Grain-Free Sandwich Cookies With Pumpkin Butter

I have been on a kick, going back to old Foraged Dish recipes and taking new photos. It is insanely satisfying to compare the old ones to the new. Progress is difficult to measure day-by-day, but all of those days add up! I’m sure, in three years, I’ll look back at my photos from 2018 and roll my eyes. C'est la vie.

These sandwich cookies were one of my recent victims, and since it is the season for baking and pumpkin, I thought it would be a good opportunity to update the whole post. That means a few updates to the recipe, too:

• Simplified. (Can I get a hoorah?) The original asked for both almond flour and coconut flour, but since 2015 I’ve discovered a much simpler grain-free shortbread cookie using just almond flour. I quite like the texture of the cookies, too! They are a bit chewy, stay together well, and have great almond and honey flavor.

• Drizzled with chocolate. How can you make a boring cookie look a little fancier? Maybe you’re thinking frosting, which is true, but since this cookie is a sandwich I wanted the filling to shine. I drizzled each cookie with chocolate, which was just the right touch!

• Doubled it. More is better right? In this case, there’s no doubt: the original recipe made about 6 sandwich cookies… what was 2015-me thinking?!?! A dozen is much more reasonable (but you still may want to double that if you’re cooking for a crowd).

Once baked, these cookies are stuffed with pumpkin butter, so the end result tastes a bit like pumpkin pie. Perfect match with a cappuccino! But I also experimented with filling the cookies with salted caramel. Oh. My. Goodness. Now that’s a treat! A bit like an alfajore, if you are familiar. I am definitely going to need to make an alfajore recipe now (Foraged Dish style, of course!).

Grain-Free Sandwich Cookies with Pumpkin Butter

Published October 26, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Yield: 12-24, depending on size   |    Active Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 cups finely ground almond flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup pumpkin butter

1/4 cup dark chocolate

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until incorporated. Add the melted butter or coconut oil, honey, and vanilla, and stir until a dough forms. Shape dough into a disc (about 1 inch thick), wrap in plastic wrap, and place in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour to chill.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F. After dough has chilled, remove from fridge. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your baking pan.
3. On a separate piece of parchment, use a rolling pin to roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut circles out of dough and place on baking sheet, with at least 1/2 inch between each cookie. Bake for 9 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool.
4. Once cookies are fully cooled, spread pumpkin butter on one cookie, and then use another to create a sandwich. Set aside, and then continue until all of the cookies are sandwiched.
5. Heat the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for 30-second intervals (string between each!) until chocolate is glossy and smooth. You can also do this in a double boiler (stir frequently). Drizzle melted chocolate over sandwich cookies. Allow chocolate to set before serving cookies.
6. Tip: You can use any sort of jam to fill these cookies! I also made a few with salted caramel sauce and they were SO. GOOD.

Grain-Free Butternut Squash Pie with Pecan-Crumble Crust

There are too many good recipes to share with you all this month! I usually only post two recipes a week, but this month I just couldn't get everything to fit into that schedule. My options were to ditch a recipe or publish an extra, and well, the answer was clear once we had a bite of this butternut squash pie with pecan crumble crust. 

My good friend had a butternut squash pie making craze last year, and while he seems to now be over that caramelly, cinnamon-y flavor, I'm still stuck on it. 

What I needed though, to really make the ultimate butternut squash pie, was an alternate crust. I've always been partial to graham cracker crusts (the kind you find on many cheesecakes) but wanted to keep this recipe from-scratch and grain-free.

Pondering this crust dilemma brought me to pecans. It wasn't sure pecans would work in place of graham crackers, but I had a hunch. I was nervous about it, putting the pie into the oven. A few friends stopped by and I explained to them it was just an experiment and could go terribly wrong. 

Out of the oven it came and I was, even then, a little nervous. I took pictures, serving everyone else, and then grabbed the last piece for myself, topping it with an oversized dollop of whipped cream.

It was my butternut-pie-making-friend who said it first: a crust made of pecans is like a butternut pie inside of a pecan pie. A custardy filling nestled inside a crunchy, sweet, nutty shell. 

He was right: it was a butternut squash pie inside of a pecan pie. The butter and sugar caramelized in the oven while the pecans toasted, making something so delicious it stole the show, even from the pie filling itself. 

