Remember all those movies I got a sweet deal on, at the library sale last week?
One of them was the Sound of Music, a musical I want my kids to grow up knowing, especially the music and songs. I was a drama kid wannabe (played Helena in Midsummer Night’s Dream in my heyday), and I suppose I’d like that for my kids, too. If nothing else, they should know about the classics like Sound of Music & Fiddler on the Roof.
The other night, we had family night–I made cookies and dessert pudding to go with, and then we sat down and watched about half of the movie before it was the kid’s bedtime.
The cookie recipe is one adapted from Dreena’s Vive le Vegan.
Of course, I had to double the recipe (never can have too many cookies in the house) and made it gluten-free, replacing the wheat flour with Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free mix; reduced the oil and added banana baby food; used agave instead of maple syrup, and reduced the amount; used Splenda instead of unrefined sugar (I rarely use Splenda but I was low on Stevia in the Raw, plus I thinks tastes much better in baked goods than granulated stevia); and added 1/4 c. chopped macadamia nuts, because they go so well with the lime/coconut theme and what cookie can’t be improved with the addition of nuts?
Truth be told, I was a bit worried that I had done too many replacements and that the cookie would turn out dry or too cakey. Joseph and the kids both seemed to like the cookies, so I guess you call that a success. I ate one too many myself (cookies happen to be my Achilles heel, I firmly believe there will be cookies in heaven), and then put the rest in the freezer.
I like to pair my desserts. I can’t just have a cookie. I have to have cookies with milk, or cookies with ice cream, or in this case, cookies with dessert pudding.
The pudding is a snap to make. About 2 minutes from start to finish if you use a Blendtec. I love the preset settings that take all the guess work out of proper blending, which can be a bit tricky.
The pudding is made from tofu, which really, any tofu works, but I used light extra-firm (only 40 calories per serving and low-fat) because it makes a thick pudding, without extra calories from fat. You can have a cookie with one serving of dessert pudding for less than 200 calories!
Coconut Dessert Pudding
GF, DF
Serves 4
- 1, 12 oz. container Light Extra-Firm, non-GMO tofu
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1/4 c. agave nectar
- 1 tsp. coconut extract
- 2 packets Truvia/Stevia (or additional agave)
- Lime zest, for garnish (optional)
Cut tofu into large chunks. Add all ingredients to blender, and blend until smooth and creamy (or 2 cycles on dressings if using a Blendtec). Chill for an hour or more then serve.
Nutrition Info: Serves 4. Per serving (1/4 of recipe): 118 calories, 9 g protein, 1 g fiber, 1 g fat, 128 mg. sodium.
Lime Coconut Macadamia Cookies
GF, SF, DF
I use Splenda in this recipe. Before I get all sorts of hate emails or comments for using an artificial sweetener, please note that YOU don’t have to use it (and I explained myself above). You can use equal amounts of regular sugar, unrefined sugar, or evaporated cane juice. For me, I just don’t see much of difference between any of those three, and I’d rather cut back the actual sugar content and calories of the cookie if possible, without sacrificing taste.
Also, I did use oil in this recipe. 1 TBS. for the entire batch. I find that a little oil can go a long way. It makes the cookies more like cookies rather than cake bites. Nothing against cake bites, but when I want a cookie, I want the taste and texture of a cookie, not cake. If you never use oil, leave it out (chia seed gel may work), but be forewarned, it will have a lighter, more fluffy texture if you do so.
- 1/2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2/3 c. Splenda (or sugar of some sort, ie. unrefined sugar, evaporated cane juice, sugar)
- Zest & juice from 3 medium/large limes
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 1/2 c. gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 c. agave
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. coconut extract
- 1 jar banana baby food, or 1 large banana mashed
- 1 TBS. oil
- 1/4 c. macadamia nuts or coarsely chopped raw cashews (a less expensive option to macadamia nuts)
Preheat oven to 350 F. In one bowl, combine coconut, Splenda (or sugar), lime zest, salt. In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Sift flour mixture with coconut mixture, using a fork. Using the empty bowl, combine agave, lime juice, vanilla & coconut extracts, baby food, and oil.
Add wet mixture to dry, adding macadamia nuts and gently fold (DO NOT OVER MIX. I repeat, DO NOT OVERMIX. Doing so will result in cakey cookies).
Using a 1.5 tsp (1/2 TBS.) cookie scoop (I love these things! They help me make uniform cookies quickly. Here’s a fave cookie scoop of mine.), scoop some dough (make sure to use a knife or the edge of the bowl to remove excess dough from top of scoop, so it’s flat) on a baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper or (non-stick spray, but note, this does add extra calories). Bake for 11 minutes (no longer, you don’t want crispy, dried out cookies, do ya?). Let cool for about a minute, transfer to a cooking rack, and eat immediately!
Nutrition Info:
(Note: If you use sugar instead of splenda this will add calories to each serving) Makes 36 small cookies. Per cookie: 58 calories, 1 g protein, 1 g fat, insignificant amount of sodium.
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