Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Happy holidays! Hoping everyone is having a beautiful day, where ever you are and whatever you are up to. We’re taking it easy, with no fancy plans, aside from maybe making a fresh batch of eggnog. I am so thankful to have a break from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the year — time to slow down, get outside (fingers crossed for some warmer weather later this week! 🤞), and even some creative recipe development without the time constraints of the normal work week (been working on lots of videos! Check out this one for homemade loose leaf chai! Also still trying to use up all of the spaghetti squash harvest from the garden). And, eating these gluten-free chocolate pecan thumbprint cookies!

These cookies.

Just almond flour, honey, butter, salt and baking soda combine to make a surprisingly soft but sturdy and satisfying cookie, something I discovered when I made these Paleo chocolate vanilla pinwheel cookies two years ago (2016 seems like so long ago! We had just moved into our house, I remember rolling out the cookie dough next to the wall between our kitchen and dining table. Just a few weeks later, we removed the wall and the house looks about 1,000x better! But I digress...)

Thumbprint cookies — a Swedish treat traditionally made with a raspberry filling - have always looked festive to me. When filled with raspberry jam, they gleam in the light like little gems. But raspberry is a very summery flavor, and my inner chocoholic screamed “ganache!!” and I gave in easily, filling each with a melted 85% Dark Chocolate Lindt Bar.

The result is similar to those chocolate kiss-topped peanut butter cookies we’ve all had at many a Christmas party, but with more delicate flavors. Toasted pecans with chocolate is an unparalleled combo in desserts in my book, one that fills your kitchen with the smells of caramelly nuts and fruity cacao scent.

The cookie dough in this recipe is fairly flexible when it comes to flour. I tested using 1/2 cup gluten-free measure for measure flour (King Arthur flour) in place of 1/2 cup of almond flour and the result was almost the same as using all almond flour. That’s not to say I’ve tested everything! But I’m confident you’ll love these. The dough will crack a bit when you go to make the thumbprints, but that doesn’t impact the cookie much. We’re not going for perfect here — once you add the chocolate and the pecans, they’ll look (and be) absolutely delicious!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Published December 25, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yield: 15   |    Active Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

1/3 cup chocolate chips (or a chopped up dark chocolate bar)

1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter

1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda and whisk briefly to combine.
3. Add melted oil/butter, honey, and vanilla and stir dough with a spatula until a stiff dough forms.
4. Shape cookies: scoop cookie dough by the tablespoonful into the palm of your hand. Shape into a sphere, and then place on a prepared cookie sheet. Using a smaller spoon or you thumb, make an indent in the center of the cookie. The dough may crack a bit around the edges, which is fine; if you like, you can carefully press it together with your fingers.
5. Repeat step 4 until all of the dough is used. Leave at least 1/2 inch between each cookie on the baking sheet.
6. Place cookies in oven on middle rack and bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies should be golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
7. While cookies cool, make the filling. Melt chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter/oil in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave by heating at 30-second intervals, stirring between each round, or in a double boiler.
8. When cookies have cooled enough to be easily handled, carefully spoon chocolate into the center of each, and place a single pecan half in the center of each. Allow chocolate to set for 10-15 minutes, and then serve or store in an air-tight contain for a week.

Grain-Free Mint Chocolate Brownies

“These are a treat,” I said to Oliver after taking a bite. Fudgy on the bottom, creamy in the middle, and even more chocolatey on top, these brownies are rich all the way through.

If you like York Patties, or Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, or Andes Mints, these brownies are for you. And before I get to far… they are grain-free, gluten-free, and nut-free. Plus, they’re sweetened with honey!

Mint and chocolate is a favorite combo of mine, and when I was day dreaming of holiday baking these stayed in the forefront of my mind. They feel super festive! It wasn’t until after I had made them that I was swiping through images of a cookbook my mom made of her favorite recipes and I found mint brownies nestled in there. Somewhere in the back of my mind I suppose I remembered her brownies…

Let’s start at the bottom: the brownie base is made of the same batter used in these strawberry cheesecake swirled brownies. It is a very chocolatey, batter that calls for coconut flour and a LOT of cocoa. The result is one fudgy brownie!