In this pie, crust is no longer just a vehicle for transporting filling. It's a part of the experience, as must as every other ingredient. 

Grain-Free Butternut Squash Pie with Pecan-Crumble Crust

Published December 15, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the crust:
• 2 cups pecans 
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

For the filling:
• 10 ounces frozen cubed butternut squash, thawed
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup wildflower honey
• 2/3 cup half-and-half 
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

To serve:
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease an 9-inch ceramic or glass pie pan .
2. Put pecans in a food processor and pulse to grind them into a fine crumb. Scrape sides frequently to ensure even chopping. Few larger chunks should remain (several are ok but for the most part you are looking for an even, fine crumb). Scrape pecan crumbs into a bowl, and add sugar and melted butter. Use a spatula to stir until everything is combined and crumb should stick together when squeezed between two fingers. Now, press crumb mixture into prepared pie pan, working it up the sides and into an even layer along the bottom to form a crust. Tip: use the flat bottom of a glass to make a smooth bottom. Make sure there are no gaps or cracks, and then set aside.
3. In a blender, combine: thawed butternut squash, sugar, honey, half-and-half, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Puree until completely smooth, scraping sides down as needed. Then, allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes so any air bubbles have time to float to the top.
4. Pour butternut mixture into prepared pie shell, filling it until almost—but not quite- full (shoot for 90-95% full). Place in oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until custard filling jiggles slightly in the middle but not at the edges. Turn heat off, and allow pie to cook in oven with the door open for 10-15 minutes. This super slow cooling method will prevent the custard filling from cracking.
5. While the pie cools, make the whipped cream. Add heavy cream to a bowl and whip with an electric mixture until it beings to hold peaks. Add vanilla, and beat 30 more seconds.
6. Serve pie with dollops of whipped cream (ice cream would be good as well!).

Rhubarb Crisp (Gluten-Free)

Updated on 4/4/2018.

Rhubarb has been on my mind. And in my tummy, as I channel those thoughts into everything edible. 

After making this crisp once, I went straight back to the store. It's likely that I bought the biggest bag of rhubarb that store sold all day: the stalks were long and plump, and I went crazy. Chopping the pink stalks into bite sized pieces, images of my grandfather flickered through my mind. Grandpa Charles kept his yard immaculate, and there in the back, behind the rose bushes and the tulips were his rhubarb plants. Wearing beefy garden gloves, he would tell me to stay away from the big green leaves as he cut 3 or 4 stalks for our dessert. 

I remember that moment more than anything: more than the pie my grandmother would then make, and even more than the ice cream that would come with it. Maybe that's why it was the act of chopping rhubarb into small bites that made me think of him.

This recipe is incredibly simple: you don't need to add strawberries or raspberries to the mix (unless you want to) and there is no rolling of pie crust. Just mix and bake. You'll only get one mixing bowl dirty. You'll be on your way to rhubarb glory in just a few steps. It's a recipe you can come back to time and time again... a recipe you can tweak just a little bit to make your own (a teaspoon of ginger zest is calling my creative side, a half of cup of raspberries are whispering to my tastebuds). 

This week I plan to buy a rhubarb plant, in honor of Grandpa. It wasn't my favorite when I was young, but that has changed and I have some catching up to do.

Rhubarb Crisp (Gluten-Free)

Published May 18, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Nothing but regular, sweet rhubarb crisp.

Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the filling:
• 5 cups rhubarb, cup into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup cassava flour OR 1 tablespoon corn starch 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon butter


For the crisp:
• 1/2 cup oat flour 
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup oats, heaping
• 1/3 cup butter 
• Pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium mixing bowl, toss rhuarb with the coconut sugar, cassava flour, salt, and cinnamon until rhubarb is evenly coated. Then spread rhubarb mixture into pie dish (I used a 9-inch pie ceramic pie dish, you may also use a 9x9 inch pyrex). Slice the tablespoon of butter into thin pats and place evenly spaced over rhubarb.
2. Make the crisp topping: melt the butter in the bottom of the medium mixing bowl. Add in the oat flour, coconut sugar, oats, and salt and mix with a fork until crumbles form.
3. Sprinkle crumble over rhubarb mixture. Place in oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until the rhubarb is bubbling. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.