Friendly Food Snobs

sweets

Buckwheat Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

The perfect November cookie to see you through until holiday baking. Crispy on the outside, with enough dark chocolate to satisfy. I love the nutty flavour tahini brings (1/3 cup so not overpowering).

I began baking with buckwheat flour since being gluten intolerant after having my second son, Dash. I often substitute a 1/4 cup of buckwheat flour in place of regular flour in pancakes or muffins. As with most gluten free flours, once open, store in the fridge. Bob’s Red Mill GF buckwheat flour is my favourite as it’s ground quite fine. Hope you love these as much as we do. Recipe makes 12 large cookies (or 24 small).

Tahini Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup salted butter (room temperature)
  • 1/3 cup tahini
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup gluten free baking flour or all purpose white flour
  • 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup (50 grams) 70% dark chocolate bar coarsely chopped or 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
  • Additions: extra chocolate to top each cookie before baking and flaky salt for sprinkling

Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a large bowl combine the room temperature butter, tahini and maple syrup using a spatula until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Sprinkle the remaining dry ingredients, adding the dark chocolate last.

Using a teaspoon scoop small balls onto the baking sheet. They will flatten and spread as they bake. Top with an extra chunk of chocolate – I love the way this looks!

Bake for 15-17 minutes until bottoms are lightly brown. Cookies will firm up as they cool. Sprinkle with salt if using. (I like the salty addition, my husband and kids prefer without.)

Cookies freeze well too. Pop me a comment or tag me @rachelbarbaro if you make these. Happy holiday baking!

blueberry lemon zest baked oatmeal

It’s July and summer is in full swing. After a so many months of having the kids home, I find we are now rushing to get out the door! What a shift. I started making this blueberry lemon zest baked oatmeal once a week for a quick weekday breakfast, or an afternoon snack (for me with a hot cup of tea) and it’s delicious, filling and gluten free. I also love that this is one bowl, because who needs another bowl to clean?

The blueberry lemon zest combination is a classic for a reason. This baked oatmeal leaves me feeling full and the ingredients are good – I use gluten free large oats and only sweeten with a little maple syrup.

You can have fun with the combinations. I did fresh raspberries (instead of blueberries) with sliced almonds on top. Later this summer I want to try zucchini with walnuts (if I can get any zucchinis from my garden before the squirrels!) and maybe peanut butter, mashed banana with chocolate chips for upcoming road trips.

Recipe makes 9 large squares or 12 small ones. Be sure to let the baked oatmeal cool completely before you cut it.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups large oats
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup almond milk (dairy works too)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (1/3 cup if you want sweeter)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce
  • zest of one large lemon (equal to 1 tsp)
  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8×8 or 9×9 pan with non stick spray, butter or coconut oil. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, syrup, oil and apples sauce. Sprinkled over the dry ingredients, adding the zest and blueberries last. Pour into the greased pan and bake for 35 minutes, checking to make sure the center is set and not wobbly. Let cool for one hour and dive in. Stores well in the fridge for up to one week. Hope you love it!

gluten free sweet potato muffins

Hi friends. Toronto is in our third lockdown as I type and baking healthy treats is bringing me a lot of joy at the moment.

Enter these gluten free muffins made with sweet potato. Perfect for chilly spring mornings with a mug of something hot.  The texture is fluffy and you can’t even tell they’re gluten free.

I make these two ways by varying the add ins. The first version is stirring in pepita seeds and dark chocolate chips which my kids love. And the other version is with just chopped walnuts – my fave.

Recipe makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:
1 cup baked sweet potato (or baked squash)
1 cup all purpose flour or gluten-free flour (I love Bob’s Red Mill cup for cup)
3/4 cup oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup (1/3 cup if you prefer sweeter)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg

Optional Add ins:

  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or dates
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pepita seeds

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Wash the sweet potato and poke a few holes in it with a fork. Wrap in foil and bake for 45-50 minutes until soft. Let cool and slice in half and scoop out one cup. [Note: I often bake the sweet potato the day before I plan the make the muffins.]

