Welcome Melva Loves Scraps and to the final day of the Virtual Cookie Exchange hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt! If you haven't had a chance to see all of the goodies (recipes) offered by the other bloggers you will want to check out the list of participants at the end of the post.
Who doesn't love Christmas Cookies?!? Every individual has a favorite and I am here to share one of our family favorites. It was mentioned in last year's post... Magic Cookie Bars. The yummy sweetness of the graham cracker crust, sweetened condensed milk, nuts, chocolate candies and coconut is difficult to resist!
But with the dietary restrictions put in place to improve my thyroid health I have not been able to have them. SO SAD!
I did find a paleo-GF recipe for them that I tried after the virtual cookie exchange last year. They did, in fact, turn out very tasty and even passed the "inspection" of the resident chief cookie monster - he goes by the name of Dave. Here you go!
GF-Paleo Magic Cookie Bars
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUST
3/4 cup
blanched almond flour
1/2 cup
coconut flour
1 pinch fine
sea salt
1/2 cup
maple syrup
1/4 cup
coconut oil,, melted and slightly cooled
1 large egg
white
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS
1 cup dark
chocolate chips, or chunks, divided, plus more for garnish
3/4 cup
pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup
unsweetened shredded coconut, plus more for garnish
2/3 cup
homemade caramel sauce**
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8"x8"
square baking pan and set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the
"s" blade, pulse the almond flour, coconut flour, and salt several
times, until combined.
Add the maple syrup, oil, and egg white and process until
the dough comes together in a ball.
Press into the bottom of the prepared pan to form a
firmly-packed layer.
Cover with parchment paper, then weigh the parchment down
with rice, dry beans, or pie weights.
Bake for 25 minutes until the edges start to turn golden.
Remove the crust from the oven.
Distribute 3/4 cup of the chocolate over the warm crust.
They will melt slightly. (That's ok, and encouraged.)
Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the chocolate layer.
Add the coconut in an even layer over the pecans.
Distribute the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips around
the pecans and coconut.
Pour the caramel sauce evenly over the top of the bars,
coating all of the exposed chocolate, pecans, and coconut.
Sprinkle additional chocolate chips and coconut over the top
of the caramel layer.
Bake for about about 20 minutes, until the caramel has
seeped into the bars.
Cool completely before cutting the bars.
2/3 cup
coconut (palm) sugar
1/4 cup
maple syrup
1 pinch fine
sea salt
3/4 cup
coconut cream, (5.4 ounce can)
1/2 teaspoon
vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Add the sugar, maple syrup and salt to a small saucepan
fitted with a candy thermometer.
Place on the stove and turn the heat to medium.
Stir continuously until the mixture comes to a rolling boil,
then reduce the heat slightly to bring the mixture down to a simmer or low
boil.
Continue to stir until the mixture reaches 220F. It should
take several minutes.
Once the mixture reaches 220F, turn off the heat and stir in
the coconut cream until it has melted into the sugar mixture.
Turn the heat back on (medium) and continue to stir until
the mixture reaches 210 again.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Stir to cool the mixture slightly, then transfer to a
heatproof container. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.
I have since found some GF graham crackers and make the paleo caramel sauce to use in place of the sweetened condensed milk and follow the original recipe... Note:: I use the Enjoy Life brand of mini chips and unsweetened flaked coconut. Mmmmm... not as colorful as my original version when I used the red and green holiday candies... but sometimes I have to accept a compromise. 😜
Now that I have the cookies made (two batches - one to share, one for us to keep) I need a way to deliver this deliciousness... Thus a quick little project that will give you an opportunity to practice some free-motion quilting!
A friend sent a video to me several years ago...
This quick covered dish carrier is great for using seasonal fabric...
You can choose your favorite...
Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, 4th of July...
the possibilities are endless!
Is there someone on your Christmas list that needs one of these carriers? Surely at least one! Maybe it's YOU! 😉
What is your favorite cookie that you would gift with one of these carriers?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!
Happy Baking and Quilting!
Melva
I have since found some GF graham crackers and make the paleo caramel sauce to use in place of the sweetened condensed milk and follow the original recipe... Note:: I use the Enjoy Life brand of mini chips and unsweetened flaked coconut. Mmmmm... not as colorful as my original version when I used the red and green holiday candies... but sometimes I have to accept a compromise. 😜
Now that I have the cookies made (two batches - one to share, one for us to keep) I need a way to deliver this deliciousness... Thus a quick little project that will give you an opportunity to practice some free-motion quilting!
