I can assure you, this is not a Paleo cookie. It is not even a Primal cookie. It is a special occasion cookie --a wonderful treat to serve at a gluten free Super Bowl party. It also makes a great holiday cookie (think gluten free Valentine's Day dessert). Lately, everyone who has been over to our house --gluten free or not --has been gorging themselves on these Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Whatever your thoughts about the healthfulness (or lack thereof) of this treat, when you're going to have a big dessert such as this, it's great to slow down all of the sugar with some high protein almond flour, which this chocolate chip cookie contains.

All in all, these cookies are a super easy homemade treat that will wow your friends. And family. My husband liked 'em so much that he asked me to bake up a batch for a business associate of his. Now that's one mighty big metaphoric seal of approval.

If you are looking for healthy gluten free cookies, leave the white and milk chocolate chips out of this recipe. The result?  A double dark chocolate chip cookie, made from high protein almond flour and anti-oxidant rich dark chocolate. Or try my gluten free Chocolate Chip Cookies if you're not in the mood to tinker with this recipe.

I made (and nibbled on) these cookies during the holidays last month on Colorado's "Everyday" Show (straying from my regular Paleo fare). This clip was broadcast on our local channel FOX 31 (KDVR) in Denver. You can watch the video below:

I think this may be the most decadent dessert that I make. What is your most indulgent treat?

I really enjoy using almond flour --almonds are a superfood and highly nutritious. However, every now and then, someone requests a nut free dessert recipe for some type of gluten free baked good. At other times, folks are looking for an egg free recipe.

There are as many allergies out there as there are colors in the rainbow. This brownie recipe is for all the nut free, egg free, refined sugar free, gluten free, primal vegans in my life. You keep me on my toes! And I love it.

This recipe uses sunflower seed butter, which is actually similar to a nut butter (though nut free). Sunflower seed butter is gluten free, high protein and made from highly nutritious sunflower seeds --you didn't think I was going to use rice flour, did you?! I'm still as grain free as I've ever been since I gave up grains 11 years ago. All of the recipes on this website are gluten and grain free recipes.

These brownies are based on a gluten free brownie recipe that Amy Jelley posted on my facebook page a couple of weeks ago. Thanks Amy! Her recipe used a ½ cup of honey which is a little much for where my blood sugar is at these days; so I decreased the amount of honey and added in some xylitol and stevia. I also increased the fat and made a couple of other minor changes to the recipe along the way.

This is a very fudgey brownie --it won't seem totally cooked through when you pull it from the oven. I took mine out when the edges were just about to burn, that was how I determined it was done.

Now, a word of caution. Do not feed this dessert to your pets. Chocolate and xylitol are highly toxic to animals. Have any of you been feeding my other desserts to your pets? If so, why are you doing this? Please leave a comment and let us know!

If you're in a pinch for time, I have something just for you. Here's a quick and easy gluten free cookie recipe that requires no baking. I really like making no bake (think no hassle) cookies during the hectic holidays. This one works equally well for Christmas and Hanukkah parties --and is a wonderfully healthy snack throughout the year.

For those of you who aren't entirely in the mood for Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls and are looking for a chocolate covered peanut butter ball, be sure to see Nut Butter Cups recipe --it's a delicious no bake, healthier candy recipe that is quite the crowd-pleaser. My husband and children devour them.

This little dessert is my peanut-y version of the raw foods classic Fudge Babies, a recipe created by the wonderful Katie over at Chocolate Covered Katie.

If you like these peanut butter balls you will love my recent list of 10 Healthy Christmas Cookie Recipes!

One summer evening as I baked countless batches of gluten free cookies, my older son popped into the kitchen. Determined to join me in my culinary adventures, he decided to make gluten free strawberry shortcake from scratch (as in using no cookbook or recipe). The twist?  He's a chocolate lover, so he made Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake.