The next layer is a sweet mint cream cheese frosting. Most mint brownies call for buttercream here, but I’ve never been a fan of buttercream, and even as a kid I preferred cream cheese frosting. Nothing’s changed on that front! (For extra festive-ness, you can stir in a drop or two of green food coloring if you like.)

The topping is a simple chocolate ganache, making a chocolate mint sandwich that even looks a bit like an Andes Mint!

When you bite through all three layers it is rich, sweet and melt-in-your-mouth delicious… a total treat! (One night we had these with the Mint Chip Ice Cream from CoolHaus. 😍)

Grain-Free Mint Chocolate Brownies

Published December 6, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 16   |    Active Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients:

Brownie Base:

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter or coconut oil

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup honey

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mint Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Chocolate Ganache Topping:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In a small sauce pan, combine melted butter or coconut oil, cocoa powder, and chocolate. Heat over low heat, stirring until most of the clumps have melted. Remove from heat and allow to sit until entire mixture is smooth and melted.
3. Scrape mixture into a mixing bowl. Using electric beaters, stir in honey. Add eggs and vanilla and beat again. Mixture should begin to thicken. Add coconut flour and salt. Beat until smooth and no clumps remain.
4. Spread batter in even layer in prepared baking dish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, until brownies are slightly puffy, and a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Allow to cool for completely before topping with mint filling.
6. Mint filling: while brownies are cooling, beat together cream cheese, honey, and mint until smooth. When brownies are no longer warm to the touch, spread cream cheese mixture over top in an even layer. Place brownies in fridge, covered, for at least one hour (or overnight! Short cutting this time will make it hard to spread the ganache over top and get clean layers.)
7. Chocolate ganache topping: Place butter, half-and-half, and chocolate in a small sauce pan and heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until a smooth ganache is formed. Remove from heat. Spread chocolate ganache over cream cheese mixture and allow to set 10 minutes before slicing into 9-16 squares. Tip: for the cleanest cuts, rinse your knife between each slice.

Cinnamon, Berry + Pecan Baked Oatmeal

This cinnamon, berry and pecan oatmeal will fill your house with the smell of toasting nuts and maple.

Even if you don’t usually like oatmeal (I don’t) you should give baked oatmeal a try. The edges are crispy, almost like the topping on a crumble, and the middle is custardy. It doesn't have the same texture as a bowl of porridge--and to me, that's a plus. Baked oatmeal is almost like a breakfast cake (one you can feel good about) and it's super adaptable: you can add pretty much anything that suits your fancy, like bananas, peanut butter, or even chocolate chips. This version calls for pecans, which are one of my favorite nuts when toasted. Here, they add little bites of crunch between bursts of berry.

The full recipe serves about eight, six if the crowd is really hungry.

I would say this is a brunch recipe, good for any holiday, but I made it on Monday morning. What away to start the week! We topped to each slice with a dollop of Greek yogurt, but for a special occasion, whip cream sure would dress it up nice. The mint leaf on top is optional, but I love how it freshens it up.

Cinnamon, Berry + Pecan Baked Oatmeal

Published March 27, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup whole milk yogurt
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cup rolled oats
• 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries (I used blueberries and blackberries)
• 1/2 cup pecans
• To serve: yogurt & a spring of mint

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, maple syrup, milk, yogurt, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
3. Add oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt to bowl, and stir until a loose batter forms.
4. Fold in 1/3 cup of pecans (reserving the rest for the next step) and 1 cup berries. Stir as briefly as possible — the berries may turn batter purple if over mixed.
5. Scrape batter into a 9 inch x 9 inch glass baking dish and smooth into even layer. Arrange remaining pecans on the top of the oatmeal.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, until edges are set and top is golden. Center will still be soft. Allow to cool 5 minutes, then serve on plates with a dollop of yogurt and mint leaves.