another allergy friendly cookie!

i know i haven't posted in a while. work always seems to get in the way of life- especially when you're working 80-90 hours/week.

here's a sweet little cookie i've made in the past for kids that have wheat and dairy allergies. i've found that cocoa camino doesn't have any dairy in their chocolate chips, which is a must for those pesky dairy allergies! and bonus- they're fair trade!

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, vegetable oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies

free! free! free!!!

my friend's third child, hazel, is allergic to many of the things i bake with everyday; dairy, wheat and soy. it's her 4th birthday and i wanted her to have something special that she could eat that wouldn't give her the itchiest arms on the planet! i texted her mum asking if she could have this product or that one and kept notes. i found a couple interesting recipies but the one i'm showing you now is a very simple one for spelt cookies (here). this cookie is dairy free, wheat free and soy free!
i didn't want to use oil for the cookies, so i got some organic coconut butter and softened it up. the only problem i had with this recipe was the directions. i think you should make these like you would any other cookie: cream the fat and sugar (in this case apple juice and oil) and then add in the flour mixture until just combined. i also think when i make these again i'll substitute the apple juice concentrate for apple sauce. the texture is very dense and combined with these milk free chocolate chips is a really great little cookie!

SPELT COOKIES

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup milk-free unsweetened or semi-sweet chips
-- (carob or chocolate) OR
3/4 cup chopped nuts, any kind

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil baking sheet. In a bowl combine the spelt flour and baking soda. In a separate bowl mix the oil and apple juice concentrate, and stir into the flour mixture, until just mixed. Fold in the chips or nuts.

Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto the baking sheet and bake 10-14 minutes or until they begin to brown. Using a spatula, immediately remove to wire racks. Allow to cool.

For sweeter cookies boil down 1 1/4 cups of the apple juice concentrate to measure 3/4 cup.