Cold weather means apple pie (or some version thereof) in my house.  Our favorite is this cinnamon-spiked apple tart encased in a pecan crust. Since my boys go gaga for anything involving baked apples, this gluten free apple tart with a high protein, grain free crust doesn’t last long around here.

I love that the boys (and their friends) gobble down a treat high in fiber and other nutrients, with a minute amount of added sweetener –this entire dessert has a mere one tablespoon of honey. While super kid-friendly, this not-too-sweet tart also makes a gluten free, dairy free dessert that is rich enough to satisfy discerning palates, hence the place it will take on on our Thanksgiving table next month.

Here are some of my other fall friendly apple recipes:

• Rosemary Apple Chicken
• How To Make Applesauce
• Raw Applesauce

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving? What types of recipes would you like to see here before the holiday?

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This recipe for vegan raspberry streusel bars is based on one by Brittany at Real Sustenance. Ever since she posted her delicious looking recipe last year during the holidays I’ve been wanting to make it.

I adjusted her recipe by removing the sweetener from the crust and by increasing the amount of high protein items in the streusel so the topping would be a bit less sweet as well. I hope you like these gluten free dessert bars as much as we did.

Recently I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful couple, Pepi Gramshammer and his lovely wife Sheika. Pepi is one of the founders of Vail –”Pepi’s Face” is a run on the mountain; Sheika, his awesome wife, is the genius behind many of their business ventures. They are the quintessential close knit hardworking European couple.

In any event, Sheika asked me what I had done earlier that day, and I told her that I had spent the afternoon making streusal. She had no clue what I was talking about which I thought was funny since she is from Austria and German is her native language. Finally, I got my point across through various descriptions and she said, “Oh! STREUSEL!” Rolling her “r’s” in that wonderful way that only she can.

Whatever your accent, I hope you enjoy these vegan streusal bars!

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With a mere 4 ingredients (dark chocolate, coconut milk, xylitol and coconut oil) this low glycemic chocolate pudding is the perfect gluten free treat for Valentine’s Day. I’m trying to keep my recipes as delicious and simple as possible and this dessert fits that bill. I hope you all enjoy it as much as my family did.

If you find yourself averse to using xylitol (and please don’t feed it to your dogs!) then feel free to experiment with this recipe and try using alternative sweeteners. Just be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you used and how it worked out.

I cannot take credit for the method in this recipe. Recently, I was going through a stack of gluten free magazines. I found a nice recipe for a Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Raspberry Pie in Living Without and decided to experiment with it. The result? This Easy Chocolate Pudding recipe. Sometimes my tinkering takes me in unexpected directions. I set out to make pie and end up with pudding –that is the fun of the process.

When I was a little girl, my mom and dad used to pack canned Del Monte chocolate pudding in my lunch. I loved it. This brings back those school lunch memories without all of the sugar and processed chemicals.

Finally, I want to thank Chocolate Covered Katie for inspiring the photo in this post. Very little of what we do is original.

Happy gluten free, dairy free Valentine’s Day.

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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?

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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!

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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!

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Looking for delicious and healthy dessert ideas to tide you over during the holiday season? What about apple crisp –one of the easiest desserts to make; perfect for both beginner and advanced chefs.

I developed this gluten free Gingerbread Apple Crisp recipe for Shirley Braden’s blogging event, Home for the Holidays Gluten-Free Style. Every day, from Monday, November 28 through Friday, December 23, a different blogger will share a gluten-free recipe that means both home and the holidays to them. Here’s more from Shirley:

Our Home for the Holidays Gluten-Free Style blogging event offers the comfort, joy, excitement, and fun of the holidays with wonderful recipes from your favorite bloggers.

A special thanks to Shirley for including me in the event. If you are in the Fredericksburg, VA area, be sure to check out the gluten intolerance/celiac support group that she runs where they discuss topics such as celiac disease, the gluten free diet and how to survive the holidays.

This time of year can be challenging and filled with dietary dilemmas. How do we stay connected to, and feel a part of, the festivities yet remain true to what our bodies need when our visual and olfactory senses are inundated by foods that might not be part of our regular program?

