Paleo "Sugar" Cookies

I'm baaaaaaaaaack.

I know you missed my baking goodness, and I'm officially back.  I'm done with all this vegetable/protein crap.  I want some holiday goodness in the form of baked goods.  But I'm not baking with flour... I'm baking Gluten Free Paleo nom noms!

Wait! Don't leave! At least look at the pretty picture.

I worked out this morning with Sonya, Irene and a few other ladies for the Workout of the Week (airing every Tuesday on Channel 13).  We're doing a 4-week program with Irene, a local trainer, that basically serves to get you out of  your rut.  I guess I could say I'm in a little rut, and who couldn't use a swift kick to the rear when it comes to exercise??

So we started with this elliptical workout:
3 min warmup
40 seconds at a moderate pace (50 rmp)
20 seconds at a sprint (100+ rmp)
x7

ROUGH! I was sucking wind by the end of this.

And then we moved to the TRX room for some torture.  I've already blanked it from my memory... but here's what I can remember:

30 seconds Squat Lunges with a barbell: squat down, and then lean from left to right.
10 squat swings: swing the barbell between your legs while you squat and then stand up and lift the barbell straight up.
10 combo: Squat swing, lift right leg with a bent knee at the top of the swing (like a scholarship cheerleader), step your right leg behind your left, and swing the barbell around. 
1 Minute plank
10 REAL pushups
10 more pushups
-Do it all again on the other side!-
Challenge: strap your legs into a TRX band hanging from the ceiling, hold a plank, bring your knees together to the right elbow, and then the left.
(1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 ladder with 10 seconds in between sets.)

Whew! Needless to say, I skipped my usual Wednesday class... Sorry Kathy.

So, after all that, I nommed a giant pile of fajita chicken and veggies, but I had a little sweet tooth...


I found this recipe, and surprisingly, I had everything I needed, so I whipped up some "sugar" cookies while I was waiting for my fajitas to cook up.

Paleo "Sugar" Cookies
(Original recipe from The Urban Poser.) (I cut it in half and changed it a little)

Ingredients:

1 cup fine ground blanched almond flour f you use Bob's Redmill, grind it a little finer in the food processor

Pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

2.5 tablespoons butter chilled but not frozen

1/8 cup honey

1/2 tablespoon gluten free vanilla extract 

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a food processor

Add butter, honey and vanilla extract and pulse until combined

Wrap the dough in parchment paper or plastic and chill the dough for at least one hour or longer (till firm enough to roll out)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees 

Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper (using a very light sprinkling of coconut flour as bench flour to keep it from sticking. Just don't overdo it or the dough will get tough. The dough should be rolled between 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch thick, depending on what you like. Thickness of the cookie will affect the baking time. Chill the dough as needed to keep it at a workable texture.

When ready to cut out the cookies, dip the cutter in coconut flour and cut through the dough. Using a thin metal spatula, transfer the unbaked cookie to a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake the cookies in a 325 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes (slightly longer for thicker cookies) or till slightly golden around the edges. Baking times will vary depending on the thickness/size of the cookie. 

Leave cookies on the cookie sheet until cool. They may seem fragile at first, but will firm up as they cool. 

The amount of cookies yielded will vary depending on the size of cookie cutter you use and thickness of the cookie. These cookie are even better after being chilled in the fridge.

WHO DAT??