Gingerbread Waffles

I absolutely love warming spices, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. I have been craving gingerbread cake and chai tea lately. Whenever I see the gingerbread loaf in Starbucks I drool I swear. I had a very limited amount of time tonight so making cake was out of the question. I came up with these waffles to sustain my craving and a friend and I shared one for dessert. Craving satisfied!

I have been meaning to post a waffle recipe for a while but I have been too busy with school so I thought I would do a quick post to share these festive waffles. I did not add any extra sweetener to the waffles other than the banana so if you want them a little sweeter add a tablespoon of coconut/palm sugar.

This waffle is Paleo friendly, gluten free, and super delicious. Top with organic butter and maple syrup or coconut butter and honey. These would also be great with applesauce. I think when the kids get back I will make them again and serve them topped with warm applesauce and cinnamon. Sauteed apples or pears would be delicious too, with a caramel drizzle and coconut ice cream. Oh so many ideas, so little time.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Waffles
1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1 small ripe banana
1 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp vanilla

Mash the banana and add molasses, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla. Stir well to combine. Add in coconut flour, arrowroot powder baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Stir well.

Drop the batter into a hot waffle iron. When you take them out let them cool on a wire rack briefly before serving.

I have a Cuisinart round waffle maker and this recipe made 3 big waffles.

Butternut Squash Falafel

This is by far the best tasting falafel I have ever eaten. The best part of this falafel is they are baked and not fried making them nutritious but very flavorful. When you bite into each one they are creamy in the middle and not dry like your typical falafel. When I am in Kelowna during the summer one of my favorite cafe's serves a falafel pita packed with lettuce, grated beet and carrot and for me it is a perfect summer meal.

I came across this recipe, another one of Heidi Swanson's at 101 Cookbooks, using sweet potato. I had pureed butternut squash with garlic left over from another meal and used it instead of sweet potato. I served these with roasted beets and steamed beet greens with a goat yogurt dip. Yum! I think these would make a great appetizer as well.

Butternut Squash Falafel
adapted from 101 cookbooks
2.5 to 3 cups pureed butternut squash
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup garbanzo bean/chickpea flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
big handful of chopped cilantro
sesame seeds for garnish

I started out by peeling and dicing a butternut squash. Place the cubes on a baking sheet and roast the squash with a few cloves of garlic and a drizzle of olive oil, at 400 degrees until tender.

Puree in batched in a food processor. Place in the refrigerator and let cool.

When the squash is cooled and the spices, lemon, cilantro, chickpea flour and thoroughly mix. Let rest 20 minutes. Scoop the dough and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, topping each falafel with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes. Heidi baked her's for 15 but mine took a lot longer. I took them out when the bottoms were browned.

No Sugar! Oat Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookie

This is one of my all time favorite cookie recipes because it does not contain sugar. I love oatmeal cookies and to me, these are best when refrigerated. They contain super healthy coconut oil, gluten free, dairy free chocolate chips, organic raisins and are sweetened with banana. Yum.

The original recipe for this cookie is from a fantastic blog I follow, 101 Cookbooks. Heidi Swanson has two vegetarian cookbooks, is a super talented chef and photographer. If you have never been to her site go check it out, so inspiring.

No Sugar Oat Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookie
adapted from 101 Cookbooks 
3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup warmed coconut oil - full flavor
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (whole oats, not instant)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup organic raisins
1/2 cup gluten free, dairy free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl mash ripe bananas and add in coconut oil and vanilla. Stir in the oats, coconut, almond flour, sea salt, cinnamon, raisins and chocolate chips. Stir until completely combined.

Drop cookie dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet using a small ice cream scoop. I press the tops down to flatten slightly. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This is the easiest cookie you will ever make. This cookie is flour free so for those that are avoiding gluten this is a great soft and chewy cookie. It is Christmas after all and I have been playing around with a few cookie recipes and trying to come up with a few new favorites. My kids love peanut butter cookies and have been begging me to make them. This recipe I found at Gluten Free Girl and the Chef was on my list to try out.

Although the recipe does not contain flour it still, of course, contains sugar. I try to use the healthiest form of sugar whenever possible and this time I used organic cane sugar but next time I might try coconut sugar or maple syrup.

My kids get very tired of my Paleo experiments and just want "real cookies" from time to time. They are leaving for Hawaii on Thursday and I want to spoil them for a few days. They really loved this one.
 

Peanut Butter Cookies
recipe from: The Gluten Free Girl and the Chef
1 cup of smooth peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder

Mix all the ingredients by hand in a medium bowl. Scoop the cookie dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and press the tops with a fork to make the classic peanut butter cookie top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely.

Makes about 13 small cookies.