A friend sent a video to me several years ago...
This quick covered dish carrier is great for using seasonal fabric...
You can choose your favorite...
Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, 4th of July...
the possibilities are endless!
Is there someone on your Christmas list that needs one of these carriers? Surely at least one! Maybe it's YOU! 😉
What is your favorite cookie that you would gift with one of these carriers?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!
Happy Baking and Quilting!
Melva
Don't forget to check out all of the recipes and projects shared this week!
December 2nd
December 3rd
December 4th
December 5th
December 6th
Linking with:
UFO Busting at Tish’s Wonderland
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting
Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
I have made Magic Bars before and love them! I haven't made these for years. They would be a nice addition to my Christmas goodie bags. Thank you for sharing the recipe and for the casserole dish carrier tutorial.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe, I like magic cookie bars and these look great! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteYour magic cookie bars looks wonderful to me! Anything with coconut and chocolate can't be bad, right? What a cool carrier too--easy, yet cute. Thanks for sharing! Oh, and I think my favorite cookie (right now) is oatmeal chocolate chip with coconut added.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe looks delicious and worth trying...another one for my list! I love the little carriers that are perfect for gift giving. Thank you so much for sharing and hopping with us, Melva! xo
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder and recipe for Magic Bars!! They are definitely addicting!!! I may be able to gift a bit of the Magic Bars...if I really liked the person!!!
ReplyDeleteThose carries look great, yes... in seasonal fabrics. I need a couple of those!
ReplyDeleteOh how I love magic cookie bars. What fun carriers to use and gift for the holidays too!
ReplyDeleteHi Melva! Thanks for the GF recipe. It's so nice to have one that has been tried and recommended - they are hard to find. I will check out your SAL as well. Merry Christmas to you and your family. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteYour cookie carrier is SO cute! What a nifty idea!! I love that you shared a paleo-GF recipe; so many folks these days have health issues that require special handling, so to speak. It's lovely to be able to offer treats that they can enjoy!! Thank you so much! My cookie specialty is apricot almond thumbprints, which is probably what I'd include in the carrier! :)
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!! Just the other day, someone at my quilting group was asking about the casserole carriers. I'm always happy to find a gluten free recipe now that I have a grandson that has a restrictive diet. It's hard to tell a 5 year old that he can't eat the cookies when we are. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the recipe. Love that carrier idea. I would probably put my Crunchy Peanut Bark in them. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMagic...it is the magic season so the cookies will fit right in. Paleo is plus. Homemade Caramel Sauce sounds like a winner. Thanks for the recipes. Merry Christmas
ReplyDeleteReally cute carrier, Melva. And thanks for the GF recipe!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. I've been reading my way through all these scrumptious sounding cookie recipes knowing that I really should't eat them as I have issues with gluten, dairy and cane sugar. This is one I can eat. Yay!
ReplyDeleteI have not thought of those cookies in years. Wonderful memories, thank you. Great little carrier thanks for that idea too.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for the carrier. I am a sucker for raspberry thumbprint cookies.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this gluten-free recipe. My niece discovered she is gluten-intolerant and I've been trying to convert a lot of our favorite family recipes into ones she can eat, now that she is a newlywed and I'm putting together a recipe book for her. It's been discouraging to see how few I have that are ready to go--and if it's discouraging for me, I can imagine how she feels. So, this helps!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your cookie recipe and the carrier is a good gift idea.
ReplyDeleteThe cookies sound wonderful, thank you for the recipe. The covered dish tutorial is also very helpful and cute.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Melva, for your version of the magic cookie bar. Sounds good. Who couldn't use a covered dish carrier? My favorite cookie is the Mexican Wedding Cookie.
ReplyDeleteThe cookie bars look delicious, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Melva, I'm interested in your Pieces From the Past sew-along! I have a large stash of 30s fabrics, so this would be a good activity for me. When will the sew-along begin? How big will the blocks be? Looking forward to sewing with you!
ReplyDeletePutting this post into favorites to come back to. I've been wanting to make those covered dish carriers. I'm also interested in the sew alongs.
ReplyDeleteI could have used that dish cover last weekend!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun blog hop! Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDelete