Imitation Hail Merry Bites

It's funny how I didn't really have cravings during my pregnancy with Rosie. Instead, I'll always associate certain foods with her first few months of life. When Noah started preschool in August, I'd grab a coconut milk latte from Starbucks on my way home, and enjoy it with some salted chocolate covered almonds from Trader Joe's.

A few months later, I moved onto these Hail Merry bites because I was hungry so often, and they were a little sweet but also filling. When Rosie was in the hospital this winter, I ate a lot of gluten-free chocolate bundt cake from eCafe. Then, all hell broke loose and I'm not entirely sure how I've survived the past few months! But... spring is coming. The weather hasn't quite warmed up yet, but I'm craving these energy bites again!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites modified from this recipe:

1 cup almond flour
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs melted coconut oil
2 Tbs mini chocolate chips

Raw Chocolate Macaroons modified from this recipe:

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup almond flour
scant 1/2 cup coconut oil
4-5 Tbs cocoa powder
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

For both recipes, you just dump everything in the food processor and blend until it clumps together. Then roll them into balls and store in the fridge or freezer!

Now I just need to try my hand at imitating the delicious Hail Merry tarts...

Choco-Coco Ice Cream

I have to admit that summer might be reaching an end. The outdoor pool now has a dome over it for winter swimming. The air has actually been cool the last few mornings. And, well, my fall allergies are back in full force. The worst in years. I'm pretty bummed, but this one last hot-weather recipe sure felt good on my sore throat this week!

This recipe really couldn't be easier. Three ingredients. Simply delicious.

Disclaimer: It's more icy than creamy, and I'm not sure if it's because we melted chocolate in, or because we used a different brand of coconut milk-- we used A Taste of Thai this time, and Simply Thai last time. We still love this recipe, and the iciness was remniscent of a Wendy's frosty, so I can't complain!

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

makes 6 servings

{ put the bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer 24 hours prior to making ice cream }

2 cans full-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup + 1/3 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips (divided)

1. Whisk the coconut milk and sugar in a pot over medium heat. Once the milk starts to warm, add 1/3 cup chocolate chips and stir until they melt.

2. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, whisking frequently.

3. Pour mixture into a heat-safe bowl.

4. Refrigerate until fully chilled, stirring occasionally to accelerate the chilling (this took us about 1 hour).

5. Pour the chilled mixture into the ice cream maker and turn on.

6. Allow the mixture to spin for 30-45 minutes. Add 1 cup chocolate chips. Continue mixing for a total of 1 hour. Garnish with extra chocolate as desired.

7. At this point, you can enjoy it soft-serve style, or you can scoop it into a freezer-safe dish, cover tightly, and allow it to freeze completely. (You'll have to let it soften a bit again after getting it out of the freezer.) Either way, it's delicious.

Dig in! And pray for ragweed season to end quickly.

Just Six Jam Cookies

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? We've had to be pretty strict with our grocery budget lately, so the day before payday is often quite... creative. Yesterday I found myself hungry after getting back from the gym, but I didn't have any quick snacks available. Cookies were inevitable, but I didn't have my normal cookie ingredients.

I did, however, have some teff flour my mom gave me last time I was at home, and some plum jam my grandma made recently. Thus, jam cookies were inevitable. The teff flour gives these a rich brown color and hearty base, and the jam lends some end-of-summer sweetness to each bite.

Worth noting: I've been making lots of small batches of cookies lately. If you do try to multiply the recipe by 4 for a larger crowd, let me know how it works!

Jam Cookies
makes just 6 cookies

1/2 cup teff flour
1 Tbs powdered sugar
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

2 Tbs coconut oil, melted
1 Tbs ground flax + 3 Tbs water
1 Tbs milk of choice




roughly 1/4 cup fruit jam or jelly of choice


1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a pan with parchment paper or prepare with cooking spray.

2.) Mix the flax and water together and set aside for several minutes to gel into a "flax egg."

3.) In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, and salt.

4.) Add the coconut oil, flax egg, and milk. Stir well.

5.) Form into six balls of dough and place on cookie sheet. Indent each ball of dough and fill with approximately 1 tsp jam.

6.) Bake for 9-11 minutes and allow to cool before removing from pan.

Coconut Milk Caramel Sauce

The other day, out of nowhere, I had a huge craving for salted caramel. I think it blew Ross' mind that 20 minutes after I announced that, I walked into the office with some caramel on a spoon for him to taste. What can I say? The heart wants what the heart wants.

Coconut Milk Carmel Sauce

3 Tbs butter (or butter substitute if you're vegan)
1 14 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
up to 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put the butter in a medium sauce pan set over medium-high heat. Allow the butter to melt for 1-22 minutes and begin to swirl it around the pan, allowing it to brown. Keep the butter moving so it doesn’t burn. Browning should take about 3 minutes and you’ll know it’s done when it smells nutty and it has a dark golden brown color.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Raise heat to medium-high again and boil the mixture, stirring frequently with a heat-safe spoon or spatula, until the sauce thickens. This takes about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, allow to cool for a minute or two, and add vanilla.  Serve over ice cream, on a pear crisp, with apple slices, or on a spoon!

Caramel Pear Crisp

This is for my co-worker Karen, who always gazes longingly at the hospital cafeteria's cobbler and moans about how bad it is. I promised her ages ago that cobbler could be healthy but I'm just now getting around to typing this out. You see, I use rough ratios for this "recipe" and it changes a little each time. It's hard to go wrong here!

Caramel Pear Crisp

Fruit Filling:
3 cups fruit (this can vary between 2-5 cups, really. And frozen or fresh doesn't really matter.)
2 Tbs sugar or honey
3 Tbs water
1/2 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon (feel free to add more if pears or apples are your fruit of choice and less if you're using berries)
1 tsp vanilla

Crumble Topping:
1/4 cup flour (I use oat flour, but if you're okay with gluten you can use spelt or whole wheat)
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup almond meal (or more flour)
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs butter
1/3 cup milk (as usual, I use SoDelicious unsweetened coconut milk)

Preheat oven to 400F and grease a large pie dish.

In a large pot or skillet with the heat off, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Add water and whisk until smooth. Mix in your sliced fruit and mix until coated. Bring fruit mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Spoon cooked fruit into prepared pan.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in the milk until combined. Spoon the batter over the fruit.

Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes until golden. Serve immediately with your favorite ice cream and a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce (recipe to come)!