, and the glaze options include chocolate, strawberry, turmeric lemon, and coconut butter icing. Then, there are Classic Snickerdoodles, and the only reason I haven’t baked them yet is because I would eat every one of them. The Zesty Lime Pie and the Caramel Chocolate Banana Cream Pie are both strongly tempting me as well. Among the cakes, there are classics like the The Chocolate Cake That Changed Everything that inspired the friends to open the bakery and an old-school Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with pieces of blood orange standing in for the usual maraschino cherries. I couldn’t wait to get baking, and my first recipe from the book was the Alfajores that happen to be vegan as well as grain-free and free of refined sugar. 

There are three parts to this recipe, and each can be made in advance to make the final assembly a bit quicker. First, I made the Shredded Coconut “Powdered Sugar” topping. Rather than sifting actual powdered sugar over the cookies, these are topped with pulverized, unsweetened coconut that looks like powdered sugar. The coconut was blitzed in a food processor until fine. Next, I made the Vegan Caramel filling. I opted to puree the ingredients in a blender for the smoothest possible texture, but a food processor could also be used. Almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, dates, vanilla, and a pinch of salt were pureed until smooth. It seemed like a nice, thick mixture for filing the cookies, but next time I will take the suggestion of adding two more dates to make it a bit thicker. The cookies couldn’t have been easier. The dough was a quick mix of almond flour, a little salt, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup. That’s it. The dough was placed between two big sheets of parchment paper and was rolled out to about an eighth of an inch thickness. Small rounds were cut and baked. While cooling, the cookies were dusted with powdered coconut. Once cool, half of them were flipped and topped with vegan caramel before being sandwiched. 

Above, I mentioned some other lackluster, vegan caramel I had tried in the past. This was not that. This vegan caramel had all of the yummy factor I expect from caramel. I could have sat down with the bowl of it and a spoon. Next time, I will make it a little thicker so the cookies can withstand more filling without sliding apart. And, the deliciousness remained for these cookies the second day and the day after that. I can’t wait to bake more things from this book.

Alfajores 
Reprinted from Sweet Laurel: Recipes for Whole Food, Grain-Free Desserts. Copyright © 2018 by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas. Photography by Claire Thomas. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. 

Our favorite coffee shop is just blocks from where we grew up, and one of its featured treats is the alfajore, a melt-in-your-mouth Argentinian sandwich cookie. Traditionally made with shortbread, dulce de leche, and an abundance of powdered sugar, it’s the perfect cookie to pair with a cup of strong South American coffee. In our version, we switch out the dulce de leche for our vegan caramel, and coat the cookies in our coconut powdered sugar. Don’t forget to brew a pot of coffee! 

2 cups almond flour 
1⁄8 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt 
1⁄4 cup coconut oil, melted 
1⁄4 cup maple syrup 
Shredded Coconut “Powdered Sugar” for topping 
Vegan Caramel, for filling 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. In a small bowl, combine the coconut oil and maple syrup. A little at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until a dough comes together. 
3. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it about 1⁄8 inch thick. Remove the top piece of paper and, using a 1 1⁄2-inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until the edges begin turning golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a rack, dust heavily with “powdered sugar,” and cool completely while you prepare the vegan caramel. 
4. Gently spread 1 to 2 teaspoons of vegan caramel onto a cooled cookie, then sandwich together with another cookie. Repeat with the remaining cookies and serve. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer indefinitely. 

Vegan Caramel 
We believe our early success has a lot to do with this recipe. There have been vegan caramel super fans since day one (seriously, one guy has a weekly order), and once you try it, you’ll know why. You’ll see it pop up in a few recipes in this cookbook, but we won’t judge if you eat this straight out of the jar with a spoon! Our favorite way of serving it is on top of sliced bananas, or with a piece of dark chocolate. You can buy ours at sweetlaurel.com, but here’s our secret recipe. 

1⁄4 cup almond or cashew butter or puree, storebought or homemade 
1⁄4 cup maple syrup 
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted 
1 or 2 fresh dates, pitted 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of Himalayan pink salt 

1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. 2. Transfer the caramel to a glass jar and place in the refrigerator to chill. The caramel will stiffen up in the refrigerator, so if your recipe calls for it to be spreadable, let the caramel sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, and give it a good stir before using. The caramel will keep for about 1 month, refrigerated. 

Shredded Coconut “Powdered Sugar” 
Makes 1/4 cup 

1⁄4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder 

1. In a food processor, blend the coconut and arrowroot until a fine powder forms. 
2. Sift the mixture over the doughnuts, generously dusting each, then serve.

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Starry Starry Nights Cookies

These days it’s becoming more and more likely that when you bring baked goods to a party or other event, you’ll encounter several guests who need to know what ingredients were used and if they need to avoid the item in question. I’ve been trying to bring optional offerings to events when possible like gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etc. The latest book from Gesine Bullock-Prado will make this much easier. Let Them Eat Cake is another treat-filled, fun book just like all her others, but this time, every single recipe also has three additional variations to make it vegan, gluten free, or healthier. I received a review copy. Vegan versions, obviously, replace all animal products with plant-based ingredients. So, eggs are replaced with flaxseed meal or a vegan egg replacer product, honey is replaced with agave syrup, and butter is replaced with a vegan butter substitute. Gluten free versions swap out wheat flour for other varieties, and the liquid quantities may change. For the healthier options, the primary changes include using some whole wheat pastry flour in place of all purpose, using organic coconut palm sugar instead of granulated, and in some cases, using some pureed fruit in place of some of the fat. It’s so convenient to have all these options in one place for each recipe. The recipes themselves are classics like we’ve come to expect from Gesine. There’s a checkerboard Battenberg cake covered in marzipan; a Key Lime Double Rainbow Cake with six shades of yellow and orange among the layers; and a Lemon Chiffon Strawberry Cake with mint and almond pastry cream, strawberry coulis, and cake layers. There are also cookies, quickbreads, pies, ice creams, and candies. The little pop tarts on sticks are too cute to resist, and I need to make the Killer Coffee Cake soon. But first, I had to make some cookies. The Starry Starry Nights are described as a chocolate truffle in cookie-form, and they’re already gluten free in the original recipe. 

This is a simple-enough cookie to make, but the process does require planning for chilling at two different stages. It’s made with almond flour and no other flour, so there’s no change for an option with no gluten. To start, eggs, coconut palm sugar, and honey were combined in a stand mixer. Chopped 70% cacao chocolate was melted with some butter in a double boiler and left to cool. Almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt were combined in a separate bowl. The melted chocolate was added to the almond flour mixture and stirred to combine. The whipped egg mixture was added in parts to the chocolate mixture. The first quarter of the egg mixture lightened the chocolate mixture, and the remaining egg mixture was gently folded in. Once mixed, this was covered and refrigerated for at least two hours. The mixture needs to be firm enough to scoop just like making truffles. When the batter was chilled and firm, small balls were scooped and then rolled in sugar before being placed on a parchment lined baking sheet. The scooped cookies can be placed close together here since they’ll be chilled in the freezer before baking. When all the cookies were formed, the sheet pan was covered with plastic and placed in the freezer for a couple of hours. They went almost straight from the freezer to the oven with a short stop for a second coating of sugar before being spaced farther apart on a baking sheet. They baked for about 10-12 minutes. 

For the second coating of sugar on the cookies, I used demerara sugar for the big, crunchy crystals. That also made my Starry Starry Nights have more of an amber-hued twinkle, but they were still glittery. Calling these baked truffles is exactly right. This is the perfect cookie for chocolate lovers, and each one packs a lot of flavor into its small size. Now, when I need to offer multiple options for baked goods or if I ever need to make a vegan caramel sauce, I know where to look. 

Starry Starry Nights 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from Let Them Eat Cake. 

You know what I love about these cookies? They are the most delicious and chocolaty treats you’ll ever eat. And they’re gluten free from the get-go. When I first created them in 2004, it wasn’t my intention to make a gluten-free cookie; I just wanted to get as close to a “baked truffle” as I could muster. I wanted a cookie that you could keep around for your chocolate fix but that wouldn’t melt like a chocolate truffle. You can freeze them for up to a month after baking and just pop one in your mouth when you need a fix! 

