In my early twenties I dreamed of being a chef. I fell in love with baking. I thought it was an odd choice because I never baked anything growing up. My mother is an amazing cook. She never measured or followed recipes, she would just throw in a pot and then taste and, BAM! It was always something so good. I was always in the presence of great cooks. My aunts would cook the most amazing gravy on Sundays (for those of you who don’t know; Gravy is what some people call pasta sauce), the best roast pork in the world, and the most divine black bottom cupcakes. I was lucky. I just watched from a distance and my love of food began probably with my first bite as a baby.

When my father died unexpectedly in 1983 my mom went on a major health kick. I can remember being 6 years old and eating tofu, black beans and rice, and pizza made with a gluten free crust and soy cheese. I loved it all. I always loved what my mom made even if it seemed weird, including her famous “MUSH” as we called it. I was just a lover of food.

I loved my first experience with sushi, I loved eating real Mexican food on the beach in Mexico, I loved a truly authentic east coast pizza, and I really love a good marble cheesecake.

I began dreaming of a career in food. I saved my  money and planned on enrolling at the Art Institute of LA in the culinary department. Meanwhile I got busy baking up some seriously good tidbits and selling them to a whole bunch of local spots in Venice Beach, CA. Life came at me and the next thing I knew I was packed up and moving up to Berkeley, Ca. My food dreams got put on hold as I pursued a history degree in college.

I stopped baking and let that part of me go quiet. When my children were first born I cooked and baked all the time. I would bake a cake and decorate it with fondant and sugar art just for fun. That all changed when my sweet Blaise was diagnosed with Prader Willi Syndrome. My son is always hungry, really hungry, he literally could eat himself to death. Food is really the enemy in my house. My son also has to watch his carbohydrate intake. This means that all the food you see out in the world for kids, doesn’t apply to my sweet boy. As soon as he was diagnosed I hated the kitchen. I hated that food was the enemy in my house. I hated for what it did to my son. It took me a long time to get over that and fall in love with food again.

Finding the right diet to help my son, and eventually me, has led me to where I am today. I love creating new recipes full of flavor that are made with love. I love that there is a world out there where I can bake a classic cake but make it “clean, grain free and if I choose dairy free). I still can cook all the traditional stuff, but I really enjoy getting creative and cooking food that is perfect for even my Prader Willi Child. I stumbled upon a new grain free recipe for ginger snap cookies, and so it began. I found my love of baking again and its back with a vengeance. I am on a mission to create some truly awesome treats that I plan to share with all of you. I have been whipping up new classics. I love thinking outside of the box.  I really enjoy creating something from scratch and having it turn out to be delicious.

These cookies came from that. I really wanted a chocolate chip cookie. I wanted it to be simple to make and delicious. This is what I came up with. They took me about 5 minutes to make and 13 minutes in the oven. They are so amazing. Grain free and absolutely a new not so guilty, guilty pleasure.

 

Cookie Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 tbs of molasses

2 tbs of maple syrup

1/2 cup of almond butter

2 tsp of vanilla

1/4 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 1/2 cups of almond flour

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

1 cup of mini chocolate chips (I use the enjoy life brand)

 

Preheat Oven to 350degree

use parchment paper or silicone mat on a large baking sheet

 

In a mixer:

cream the eggs, maple syrup, molasses, almond butter and vanilla. Then add your dry ingredients, including walnuts and chocolate chips. Mix those all together for about 30 seconds on high to incorporate. Place your mixing bowl in the fridge and let the dough sit for 30 minutes.

 

Take the dough out and roll small balls on the baking sheet. Flatten out your balls with your hand to make the desired shape. It should yield you about 24 cookies.

 

Bake in your oven for between 11-13 minutes. Oven temps may vary. Do not over bake these cookies. Take them out and let them cool.

 

Grab yourself a nice glass of almond milk or beverage of choice and enjoy this twist on your childhood classic.