As you may know, Jewish mothers tend to think of their sons as geniuses, and I am no exception. I love that my 12 year old boy could whip up a recipe from scratch with no help whatsoever. I think that the boys have learned this skill (my 11 year specializes in omelets and pancakes), from hanging out with me while I cook.

My favorite thing about cooking is making mistakes. As a perfectionist, I find this very freeing. Strangely, my son created this cute little recipe on his first try. I have taught the boys to measure and write down all of the ingredients they use when cooking. This way, if they like something and it turns out well, they can make it again. Or I can make it and share it with you all.

So, I present you with my 12 year old son's gluten free Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake. He did not want me to disclose his name, though said it was ok to use his first initial --"J."

So this simple strawberry recipe is easy enough to make with your children. And if you have little ones that follow a gluten-free diet, well, this is even better.

Cooking with children can be a blast; here are some other quick and easy child friendly recipes you can make with your little ones:
-Chocolate Chip Cookies (with video!)
-Liberté, Egalité, Crudité
-Kale with Cranberries

Summer is definitely here and our house is the place to be.  The neighborhood boys congregate on our trampoline --with the sprinklers aimed at it for a good cool down and a great deal of healthy fun.

With all of this activity I keep the food flowing morning, noon and night.  From the time they arrive until dinner (sometimes a bunch of them stay for the evening meal too) I am setting out munchies --snacks, lunch, etc.  They really are a hungry bunch of rascals.

To keep them fueled between meals, I've been making up batches of these super healthy, natural popsicles from Amy Green's book Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free: 180 Easy and Delicious Recipes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less.  I made a big batch of these frozen treats last night and they're already gone today.  Amy's popsicle recipe is absolutely genius!

Why do I like to serve these popsicles to my boys and their friends?  First, they contain high protein almond butter, second, they're full of anti-oxidant rich unsweetened cocoa powder and finally, they're fruit sweetened.  Here's my version of Amy's recipe, I hope you like it as much as the boys and their friends did.

These Paleo pops make the perfect snack.  Amy's book has plenty of other mouthwatering and healthy gluten free recipes.

Some of her recipes are very similar to mine (such as her Pecan Pie Crust), whereas other recipes are quite different.  Amy uses ingredients such as quinoa and oats which I avoid (given the Paleo diet that I have followed somewhat closely for more than a decade; this diet excludes the use of grains as well as seeds derived from grasses, so quinoa and oats are a no-no for me, I actually cannot digest them).

Back to Amy --her book has more than 180 quick and easy gluten free recipes to enjoy.  Today I'm giving away 1 copy of Amy's book, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. To be entered leave a comment below before 10pm (MST) tonight, June 28th, 2011. I will pick the winner at random using Random.org. This giveaway is open to everyone everywhere.

The winner of yesterdays giveaway for a copy of Triumph Dining's Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide and Gluten-Free Grocery Guide is Harry!

Update: this giveaway is now over and the winner was Ary!

These super duper healthy, yet easy to make Fudge Babies have recently been the source of much contention.  You see, it all started when I did the giveaway for a Cuisinart Food Processor a couple of weeks ago.  In that post, I asked readers to let me know of their favorite recipes using a Cuisinart.  There were 2,204 comments on that post.  Guess what? I read each and every one of them.  No joke.

The comments were fascinating.  First, I love hearing from you.  Second, I learned so many things.  One of those things was Fudge Babies.  At least 5 readers mentioned Fudge Babies as their fave recipe.  I then did my own version of Fudge Babies and called them Chocolate Power Bar Balls, of course mentioning that the idea was derived from your comments.

Subsequently, I received several emails and tweets. In my original post I linked back to a site that had not credited the creator of the original Fudge Baby recipe, a woman named Katie.  Thanks for the corrections, everyone, and for introducing me to her website Chocolate Covered Katie.

In any event, all this talk of Fudge Babies prompted me to make my own.  And I knew they were a success because when my husband walked in the door he ate one.  Then another.  And another.  And so on.  You get the idea.  I had to cut him off from the Fudge Babies.  I had to take a picture for you all.

