16
Dec

Guest Post: Thumbprint Cookies with Vanilla Cream Filling

With my new cookbook well under way and keeping me very busy, I’ve lined up some fellow bloggers to do guest posts for me every Saturday. My autoimmune condition is heavily fueled by stress, so in an effort to stay healthy, these friends will help relieve some of the stress and keep recipes still coming your way! I am excited to introduce Lauren from Empowered Sustenance to you today! Lauren is a young passionate blogger who, like me, is fighting Ulcerative Colitis with a grain-free diet. She will be a great resource for many of my nut-free readers as she frequently uses homemade sun-flour in her baking. Today she is sharing a nut/egg/dairy/grain free cookie recipe with you. Please welcome Lauren to Against All Grain!

cardamom cream cookies 3

Why am I passionate about a grain free diet?

Like Danielle, I stumbled into the world of grain free living when I discovered the Specific Carbohydrate Diet as a solution to my ulcerative colitis. At 19, I had spent five years of my short life traipsing from hospital bed to hospital bed, receiving numerous prescriptions with unbearable side effects. Nine months ago, I ditched the grains and began therapeutic doses of healing foods like fermented veggies, coconut oil and homemade bone broths. The results were instantaneous. The best part? I was eating the best foods I had ever tasted!

Grain, dairy, nut and egg free!

We all get excited about free things, but I get enthusiastic about an unconventional use of the term. Grain free, dairy free, nut free, egg free… that's my kind of free! Creating treats on a limited diet presents challenges, but, with a little creativity, the results taste delicious.

Here, I've utilized my favorite technique for creating a creamy filling without dairy and eggs. I set coconut milk with gelatin, let it set, then whip it until creamy. It's the same technique I use in my Paleo Pumpkin Mousse.

Finally, I recommend soaking and dehydrating the sunflower seeds to neutralize the anti-nutrients and enzyme inhibitors naturally present in all nuts and seeds.

vanilla cream filling

 

About Lauren

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Lauren discovered the healing power of a grain free diet when the GAPS diet halted her debilitating ulcerative colitis symptoms. She is now abnormally enthusiastic about coconut flour, raw milk and fermented cod liver oil. She shares creative grain and nut free recipes at Empowered Sustenance. For more recipes, download her free Grain Free Holiday Feast E-Cookbook. Stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google +.

Guest Post: Thumbprint Cookies with Vanilla Cream Filling



AUTHOR:

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

  • 1½ cup sunflower seeds, raw or soaked and dehydrated
  • 2 Tbs. coconut flour
  • ¼ cup raw honey or pure maple syrup
  • ¼ cup soft butter or coconut oil
  • Heaping ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
  • Pinch of salt

For the cream filling:

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 2 tsp. gelatin, preferably grassfed gelatin
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp. raw honey

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a food processor, grind the sunflower seeds until fine, 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until combined.
  3. Roll into 16 balls and create a thumbprint in each one. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.
  4. Once cooled, the cookies will be slightly chewy with a crunchy exterior. Store the cream filling and cookies separately, filling only the cookies that will be eaten that day. Keep the cream filling in the fridge.

For the Cream Filling

  1. In a saucepan (with the burner off), whisk together the coconut milk and gelatin. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then, heat over medium heat and whisk until the gelatin is dissolved. Chill until set.