Merry Christmas

It's been a while between posts here. I haven't been baking much the past few months. With studies, a new job, plus ensuing health issues, I've been keeping my diet simple, & quite natural & unprocessed. Lots of vegetables & a little bit of meat. All dairy has once again been struck from my diet, since the reactions I was getting from cheese was becoming almost violent. With the cold setting in, this has consisted of a diet of lots of steamed vegetables.

But, since Christmas is approaching, I figure this is the time of year to create something indulgent. My stomach hasn't agreed the last few days; it's chosen this time of year to react heavily. But what's one day, right?

This year I've made myself gingerbread, cinnamon rolls & chocolate truffles. The truffles were just a mix of coconut flour, cocoa, psyllium husk, erythirol, stevia, shredded coconut, ground almonds & hazelnuts, coconut oil, tahini & soy milk. Plus whatever spices tickled my fancy. I'd post a recipe for those, but there was really no measuring done. It was just a taste-as-you-go fest!



I made two batches of cinnamon rolls; one with grated zucchini & one without. The batter comes up quite moist with zucchini added. You can omit this if you choose. It will, however, yield a much smaller batch. Naturally these don't rise since there's no yeast, so they do come out quite small. I've used shredded coconut in place of pearl sugar. If you do not want this, simply omit.

I've also begun using erythritol, a sweetner derived from sugar alcohol which has no calories, can add bulk to baked goods, & goes well with stevia. It's a natural sweetner & doesn't raise blood sugar, & I've found no gastrointestinal distress while using it, though I do keep usage to a minimum & only use it as a partner to stevia. For more information, please read more here. If you don't feel comfortable using this product, simply omit. You could substitute with palm or coconut sugar, but as I've not used either of these sugar, I cannot say how they would affect the taste.

The batches below are really intended for one person. For a higher yield, double the amounts listed.

Please find below my recipes for Paleo-friendly, gluten-free, sugar-free, grain-free, dairy-free Gingerbread soft cookies & Cinnamon Rolls!

Soft Gingerbread Cookies
(paleo, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, grain-free)

Ingredients:
1dl & 1 tablespoon / 30g / 1/4 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon psyllium husk
3 egg whites
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon ghee, melted
2 tablespoons almond flour
2 mls powdered stevia (add more if you want it sweeter
2 tablespoons erythritol
1dl/100mls soy milk
½dl/50mls water
1 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar
1 ml bicarb soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1ml vanilla
pinch of salt

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Add egg whites to a bowl & beat with an electric mixer till white peaks form.
3. Add egg yolk to whites & beat with mixer, blending in.
4. Add milk, vinegar & water, mixing to a good consistency.
5. Sift all dry ingredients together & add to the bowl. Add the melted ghee & mix together with a wooden spoon.
6. Once mixed together, all the mixture to sit for a few minutes. This allows the ingredients to hold together better.
7. Roll out onto baking paper & cut into shapes with cookie cutters or roll into small round cookie shapes.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes.




Cinnamon Rolls
(paleo, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, grain-free)

Ingredients:
1dl & 1 tablespoon / 30g / 1/4 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon psyllium husk
3 egg whites
1 egg yolk
½dl - 1dl / 50-100mls grated zucchini
2 mls powdered stevia (add more if you want it sweeter
2 tablespoons erythritol
1 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar
50mls soy milk
50 mls water
1 ml bicarb soda
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch of salt
shredded coconut
extra egg yolk, for glazing

Butter mixture
2 tablespoons melted ghee
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
up to 1 tablespoon erythirol
1-2mls stevia

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Add egg whites to a bowl & beat with an electric mixer till white peaks form.
3. Add egg yolk to whites & beat with mixer, blending in.
4. Add milk, vinegar & water, mixing to a good consistency.
5. Sift all dry ingredients together & add to the bowl. Add the melted ghee & mix together with a wooden spoon.
6. Once mixed together, all the mixture to sit for a few minutes. This allows the ingredients to hold together better.
8. Roll out onto baking paper & shape batter into a rectangle. Prebake in oven for 5 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Spread butter mixture over batter, adding more cinnamon & sweetners once it's spread over. Roll up into a log & cut into slices. Glaze with egg yolk.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, removing halfway to turn & glaze with more egg yolk & sprinkle with shredded coconut.
Yields about 8-10 small rolls.




*Note: I will start listing 'dl' measurements, as I live in Sweden, & measuring cups come in millilitre or decilitre measurements, not by cup. I will also list the millilitre as a guide to how much is required, & will list weights when this is taken.

This has been submitted to Amy's Slightly Indulgent Tuesday