If you are on a special diet, this gluten free, grain free Paleo friendly dessert recipe will likely work for you. Further, I like this Gingerbread Apple Crisp because it’s festive enough to bring to a party (or serve to guests in your own home) and also healthy enough for those needing to stay away from certain foods (sugar, gluten and dairy come to mind).

For extra holiday flare, serve this apple crisp with the Vegan Coconut Whip recipe in my latest book, Gluten-Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour.

Stay tuned. At noon today, the numerous giveaways for Home for the Holidays will begin in a brand new post here at Elana’s Pantry, including details on how you can win!

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Healthy yet tasty gingersnaps are a deliciously addictive traditional holiday cookie. My gluten free, grain free version contain a good dose of anti-inflammatory ginger. I’m passionate about creating desserts that please the palate and contain super foods as well –a win-win situation for myself, my family and my readers.

These cookies are one of those rare vegan, yet primal friendly treats. These nutritious cookies are the perfect primal friendly treat. I won’t call them Paleo as I believe many peeps will take the opportunity to point out that this is not a perfectly Paleo cookie recipe –pretty close though.

My children and I have been baking quite a lot of gluten free, grain free cookies lately. I find this ginger cookie recipe especially easy to make and so do the boys. That’s why I will be preparing these cookies live on Colorado’s “Everyday” Show. The program will broadcast on our local FOX affiliate KDVR, tomorrow, Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at 10:45am (MST).

I went on Twitter last night asking folks a few questions about the holidays. You see, I’m Jewish and was having trouble deciding which cookies are appropriate for Christmas. The verdict was that my Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies are indeed a Christmas treat. I want to thank everyone who responded to my religious-culinary inquiry.

In the next couple of weeks I’ll be tweeting a lot about what I’m making for the holidays this year –feel free to join the conversation.

Update: here’s the video for aforementioned above!

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Here’s a lovely seasonal treat –gluten free apple crisp that’s simple and easy to make with very few, and very healthy ingredients. This recipe for Granny Smith Apple Crisp is particularly low carb because I use the low glycemic sweetener xylitol.

Since so many people have written to me to tell me they do not use agave, I thought it would be nice to research a variety of alternative sweeteners and experiment with them. Hence the use of xylitol (a low glycemic sweetener) in this recipe. My children couldn’t taste the difference and my doctor highly recommends xylitol for those that can digest it –it is not as easy to digest as agave for some people.

As always, use the ingredients that suit you best, and take the time to experiment with substitutions, as I cannot answer your (or my own) substitution questions without actually testing them in real life in my real kitchen.

As you can see from the note above, this recipe was a major hit with my older son. He left me a note on the dessert that said, “Mom, please do not let ANYONE eat the crisp. I want to eat it. TKS (Thanks).”

Every fall when I begin baking fruit desserts in earnest, I have the same internal dialogue –what is the exact difference between a crumble and a crisp? And every fall, without fail, I pull out my well worn copy of the Joy of Cooking and look this up again. I thought I would share what the good book says with all of you:

“For a crisp, the flour, butter, and sugar are mixed together like pie dough before the liquid is added, and the mixture scattered over the top.”

“A crunch is fruit sandwiched between two layers of sweetened, buttered crumbs; it is served cut into squares, like bar cookies , but is more fragile…Crumble is the British name for a crisp or crunch with oatmeal in the topping.”

Here are some more healthy gluten free recipes using apples:
-Cinnamon Apple Cake
-Caramel Apples
-Fennel Apple Soup

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Strawberry Sorbet is the perfectly refreshing dessert for any summer meal.  This sorbet recipe is loaded with wholesome strawberries, which have numerous health benefits.  Strawberries are thought to be a cancer fighting food as well as high in vitamin C, anti-inflammatory and good for the cardiovascular system.  Research has also shown that strawberries can help to regulate blood sugar and decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes.

I’m highlighting this sorbet recipe (previously posted several years ago) because it’s hot here (96 degrees in Boulder today), and I’m craving light and healthy food.  So here’s how to make sorbet the easy way –take note, this recipe contains a mere 3 ingredients.

Here are some of my other healthy strawberry recipes:

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