Tag Archives: extra virgin coconut oil

{vegan} samoas

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Happy Friday Friends!
Who has some bake time scheduled for this weekend? If so, might I suggest some samoas?
Girl scout cookie season may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can no longer eat girl scout cookies!

I made these cookies once before and I remember loving them, but I never wrote out the full recipe. I had originally found the recipe on the a blog called The Baking Stone, making only a few substitutions, however when I went back to remake them recently I discovered that the blog is no longer around. I racked my brains and a very smudged/handwritten piece of paper and came up with what I believe to be the recipe I originally used. In the end it doesn’t matter if this is the same recipe as before because these cookies came out amazing. Therefore, I am posting the recipe here before it gets lost again. 

vegan samoas

{vegan} samoas
(makes 28 – depending on size)

- 2 heaping cups unsweetened coconut flakes (reduced fat coconut flakes for lower fat cookies)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup nut milk of choice, near room temperature
- 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
- 1 T ground flax
- 1 t pure vanilla bean paste or extract

chocolate drizzle:

- 6 oz dark chocolate
- 1 t extra virgin coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toast coconut flakes for 5-7 minutes or until slightly golden. Make sure to stir after 3 mins so they don’t burn!
Once toasted, put aside coconut flakes.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, & salt.

In a larger bowl mix together coconut oil, sugar, milk, flax, vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture. Once combined, fold in the toasted coconut flakes.

Using a melon scooper or spoon, roll the dough and place on cookie sheet. Make sure to press the dough balls down because they will not spread.

Bake for 10-12 mins or until edges are slightly golden. Longer for larger sized cookies.
The cookies will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven and will harden as they cool. At this time poke a hole in the middle with a chopstick or similar sized utensil.

vegan samoas

While the cookies cool, melt the chocolate and coconut oil over a double boiler or in the microwave (stirring every 20 seconds until melted). Dunk the bottom of the cookies into the chocolate and let cool on nonstick foil or parchment. Once all the cookies bottoms have been coated, use a fork and drizzle remaining chocolate over cookies.
(I actually did it the other way around, but recommend coating bottom of cookies before drizzling)

vegan samoas vegan samoas

Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to let the chocolate firm up.

Then package and give to your cookie loving friends : )

vegan samoas

Orrr just save them all for yourself ; ) They keep very well in the freezer just FYI.

I’d venture to say these taste even better than the actual girl scouts samoas. The ingredients are definitely better. And the best part is they’re really simple to make.
Whether you’re a vegan or not, I guarantee these will be enjoyed to the fullest. So get baking!

Have a lovely weekend y’all!

Have any fun plans this weekends?
Do you like girl scout cookies? Which kind is your favorite?

 

 

pumpkin muffins

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happy saturday friends!

aren’t saturdays mornings just so perfect for pancake breakfasts and baking?

i did neither.
{i do have a recipe to share though}

but i did learn that turkey avocado wraps should be saved for lunch as opposed to eating them first thing in the morning.

it’s just not breakfast-y enough for me. and its kind of awkward with coffee.

coffee would have probably been paired better with these…

pumpkin muffins
{makes 12} 

- 1 cup whole wheat pasty flour OR unbleached all purpose
- 1/2 cup almond flour (i used bobs red mill)
- 1 T baking powder
 - 1 T cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 t sea salt
- 1 heaping cup pumpkin puree
- 4 T coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 egg, room temp
- 1/2 cup agave OR sweetener of choice**
- 1 T vanilla extract

preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sift dry ingredients into one bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a second bowl. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet. I mixed in 1/3 at a time.
Evenly divide batter into 12 muffin cups. 
Bake for 25 mins or until toothpick comes out clean
{i moved mine to bottom rack for last 10 minutes}

**these muffins have just a hint of sweetness.

i enjoyed mine crumbled on top of greek yogurt and chia pudding.
{this was a week or so ago when I was still in my chia phase. i’ve moved on now.}

i realize, for someone who claims to not like pumpkin that much, i’ve kind of been eating a lot of it lately.

case in point: this happened yesterday.

pumpkiny smoothie
{1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 1 frozen banana, 1/3 cup pumpkin, 5 ice cubes, 1 T pumpkin pie spice}

and i can’t say i didn’t like it.

when theres an open can of pumpkin in the fridge i just have to find ways to incorporate it.

i also tried mixing it into my scrambled egg whites yesterday…and i can tell you – that was definitely not a keeper.
blech.

are you a fan of pumpkin? how do you use up leftover pumpkin?

donut holes + lavash chips

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After drooling over everyones gorgeously delicious looking donuts for months, i fiiiianllyy got around to baking up a batch!

yay!

Coconuty Donut Holes
makes 9
{adapted from tropical traditions}

- 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut butter [softened but not melted]
- 1/4 cup agave nectar 
- 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 room temperature egg
- 5 T coconut flour

- optional additions: coconut flakes, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar

 Preheat oven to 350F.
In a bowl cream together coconut butter, agave, vanilla extract, and salt.  Add in whisked egg and mix to combine.
Next, add coconut flour and stir until it all comes together.  
Let dough sit for a minute to allow everything to absorb.
Meanwhile, spray a baking dish with coconut oil cooking spray (or spray of choice).
Using a teaspoon, scoop out dough and roll into balls and place in baking dish.

The donut holes do not rise or spread so it is okay to place them close to one another.

Bake for 16-19 mins or until donut holes are a golden brown.

Allow donut holes to cool before rolling them in coconut flakes, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar.

I rolled half of my donut holes in a cocoa powder + cinnamon combination and kept the others plain.  I think a coconut flake + cocoa powder combo would be quite delicious as well.

The end result is deliciously dense yet light, and not too overwhelmingly sweet [although its very easy to make it sweeter if preferred].

Of course, it’s not the same as a munchkin from dunkin donuts, but its more nutritionally friendly. and still delish ;)


And since my oven was on…

I figured I may as well bake up those lavash chips i was talking about the other day.

I just cut up one sheet of lavash into little rectangles and baked them on the bottom rack [since the donut holes were in the center rack] for 10 mins at 350F and they were crispy, golden, and ready.

They’re already deliciously crunchy on their own, but they also taste great dipped in guacamole or hummus, or even topped with refried beans (which seems to have become a favorite of mine recently).

And you see all those chips up there?
Just 100 calories total.
A great snack!

Happy Baking! : )

Do you ever bake with coconut flour?
This was my first time using coconut flour, and omg, it smells amazinggg! It’s also delicious.

If yes, what else do you use it for?
Feel free to share links and such : ) I’ve still got a whole jar left!