The recipe below is basically Katie's recipe for Fudge Babies, with a couple of slight adaptations on my part.

I hope you all love these Fudge Babies as much as my husband and I do!

For other yummy, raw, vegan recipes go to these bloggers:
-Raw Nut Butter Bars from Nancy of The Sensitive Pantry
-Raw Pecan Pie from Shirley of Gluten Free Easily
-Fudgy Chocolate Tarts from Carrie of Deliciously Organic

This recipe was adapted from one by Pam Vagnieres' in an article called Make Your Own Protein Bars that ran last year in my local newspaper The Daily Camera.  These high protein, gluten free power bars are easy to make and remind me of a Lärabar, though these are super fresh since they're homemade, and they're also not quite as sweet.

My boys and their friends loved these bars and gobbled them up during spring break, when our house was boys central.

If cranberries aren't your thing check out my other gluten free power bar recipes, Chocolate Espresso Power Bars, Spicy Power Bars and the crowd favorite Almond Power Bars.

For more yummy power bar recipes from other gluten free food bloggers check out:
-Sesame Snack Bars (Gluten-Free & Casein Free) from Lexie of Lexie's Kitchen
-Popeye Protein and Fruit Bars from Shirley of Gluten free Easily
-The Best Ever Gluten-Free Power Bars from Debbie of The Gluten-Free 'Dish'

I've been on a gluten free Hamantaschen rampage the last few days and these are my latest and greatest.  I'll be serving them at today's Purim party for my younger son's Chavurah.  We're having 7 families over in a little while to celebrate Purim and the story of Esther.

I hope you all enjoy these gluten free Chocolate Raspberry Hamantaschen!

It's party time over here, so I'm signing off.  Stay tuned for more yummy gluten free, dairy free, higher protein Hamantaschen recipes in the days to come.

We had a huge snowstorm here last night and I made my family a batch of this warming Mexican Hot Chocolate.  A hot drink is perfect for a cold day, and it's even better when warming spices such as cinnamon, chili and cayenne are added.

There is a ton of cinnamon in this recipe, so if you're not a cinnamon fan, you might want to reduce the amount from 1 tablespoon to 1 teaspoon.  Why do I use so much cinnamon?  Well, first, I just love the taste of the stuff.  Second, many studies have been done of late pointing to cinnamon as a spice that may help to control blood sugar levels.  Pretty neat stuff, huh?

Here are some other hot chocolate recipes you may enjoy:
-Delicious Hot Chocolate from Joy The Baker
-Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate by Savory Sweet Life
-Spanish-Style Hot Chocolate from Gluten-Free Gobsmacked

I want to thank Shirley of Gluten Free Easily and Kim from Cook It Allergy Free for their lovely reviews of my Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  I really appreciate the kind words in each of these reviews and the astute observations that Shirley and Kim provide about using almond flour and my recipes.

Who doesn't enjoy a good power bar?  One that is easy to travel with and renders a healthy snack on the go?

These gluten free Espresso Power Bars have a delicious espresso-chocolate-vanilla-ish flavor that makes them equally satisfying as a snack or dessert.  I found mine were just a tad crumbly, you may need to add a dash of water to help yours hold together well.

I adapted this recipe from one featured in a Daily Camera article on Pam Vaginieres and her protein bars.

I will be heading up to the mountains tomorrow to appear on Good Morning Vail (television show at 9:40am MST) where I will chat with Tricia Swenson and demo two gluten free recipes from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook (Smoked Salmon Leek Tart and Chocolate Chip Cookies).

Later that evening you can find me at The Bookworm in Edwards, Colorado at 6pm.  I will be holding a book discussion and signing from 6-8pm. Tickets are $25, which includes wine and gluten free appetizers from my book. Proceeds benefit the Gore Range Natural Science School.