Nuts = DANGEROUS (for the many people with allergies)
I learned this the hard way last year when an innocently packed Gingersnap sent a 10-year-old boy to the school office for his EpiPen.
My son and his friends were trading items from their lunches and his grain-freeGingersnaps made it all the way around the lunch table, and into the hands of a boy with a severe allergy to almonds. After one little nibble he felt the reaction coming on and quickly sought treatment in the school office.
Thankfully he was prepared and had enough experience to know exactly what to do. What happened next was a school policy change from a PEANUT-FREE zone to a completely NUT-FREE zone.
Most schools these days make it very clear that you are not allowed to bring peanut products on school grounds to protect the children with peanut allergies, which can flare up with secondhand contact. However what’s not as clear is the fact that some children are severely allergic to non-peanut nuts as well, including almonds.
This means no more almond-flour-based treats or bread products. This poses another layer of challenge in the packing of grain-free, low-carb lunches. (See my Nut-Free Paleo Lunch Post.) So here is the first of many new NUT-FREE recipes…The Best EVER Coconut Cookies
It made sense to start my NUT-FREE remakes with the very best cookie recipe that I’ve ever created! These sweet little morsels are incredibly tasty and packed with usable nutrition and energy. One bite and you’ll see why I call these the BEST COOKIES EVER!
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
⅓ cup coconut flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup coconut oil, melted
½ cup coconut palm sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup lily’s chocolate chips (stevia sweetened)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl combine the shredded coconut, coconut flour and sea salt. In another medium bowl combine ½ cup melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract and beaten eggs. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix.
Form round, golf-ball sized, balls with the cookie dough. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool for 20 minutes then place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler. Simply place the chocolate and coconut oil in a small saucepan and place that into a larger saucepan that has a couple of inches of water over medium heat. Mix constantly until smooth.
Dip the chilled cookies in the melted, dark chocolate, then place on a parchment lined plate. Drizzle dark chocolate across the tops of the cookies. Place back in the fridge until the chocolate hardens — about 15 minutes. Enjoy!
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