Combine the oil, egg, milk and vanilla with the syrup. Combine remaining dry ingredients in a separate large bowl. Pour wet mixture over dry and stir until just combined. Spoon into lined or greased muffin tins. (I grease mine with coconut oil or non-stick spray.) Bake at 375 degrees for 20-24 minutes until golden brown.

Delicious with butter or nut butter for breakfast. Or drizzled with honey for dessert. 

If you like baking these healthy muffins you may like these no-sugar banana muffins or this protein-packed super seedy banana bread.

dark chocolate mendiants

Dark chocolate mendiants are little chocolate treats topped with whatever you desire – I love flaky salt, nuts and dried fruit. It’s about two weeks until Christmas here in Toronto and I am just starting my Christmas dessert making. I love one or two of these mendiants in the afternoon with tea when I get a mini break from my boys.

They are super simple to make. Melt the chocolate and spoon it onto waiting parchment paper to form little discs and then top.

A few topping ideas:

  • dried fruit like cranberries, blueberries, apricots, raisins or figs
  • goji berries
  • pistachios, walnuts, cashews, peanuts or hazelnuts
  • coconut
  • candied ginger
  • smashed candy canes
  • pretzels
  • flaky salt

Mendiants hail from the French – and the history of the treat represents a coin, and the toppings the four monastic orders. They are traditionally made in Europe at Christmas time. They are so pretty on a dessert tray or as a holiday gift tied up in a clear bag with ribbon. The recipe below makes 20-24 small mendiants. To make 10-12 mendiants, just use one chocolate bar.

Ingredients:

  • 2 x 100 gram dark chocolate bars (70% or 80% cacao)
  • prepped toppings ready to sprinkle

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Have the toppings ready. For example, chop the nuts or slice the candied ginger. You have about ten minutes to top before the chocolate firms up. Melt the dark chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave.

To use the double boiler method: bring a pot of water to a low boil. Place a heat safe bowl on top of the pot. Break up the chocolate bars and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate melts.

To use microwave: break up the chocolate bars in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 20 second intervals stirring after each one. Once the chocolate is almost entirely melted just keep stiring and the heat from the bowl will melt the rest.

Use a teaspoon to spoon 20-24 chocolate discs on the parchment paper. Use the back of the spoon to help spread the chocolate into circles.

Top with whatever you like. Let set in the fridge or on counter until chocolate hardens.

Need holiday cooking inspiration? Check out these chewy ginger cookies and my savory thyme cheddar shortbread. And this is the holiday salad – with arugula, pear, walnut, Parmesan and pomegranate seeds I make every year.

oatmeal coconut cookies (gluten free)

Has this social distancing changed how you cook? For me working and parenting simultaneously means leftovers are mandatory for any meal I make. And every week I bake a batch of cookies or muffins to have a healthy treat when a sweet craving hits. (Usually me at around 3pm!) These cookies are chewy, oaty and coconuty and just the right amount sweet. I love having one with tea after lunch. Sometimes if the boys are hungry they only last a day or two before all 24 cookies (that’s how many this recipe makes) are gone.

Sweetened with banana, and a bit of maple syrup, there will be no sugar crash like a store-bought cookie. You can make them with what you have in your pantry. I give a few options in the recipe. Chocolate chips and pepita seeds are excellent. That is what is in these photos. Currently my favourite combo is chopped dried apricots or raisins, and chopped almonds or walnuts. They taste like comfort food and that is all I’m craving right now cooking in a time of quarantine.

oatmeal coconut cookies (gluten free)

Ingredients:

Notes: Recipe makes 24 small cookies. Feel free to use regular flour if you don’t have gluten free.

  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup flour (I love Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour)
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 2 ripe bananas mashed
  • 4 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips or raisins/chopped dates/apricots
  • 1/3 cup chopped nut (like walnuts or almonds)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all wet ingredients in one bowl. Mix all dry ingredients in another bowl. Combine wet and dry and stir until just mixed. Scoop golf ball size balls of dough onto a baking sheet. Gently press down to flatten with your palm. Bake 13-15 minutes until cookies set and bottoms are lightly brown. Enjoy!

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