Holiday White Chocolate Coconut Bars

Holiday White Chocolate Coconut Bars Recipe photo
Holiday White Chocolate Coconut Bars Recipe
photo by recipe author

These make an excellent addition to a Thanksgiving gift basket, or a great desert for Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.

Servings: 20 chocolate bars or 100 chocolate pieces
Preparation Time: 30 minutes total

Melt nut butter, honey and coconut oil over medium-low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients.

Stir to combine until chocolate is fully melted. Coconut oil or parchment line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Pour mixture into pan and cool in the fridge until solid.

When it is set, cut into bars or bites and enjoy! Store in the fridge, as they will soften on the counter.

Recipe submitted by Tamara, Spring, TX

Submit your recipe here!

Gluten Free Oatmeal Scotchies

Gluten Free Oatmeal Scotchies Recipe photo
Gluten Free Oatmeal Scotchies Recipe
photo by recipe author

Servings: 2 dozen
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup almond meal*
  • 1/3 cup rice flour
  • 1 1/4 tablespoons tapioca starch
  • 2 tablespoons potato starch flour
  • 1 1/2 cups gluten free oats
  • 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup organic whole sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except the oats, butterscotch chips and sugar.

3. Using a mixer, cream together the sugar, butter, and coconut oil. Add the egg, vanilla, and water and blend until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and blend until combine.

4. Stir in the oats and butterscotch chips. Scoop rounded balls of dough onto the cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until lightly golden.

Cool slightly – and enjoy!

*You can grind your own almond flour by placing whole almonds in a blender/food processor and blending until you get a fine meal.

Recipe submitted by Emily, Charlotte, NC

Submit your recipe here!

Delicious Gluten & Oat Free Granola Bars

 Delicious Gluten and Oat Free Granola Bars Recipe photo
Delicious Gluten and Oat Free Granola Bars Recipe
photo by recipe author

Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees ºF.

Process cashews, 1 cup pumpkin seeds, and almonds in a food processor until they resemble very fine crumbs. To this mixture, add the remainder of the pumpkin seeds, raisins, coconut, salt, cinnamon, ginger, sweetener of choice and coconut oil to your food processor. Pulse just until combined. Press into 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Wait until bars are completely cooled before cutting if you want them to stay together.

Note: Nuts can be raw or even better would be soaked and dehydrated.

Recipe submitted by Joy, Linden, TN

How To Use Coconut Flour

Tips and Tricks on Getting that Coconut Flour Recipe Just Right

Coconut Flour Cocoa Banana Muffins Recipe photo

Coconut Flour Cocoa Banana Muffins

Coconut flour is the fiber from the coconut meat after almost all the oil has been extracted to make coconut oil. Being gluten free makes coconut flour a suitable wheat flour substitute for those with gluten and wheat allergies. It is also high in protein and fiber, containing more fiber than gluten-based grains.

Coconut flour is a very finicky product to work with. When adapting a recipe to coconut flour keep in mind that:

1/2 cup coconut flour needs 1-3 eggs.
1 cup wheat flour is the equivalent of 1/3 – 1/2 cup coconut flour.
Coconut flour requires about twice as much hydration as wheat.
1:1 wheat to coconut flour ratios will never work!
Sticky binders are a good thing.
Never pack the flour into your measuring device (and break up any clumps).

For recipes that use liquids, you’ll probably end up at least doubling the amount originally called for. To be safe though, start out with the original amount called for and add more as needed. Other ingredients that work well for hydration are products like sour cream and yogurt.

For flour ratios, start out with about a quarter of the amount of coconut flour for regular flour (playing it safe is key), making sure to use the proper amount of eggs and liquid for saturation. Don’t be afraid to mix your batters very well. Since there is no gluten there is no danger of the final product becoming too hard as a result of over mixing.

Besides eggs, other things to help with binding include sticky sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. Flax, chia, guar gum and xanthan gum can also be very helpful as they develop an egg-like consistency when mixed with liquid. 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds soaked in 3 tablespoons of water can replace 1 egg, and just a little bit of the gums can add an extra binding element that mimics gluten, adding a stronger “bite texture” to baked goods.

Gluten Free Toasted Coconut Ginger Blondies

Coconut flour can also be easily mixed with other flours. These Gluten Free Toasted Coconut Ginger Blondies use a blend of gluten free flours including coconut flour, and the Savory Cheese Scones use a bit of coconut flour for added coconut flavor and fiber. For wheat flour, you can substitute anywhere from 10 – 30% of regular flour for coconut flour. Gluten free flour mixes will vary greatly but always keep in mind how concentrated coconut flour acts.

A lot of recipes containing wheat flour can be converted to 100% coconut flour, but this will take time and practice. Coconut flour behaves differently from recipe to recipe, so a lot of tweaking and adjusting will have to be done. All my coconut flour recipes have been made with Tropical Traditions organic coconut flour; therefore I cannot assure you that they will work with different coconut flours, which might be higher in fiber and lower in protein content.

