The Magic of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a wonderful product that has so many uses. I have been using it in recipes for a while, but was told about this coconut oil spray from Trader Joe's. Coconut oil is one of the best oils that you can use and doesn't make food greasy which can sometimes happen with olive oil. This light spray doesn't just as well as any cooking spray or olive oil spray. However, it smells absolutely amazing when it cooks. I have used it with sweet and savory dishes, so don't think that you can only use it for sweets. It's relatively in expensive and is much better for you then cooking spray. I used it in my crock pot and actually think it did a better job at creating a "nonstick" surface than the cooking spray did. If you haven't tried this out, be sure to grab a can (or two) as the holidays are coming up and you will definitely put this to good use!

Cookie Challenge

I try to be open and up to any challenge. Food challenges are no exception. This one was to make a vegan, gluten free cookie for a friend. So we found a recipe that had only five ingredients: raw honey, coconut oil, salt, almond extract, and gluten free flour. The recipe called for blanched almond flour, however, Whole Foods didn't have any...which was weird. Also, they only had a giant bottle of almond extract, so I will be making a lot of recipes with almond extract. Anyways, back to the recipe. All you do is mix the ingredients together until a creamy dough forms. Pop the cookies on a cookies sheet and bake at 350 for about 8 minutes. Take them out and cool completely.
While the cookies are baking and cooling, you make the icing. It uses raw honey, coconut oil, almond extract, lemon and lemon zest. Again, Whole Foods failed and didn't have lemons. The icing was good, but unfortunately there wasn't much of a lemon flavor. Mix together and chill in the refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Spread on the cookies and then enjoy! Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be like a shortbread. The consistency was a crust on the outside and a somewhat crumbly texture. The icing really kicked up the flavor, so I would say it is a must. The best part about these cookies is that they had no flour, sugar, or eggs, so they were pretty healthy. I am glad that I tried them and was pleasantly surprised. Don't be afraid to try something new. You never know what you will get.