{ MAKES 50 SMALL COOKIES } 

2 large eggs 
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar 
1 tablespoon honey 
10 ounces (280 g) bittersweet chocolate (like Lindt 70%), finely chopped 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
1 cup (100 g) almond flour or very finely ground blanched slivered almonds 
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder (like Cacao Barry Extra Brute) 
1/2 teaspoon salt 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the eggs, 1/4 cup (50 g) of the sugar, and the honey. Mix on high speed until the mixture ribbons thickly. 

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water (to make a double boiler) until melted. Let cool slightly. 

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the melted chocolate and stir well. Add one quarter of the egg mixture to the chocolate to lighten it, stirring with a wooden spoon until no egg streaks are visible. Add the remaining egg mixture and gently fold with a large rubber spatula until completely incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, 2 hours to overnight. It is imperative that the mixture is incredibly firm. 

Put the remaining 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar in a small bowl. Fill a heatproof mug with very hot water. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

Using a teaspoon cookie scoop or a melon baller, first dip the scoop in the hot water and then scoop out a round of batter. Roll the ball in the sugar, then place it on the prepared pan (you can space them very close together to freeze; you will use another sheet pan to bake off). Continue to scoop and coat the balls. Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 to 2 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). 

Line another sheet pan with parchment, remove the cookie-filled sheet pan from the freezer, re-dip each cookie in sugar, and place the cookies 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the new sheet pan, placing any cookies that didn’t fit onto the sheet pan back in the freezer until their turn in the oven comes. Immediately bake for 10 minutes, turning the sheet pan after 5 minutes. The cookies will look slightly cracked but the sugar will not be browned when they are done baking. 

Healthier
Replace the sugar with 3/4 cup (130 g) organic granulated palm sugar or 3/4 cup (110 g) Sucanat. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

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Flax-Coconut Pancakes

I used to make pancakes almost every weekend. Stacks of simple buttermilk cakes dripping with maple syrup was a Sunday morning thing. Then, I think I developed pancake-guilt. I decided even weekend breakfasts should be a little healthier at least most of the time. If a pancake has some fruit in it or whole wheat flour or nuts, I feel better about serving it. So, of course I had to try the Flax-Coconut Pancakes from the March issue of Food and Wine. The recipe is from Elisabeth Prueitt of San Francisco’s Tartine. She too likes the idea of a healthier pancake, and she’s recently been using grains other than white flour since developing gluten-intolerance. For myself, I’m not concerned about the gluten content in baked goods, but I was happy to pull out my bin of various flours and starches and use some ingredients other than white flour. And mostly, these pancakes sounded like they’d be delicious with the coconut flour in the batter and the coconut oil on the griddle. I pushed the coconut flavor even further by adding some unsweetened, grated coconut. For serving, I couldn’t resist the usual drizzle of pure maple syrup, but I topped that with some chunks of fresh mango as well.

The recipe follows the typical pancake-making procedure but uses a few more ingredients. Brown rice flour, white rice flour, sugar, potato starch, tapioca starch, coconut flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, and salt were combined in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, eggs, milk, and melted coconut oil were whisked before being poured into the dry ingredients. I added a half cup or so of grated coconut and a little more milk to prevent the batter from being too thick. I spread melted coconut oil on a hot griddle with a silicone brush, and then the pancakes were cooked for a few minutes per side. Just like any other kind of pancake, when the surface bubbles, it’s time to turn the cake.

The pancakes had a subtle, warm, tropical flavor from coconut in three forms which was fitting with the mango chunks on top. The coconut and flax make these heartier than plain buttermilk pancakes, but most important, I was pancake-guilt-free serving these for a weekend breakfast treat covered in maple syrup.

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Gluten-Free Raspberry Corn Muffins

A couple of friends joined us for brunch yesterday, and I had the opportunity to experiment with some alternative flours. This recipe came from Epicurious, and the only changes I made were using raspberries instead of blueberries and turbinado sugar instead of granulated. The muffins turned out great, there was no issue with them rising, and the texture was like that of muffins with wheat flour. They were enjoyed by all. Brunch also included veggies from Walnut Creek Organic Farms. This was our first week receiving a share with their CSA program. So far so good.

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