Savory Cheese Scones with Coconut Flour

Common problems:

Coconut flour made my batter/final product dry and crumbly! WHY?

You used too much flour and too little liquid. Always start out with a small amount of coconut flour – you’d be surprised at how greedy this product is and will expand when it comes into contact with liquids.

Coconut flour requires way too many eggs.

Not true. The issue here is that eggs are a great binder, mimicking what coconut flour lacks: gluten. However, the solution is simple if you want to reduce the amount of eggs: fewer eggs, more of a hydrating ingredient plus a sticky binder if needed (see suggestions above).

Coconut flour makes everything dense.

Not true either. Use the right amount of flour to liquid/wet ingredient ratio and you’ll be enjoying very light and fluffy coconut flour goodies. Take a bite of these Coconut Flour Cocoa Banana Muffins and you’ll be convinced.

Coconut flour can definitely be a very tricky product to work with, but with some time and the right ingredients the results will be well worth it!

By Sarah Shilhavy, photos by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Coconut Oil Espresso Oatmeal Cookies

 Coconut Oil Espresso Oatmeal Cookies Recipe photo
Coconut Oil Espresso Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
photo by recipe author

Servings: 22-25
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

  • 1 1/4 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup oat flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, at room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure Mexican vanilla extract
  • 1 cup unsweetened, finely shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped dark chocolate
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder.

In a separate mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the coconut oil and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and beat until just incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat again.

Working in two batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until a dough forms. Fold in the coconut, chocolate, and pecans.

Using a cookie dough scooper, scoop the dough by 1 teaspoon into your hand, roll the dough into a small ball, and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet then move to wire rack to cool completely

Recipe submitted by Chelsy, Houston, TX

Submit your recipe here!

Grain Free Pumpkin Pecan Cookies

Grain Free Pumpkin Pecan Cookies Recipe photo
Grain Free Pumpkin Pecan Cookies Recipe
photo by recipe author

Servings: 15
Preparation Time: 15

Preheat oven to 375 degrees ºF.

Place the pecans in a food processor and blend until the nuts resemble coarse sand and start to clump together. It’s the stage before pecan butter would start. Add in the sugar, arrowroot, spices, salt and soda. Pulse a couple times until combined.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg with the pumpkin, butter and vanilla. Pour the pecan mixture into the wet mixture and combine. Spoon dough out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. The cookies will spread a bit.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. Place on a cooling rack to cool.

Quick notes

I almost made these without the egg and I think they would still work without it. The arrowroot provides some structure and binding. I think the end result may be a harder crunchier cookie which may be what some of you prefer.

Variations

I prefer using my own spices rather than pumpkin pie spice blends from the store. I think it tastes better and allows you to add more off a specific flavor that you prefer. You could certainly use a spice blend, but I would add it in the end so you can keep adding if need be.

I typically don’t provide a variation unless I try it myself. I think this would work with maple syrup or honey. I would remove the egg (it provides liquid and see my quick notes section above) and use 1/4 cup or less of liquid sweetener. Add it with the rest of the liquid ingredients. You can always start with less and ad more if need be!

Recipe submitted by Kate, Highlands Ranch, CO

Submit your recipe here!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars Recipe photo
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars Recipe
photo by recipe author

Servings: 16
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees ºF and grease an 8×8 baking dish with coconut oil.

Combine all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a food processor or blender and puree/blend until combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and add the chocolate chips, spreading them all around.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!

Recipe submitted by Sarah, Abilene, TX

Submit your recipe here!

Pumpkin Nut Butter Cups

Pumpkin Nut Butter Cups Recipe photo
Pumpkin Nut Butter Cups Recipe
photo by recipe author

Servings: 10 -12
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

For the pumpkin filling:

For the chocolate topping:

Prepare the pumpkin filling:

1. Put all ingredients for the pumpkin filling in a medium sized bowl and mix until well combined and creamy.

2. Set aside.

Prepare the chocolate topping:

1. Put all ingredients for the chocolate topping in a small bowl and mix until well combined and smooth.

Assemble:

1. Fill 1/3 muffin cup with the chocolate topping.

2. Put in the freezer for approximately 15 – 30 minutes or until hardened then remove from freezer.

3. Fill another 1/3 of the muffin cup with a layer of the pumpkin filling.

4. Put back in the freezer for approximately 15 – 30 minutes or until hardened then remove from freezer.

5. Fill the last 1/3 of the muffin cup with another layer of chocolate topping.

6. Put back in the freezer for approximately 15 – 30 minutes or until hardened.

7. Store in freezer until you are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe submitted by Karielyn, New Orleans, LA

Submit your recipe here!