I have been baking with grain and dairy-free ingredients for long enough that I understand how they work. I might not know the exact science behind the combination of ingredients, but I get that coconut and almond milk can be used as a 1:1 substitute for cow's milk. I understand that when choosing one milk over the other, the coconut milk has a creamier consistency versus the almond milk. I understand that grain-free flours (almond, coconut, etc.) cannot be used as a 1:1 flour substitute (not even for each other).
I know that almond flour provides a lot of moisture to dough because of the oils that come from nuts so it requires less added oils and eggs than other flours. I also understand that when baking with unrefined sweeteners, honey and maple syrup can be easily interchanged. As with oils, I know that I can switch something from coconut oil to olive oil if I wish, or I can sub in butter or palm shortening. So, these things I know and have come to understand over the past year. With all of this, I have to wonder how come I always go to a recipe for baking. Why is it that I don't just come up with my own cookie, cake, and pie recipes? Is it that I know someone else has already tested these for me? Is it the high cost of quality ingredients that causes the hesitation in case I mess up? I'm not sure. Yes, I have made my own crackers and cookies and posted them on this site, but that has come from time and time again trying someone else's recipes and figuring out how to swap around ingredients, change the flavors, and make my own. I don't think I have ever started from a blank page. Last night around 11, I decided to change that. I wanted something new, something tasty, and something that still fit within my guidelines of quality ingredients. I started thinking about how a few months ago I came across a magazine that featured an article where someone turned a muffin tin upside down, put cookie dough on top and baked cups out of it. That became the start of my new recipe. I researched this idea last night and found that people have done this in other ways and Pillsbury has a highly searched recipe for this. (You know what this means, right? This means that most people are buying pre-made dough from the store and placing it on top of muffin tins. This also means that I couldn't find any recipes like this that featured paleo ingredients. Score for me! I wanted to do something more original.) As I was brainstorming, I chose 24-count mini-muffins tins over the regular 12-cup tins. Not only do you get more treats out of it, but you also don't have to worry about a mess since they can be eaten in just a few bites. The next plan was coming up with my own paleo sugar cookie dough and deciding on what I wanted to place in the cups once they were cooked. I chose coastal fruits with spices and maple sugar over coconut whipped cream for one and berries with cinnamon and maple sugar over coconut whipped cream for the other. I hope you enjoy these. They were very easy to make! The 15 minutes in the oven gave me time to clean up the dishes, cut the fruit, and prepare the spices and cream. Everything can be done within 30 minutes (including cooking time). I have a feeling you are also wondering if you can use this cookie dough recipe to roll out and make cut-out cookies to decorate. My answer is yes, you can. I tested it out for you today with some leftover dough. I will post some pictures of that too along with a few extra instructions. My hope is that you enjoy these. Mine will be eaten around my house, so I wasn't too concerned with how perfect the little cups turned out. They are great for me, but if you want perfection (or are taking them to someone else's house and want to impress them), just make sure you mold them into the exact shape you want prior to baking. These keep their shape. They will puff up a bit, but the molded shape remains the same. Enjoy and please let me know what you think and critique them in any way!
Grain and Dairy-Free Sugar Cookie Dough Cups
24-count mini muffin tin, turned upside down and greased with olive or coconut oil
3 cups almond flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder (plus a little extra to dust with)
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Mix wet ingredients well in one bowl
Mix dry ingredients well in another bowl
Add the dry into the wet and mix until well incorporated
Take out 2 sheets of parchment paper
Lay the dough ball on top of one sheet
Place second piece of parchment over the other
With a rolling pin, roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness
Take off top sheet
Dust the top with extra arrowroot powder
Score the dough into approximately 4"x4" squares (I used a pizza cutter)
Take each square, one by one, and place (arrowroot dusted-side up) on top of each muffin tin and mold
Bake for 15 minutes
Let cool for 5 minutes
Gently pull off cookie cups and place on a plate ( I used a spoon to carefully begin pulling up edges. Then, they all popped off easy!)
Fill with desired ingredients once cups are completely cooled
**For Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Use the same recipe
Roll out the dough between the parchment
Dust with arrowroot
Using cookie cutters, make desired shapes and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet
Using more arrowroot as needed, continue until all dough has been used
325 degrees for 15 minutes
Decorate after completely cooled
Coastal and Berry Filling
Coconut whipped cream-
2 cans coconut milk, chilled overnight
1 tablespoon honey
Add only the top, creamy part of the coconut milk to your mixing bowl (do not use the watery part)
Begin mixing on high until you see the cream begin to form (about 2 minutes)
Slowly add in the honey while continuing to mix
Mix 2-3 minutes more until you see the consistency of dairy whipped cream
Coastal (Makes 12)-
1/2 cup mixed diced papaya and mango
1/2 tablespoon maple sugar
1/4 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
Fill cups halfway with the cream
Add fruit on top
Sprinkle with seasoning mix
Top with cilantro
Berry (Makes 12)-
1/2 cup mixed blueberries and chopped strawberries
1/2 tablespoon maple sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped mint
Fill cups halfway with cream
Add fruit on top
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mix
Top with mint
Store these in the refrigerator
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