Palisade peach jam

 Palisade Peach Jam

Ingredients:

Fresh ripe peaches, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup honey
juice of 2 lemons
1 vanilla bean pod, scraped and added in

Instructions:

Add chopped peaches, honey and lemon juice and vanilla bean pod to a heavy bottomed pot and cook on low stirring occasionally for around 30 mins, or until it becomes a thick consistency.

Let cool and then spoon into mason jars.

Freeze or can according to canning instructions.

Paleo Coconut Maroons with Dark Chocolate

Paleo coconut macaroons with dark chocolate 

Makes: 55 small macaroons 

Ingredients
½ cup organic cane sugar or coconut sugar or maple syrup
¼ cup water
¼ cup coconut milk
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 ½ cups unsweetened coconut
1 egg white
¼ cup dark chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a pan, heat the sugar, water, coconut milk, and salt on medium heat.

Allow the mixture to come to a medium simmer and cook for 5 minutes. The mixture should look white and bubbly and be slightly less thick than maple syrup but more than than water.

Add 1½ cups of coconut to a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the warm sugar coconut water and stir the coconut.

Stir in the egg white followed by the remaining coconut until well mixed.

Using a small cookie scoop or melon baller, firmly pack the scoop with the coconut mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper.

Bake for 15 minutes until the outside shell is crispy to the touch and the tips of a nice light golden brown.

Remove the sheet from the oven and allow the macaroons to cool for 30 minutes.
White the macaroons are cooling, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the chips and if needed, microwave again for 15 seconds.

Drizzle the chocolate over the macaroons.

Allow the macaroons to completely cool before serving.

Recipe adapted from: http://savorysweetlife.com/2013/03/dark-chocolate-coconut-macaroons/

Pumpkin Pie with Grain-Free Graham Cracker Crust

Pumpkin Pie with grain-free graham cracker crust
Makes: 1 pie plus extra graham crackers

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup golden flaxseed meal
6 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla



Instructions:
Preheat oven to 250 F.
In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, flaxseed meal, brown "sugar" (or coconut sugar), cinnamon, cream of tarter, and salt.



Add the coconut oil and mix to combine.Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combine and the dough comes together.

Repeat with the other half of the dough, using a separate cookie sheet.
Bake for 40 minutes and increase the temperature to 350 F and bake for another 2-5 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Add in 1 egg yolk and 4 tablespoons of melted butter to a bowl, stirring to combine. 

  

Tear two pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet.
Lay one piece of parchment onto the counter an place half the dough on the parchment.

Top with another piece of parchment and roll the dough out into an even layer (about 1/4" thick).

Using a pizza cutter, score the dough to make cracker shapes. Using the dull end of skewer poke 11-12 evenly spaced holes into each cracker. Transfer the parchment paper to a cookie sheet.

Repeat with the other half of the dough, using a separate cookie sheet.
Bake for 40 minutes and increase the temperature to 350 F and bake for another 2-5 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.


Recipe from: Grain Free Graham Crackers
Net Carb Count*: 5.87 g net carbs (for 1/4 cup serving)--makes about 4 cups
Total Carb Count: 7.99 g total carbs (for 1/4 cup serving)

Pumpkin Pie Crust:

Take half of your graham crackers and pulse until a fine crumb. 

 

Then take 1 cup of pecan halves and pulse until a fine crumb.

 

Press into a pie pan, coming up the sides of the pan.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

Ingredients:

1 28 oz can of organic pumpkin
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon 

Position one rack in the bottom of an oven and another rack in the middle and preheat to 350°F. 

On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the pecans on the middle rack until fragrant and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Pour onto a plate to cool, then finely grind in a food processor; take care not to overprocess them. 
In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg yolk and flaky sea salt. Add the ground pecans and the 1 1/4 cups flour and stir, working the dry ingredients into the butter mixture by smearing it against the sides of the bowl, until the dough comes together in large, shaggy clumps. 
On a lightly floured work surface, press the dough into a mound and knead until it just comes together. Press the dough into a flat disk, then transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Use the bottom of a metal measuring cup dipped in flour to smooth and even out the dough. Crimp the edges with the tines of a fork, then freeze the pie shell for 30 minutes. 
Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt and process until smooth. Add the pumpkin purée, buttermilk and whole eggs and process until combined. 
Place the frozen pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the filling into the shell and bake on the middle oven rack for 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the baking sheet and transfer directly to the lower oven rack. Bake until the center jiggles only slightly when the pie is tapped, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack. 

To serve, cut into wedges and top with whipped cream. Serves 8.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are pretty much the sole reason I buy and carve pumpkins each year, I have one of those tierd stepped porches so I load up on pumpkins for both sides of each step, resulting in lots of pumpkin seeds each year.

First, I place a large bowl of warm water with about a tablespoon of salt in it, next to my pumpkins. As I clean my pumpkins I place the seeds in that bowl. When finished I agitate the pumpkins seeds with my hands, cleaning any pulp odd of the seeds. I then dump my seeds into a colander, and rinse. 

I've also soaked my seeds overnight, my mother did it, so I do it, not exactly sure why, but I think soaking your seeds in salted water results in a crispier seed after baking, I've also never burned a seed, so that may also be an effect. 

I just fill my cleaned bowl up with warm water, another tablespoon or so of salt and let the seeds sit on the counter overnight. 

The next morning I drain the seeds and lay them out flat on cookie sheets to dry out.

Once they have air dried it is time to think about seasonings. I literally have about 6 cups of seeds each year, so I make a plain salted one and then I usually pick a flavor to try out with some of the seeds.

I've done garlic powder, chili powder, and chipotle powders in the past, but this year I'm going in a new direction. Pumpkin pie spice! 

First, regular salted seeds: 

Toss seeds in olive oil and sprinkle with a course sea salt. Place on baking sheets in even layers and bake at 250 degrees to 30-45 minutes until lightly browned. Stir at least once during cooking so both sides brown.

Pumpkin pie spiced seeds:

For a sweet application I used butter instead of olive oil. Toss seeds in melted butter, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or brown sugar) and 2 table spoons pumpkin pie spice. 

Again, bake at 250 for 30-40 minutes being careful not to develop too much color since this recipe has sweetners with it. 

Once they are finished I keep them in mason jars and let them cool completely. They are packed with  nutrients and they are a fantastic snack to enjoy!

Flourless Brownies

Flourless Brownies
Makes: 9 brownies

I was looking for a flourless brownie that did not contain any other "flours" like almond and coconut, because I generally try to avoid these recipes, I'd rather make the original thing then some concoction made up of $20 "flours". I came across this one of Facebook and made a few changes to make it sound better and came up with this lovely fudgey brownie that I can feel good indulging in occasionally.


Ingredients

4 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup of coconut sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
5 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until velvety smooth using a whisk, you do not need to worry about over mixing as there is no gluten in this recipe.



Pour into a parchment paper lined pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.



They will be soft in the middle at 30 minutes and have a slight jiggle.

Leave to cool and set for 4 hours or place in fridge for 30 minutes.

This recipe was adapted from this one: Flourless Brownies

New York Style Cheesecake

New York Style Cheesecake

I made a cheesecake for my sisters birthday, and in searching for a really smooth, thick and rich cheesecake recipe I basically took elements that I liked from several and created this one. Most of my inspiration came from this link however (Recipe). I really like a super thick New York style cheesecake, but I also really like a thin crunchy graham cracker crust, so I couldn't resist adding one. I also learned a really neat trick to caramelize the sides of the cheesecake to create a nice crust all the way up the sides that will be everyones favorite part.

The most important step about this cheesecake is making sure that your ingredients have fully come to room temperature. If planning on making it in the morning let your ingredients set out all night, and if making in the afternoon put them out first thing in the morning. You will have nasty lumpy cream cheese unless it sits out for HOURS. 

Don't worry, nothing will go bad sitting on the counter for half a day, I mean, how do you think they make yogurt? In many countries eggs are never even refrigerated, and are found sitting in the same section as the fruits and veggies at the grocery store, I've seen it with my own eyes. Some people keep their butter out on the counter in the butter dish 24/7 and never have an issue, so please do not be concerned, everything is packaged and wrapped.



Filling:

5 large eggs, plus 2 yolks, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sour cream, room temperature
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (one stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar, I am using coconut sugar for the crust, because of its rich caramel flavor and not being too sweet.
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the pan

For the crust: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325°. Process the graham cracker pieces in a food processor to fine, even crumbs, about 30 seconds.

Sprinkle the melted butter and sugar over the crumbs and pulse to incorporate.

Sprinkle the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Press the crumbs firmly into an even layer using the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until fragrant and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let the crust cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on LOW with the butter until smooth and creamy.



 Beat in half the sugar and salt until incorporated, 1-3 minutes. Beat in the remaining sugar until incorporated, 1-3 minutes.


Beat in the sour cream, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla until incorporated, 1-3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and eggs, two at a time until combined, 1-3 minutes.



The mixture should be thick, creamy and completely incorporated.


Being careful not to disturb the baked crust, brush the inside of the prepared springform pan with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.

Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Carefully pour the filling into the pan. Bake the cheesecake for 10 minutes.

Bake the cheesecake for 10 minutes at 400 F then without opening the door, reduce the oven temperature to 200° and continue to bake the cheesecake until the center of the cake registers 150° (about 1 1/2 hours).


Now unfortunately for me I had some major cracking with this cheesecake, I believe this was due to the fact that I overfilled my springform pan, and when it began to warm up it expanded over the edge of the pan, causing it to crack, and also that my nephew was over and he kept opening the oven to look at it while baking, but I can't really blame him, he was excited.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack and run a knife around the edge of the cake. Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 4 hours. Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled. For best flavor and texture, this cheesecake is best chilled overnight.


I drizzled with some carmel sauce to make it pretty and extra delish!