Cheddar Onion Rolls

These savory rolls aren't too much to look at, but when you can't eat wheat or grains, they can really hit the spot. They go really well with a salad or broken apart into your soup. These rolls also make an excellent substitute for hamburger buns, and if you're making them to use for a sandwich, make sure to make them rounded, because they'll flatten as they bake, and you want them to be taller if you're planning on slicing them in half.

This recipe is based on one from the Healing Foods Cookbook.

{pre-baking}

Cheddar Onion Rolls
makes 6
3 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup cheddar, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1/3 cup onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
olive oil

1.) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the almond flour with the baking soda, cheddar, salt, pepper, and onions. In another bowl, whisk the butter with the eggs (and honey if you're using it) until frothy.

2.) Add the almond flour mixture to the egg mixture and knead together. With slightly moist hands, form the dough into 6 buns and place onto a parchment lined baking tray. Trace a cross across the top of the rolls with a sharp knife and brush with oil.

3.) Bake for about 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 300 degrees F and bake for another 15 minutes. The rolls should feel firm and nicely browned. Extras can be refrigerated in an airtight container.

Almond Macaroons

These cookies take less than 10 minutes to put together and are perfect for anyone who can't do regular cookies because of the starch &/or gluten. I actually made them this morning before making Roi his breakfast & lunch so that I could pack a few in his lunch for an afternoon snack -- that's how quick they are to make. They're chewy in the middle, crunchy on the outside and taste like amaretto. And I may have a eaten a few for a pre-breakfast snack.

You can substitute other kinds of nuts for the almonds (like pecans or macadamia nuts) but I haven't tried out those varieties yet, and I don't know for sure whether or not those types of nuts are starch free (although tree nuts do tend to be starch-less).

Simple Almond Macaroons
yields 12-15 cookies
1 egg white, unbeaten
1 1/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (aka sugar in the raw), for rolling

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oil.

2. Mix together egg white, almond meal, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until well blended. Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough between your palms into 1-inch balls. Put turbinado sugar into a small bowl and roll each of the balls in the sugar. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

{post-rolling, pre-baking}

3. Bake until firm, set and lightly browned (they're going to be darker than regular wheat flour cookies), about 35 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

{cooling}

{eat!}

-- Kara

Almond Flour Pancakes

 

A couple of years ago when Roi first made the jump to a completely starch free diet, we both thought that pancakes would be something he'd have to give up forever. But last year while I was trolling the web, I came across some Paleo recipes that used almond flour and eggs to make pancakes that have the same taste and consistency we were used to in traditional pancakes. I made a few tweaks because the Paleo diet isn't synonymous with a starch free diet and here we are! In delicious pancake land.

Almond Flour Pancakes

serves 2 ~ about 3 medium pancakes each

1/2 cup almond meal/almond flour (it's the same thing, I buy mine from Trader Joe's)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

butter for frying

Sift or whisk the dry ingredients together. Whisk in the cream and vanilla, then the eggs. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and add a little butter to the pan. These pancakes will spread, so I usually like to use a small egg-frying pan and only 1/4-1/3 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the pancake seems set and you can see little bubbles all over the top, then flip. Make sure both sides are golden brown and the pancake is cooked through. Mix the batter in between pancakes because it will separate slightly.

Having pancakes with sliced strawberries and whipped cream is my favorite way, but you can serve these however you'd serve regular pancakes. In the past, I have made these with blueberries, but the pancakes never stay together as well when the berries are mixed into the batter, so I usually serve the fruit on top after the pancakes are cooked. Roi likes them with with butter in between each layer and with a lot of maple syrup (Real maple syrup is starch free! Hooray! I don't know about the fake stuff though.) 

To make 2-3 servings of whipped cream, put 1/3 cup cold heavy whipping cream into a bowl and mix (I use an electric hand mixer) until thick. Then add a teaspoon of sugar and whip until stiff peaks form and it looks like whipped cream should. Then just dollop as much as you want on top of your pancakes. (I used a piping bag because I like to get fancy.)