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Zest For Cooking

Zest For Cooking

I love to cook and share my love of food!

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Flourless Almond Butter Pecan Cookies

November 10, 2022 by pamflo

Almond butter is the delicious paste that comes from grinding almonds into a nut butter. It is the glue, along with an egg, that binds these flourless cookies together. Almonds are high in antioxidants, low in carbohydrates, and a source of healthy fat and protein. You can use natural almond butter, commercial almond butter or you can make your own almond butter. There will be a difference in the texture so you’ll want to put some muscle into making a […]

Categories: Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Nuts • Tags: Bake

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Strawberry Rhubarb Polenta Crisp

May 5, 2022 by pamflo

Fresh strawberries can easily be transformed into a bubbly, fragrant and beautiful dessert. Strawberries paired with thinly sliced rhubarb stalks provide some extra tartness to this delicious crisp. Rhubarb is high in antioxidants, vitamin K and a natural laxative. A lightly sweetened crumbly topping made with quick cooking polenta, adds a nice crispy texture to each bite. I find the best way to enjoy this crisp is serving it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh chilled […]

Categories: Crisp, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Fruit, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake

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Easy Challah Bread

February 24, 2022 by pamflo

This challah recipe is from a favorite cookbook, Zahav, by chef and restauranteur Michael Solomonov. His recipe is simple and reliable, producing a beautiful and delicious challah bread. The four basic ingredients in making bread are flour, yeast, water, and salt. Challah dough is enriched with eggs, oil and a little sugar to add some sweetness. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour and creates more gluten which gives bread the right structure and texture. This challah […]

Categories: Breads, Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake

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Pistachio Cranberry Ice Box Cookies

December 9, 2021 by pamflo

The holiday season is upon us and creating homemade gifts can be fun and festive. These  “ice box” or “refrigerator” cookies make beautiful and delicious gifts. These cookies are made by shaping dough into logs and then refrigerating the dough before slicing and baking. The advantage to this type of cookie is the dough can be prepared ahead of time and either refrigerated or frozen. The last step, although optional, is to coat the cookie dough in an egg wash and […]

Categories: Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Gifts, Holiday Ideas, Nuts • Tags: Bake

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Jerusalem-Style Everything Bagels

May 6, 2021 by pamflo

These crusty, slightly sweet bagels are found all over the city of Jerusalem on street carts, sold by many of the cultures that make up this beautiful city. American style bagels require a brief boil in water before baking to retain their shape, but these bagels do not. The bagels will rise twice before baking and are generously coated with everything spice or just sesame seeds, if you wish. This recipe is from the Sababa cookbook, written by the talented […]

Categories: Breads, Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake

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Homemade Soft Rye Pretzels

January 14, 2021 by pamflo

Making homemade pretzels is a fun winter’s day project that is simpler than it appears. These pretzels, recently featured in an issue of Eating Well magazine are made with extra-virgin olive oil and light rye flour for a healthier pretzel. The light rye flour adds a subtle malt, or pleasant but slight sour flavor and creates a denser pretzel then just using only all-purpose flour. These pretzels call for instant dry yeast instead of using active dry yeast. The smaller instant […]

Categories: Breads, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Healthish, Pretzels, Snack • Tags: Bake

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Mint Chocolate Sable Cookies

December 17, 2020 by pamflo

I had the privilege of meeting Dorie Greenspan, baker extraordinaire and cookbook author. She has published many beautiful cookbooks, but Dorie’s Cookies is a wonderful gift for any baker. At a recent book signing event, the discussion about her food journey was heartfelt, warm and funny. Listening to her speak about making cookies, reminded me how much I enjoy baking during the holidays. Sables are French butter cookies and they’re a perfect holiday gift or treat. The smooth, deep minty […]

Categories: Chocolate, Cookies, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Gifts, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake

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Double Chocolate Expresso Cookies

December 19, 2019 by pamflo

A couple of years ago I entered a holiday cookie recipe contest on-line through the LA Times. I submitted this cookie recipe and although I didn’t win, it was fun to participate and see all the other cookie recipe submissions. These double chocolatey, ooey-gooey, decadent cookies are a family favorite and don’t contain any flour! I added instant expresso for added punch, as well as dark chocolate chunks. Although these cookies are gluten free, they are super flavorful and provide […]

Categories: Chocolate, Cookies, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Dessert, Gluten Free, Holiday Ideas, Low Sugar • Tags: Bake

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Double Chocolate Veggie Muffins

October 31, 2019 by pamflo

These are delicious muffins and you’d hardly know they contain vegetables, and in a small consumer taste test nobody knew! I really like the combination of shredded zucchini and mashed avocado as the base for the batter. I also like that it’s a low sugar treat and a solid breakfast idea. My muffins are dairy and free of gluten, as I substituted gluten-free flour for regular all-purpose. You don’t actually taste the zucchini in baked goods, but it provides moisture, […]

Categories: Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Dessert, Gluten Free, Healthish, Holiday Ideas, Low Sugar, Vegetables • Tags: Bake

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Olive Oil Brownies

Fudgy Olive Oil Brownies

December 13, 2018 by pamflo

What is olive oil doing in a brownie recipe, you ask? Other than creating a dairy free dessert, it adds a bright fruity flavor to your brownies. I used freshly brewed Columbian coffee as the liquid, added in a speckling of extra-dark chocolate chips and topped with large flaky sea salt. Powdered sugar and dark chocolate drizzle are optional. These brownies make a beautiful dessert or a great holiday gift. Coffee enhances the flavor of the chocolate, but no stuffing […]

Categories: Chocolate, Cookies/Brownies, Dairy Free, Dessert, Gifts • Tags: Bake

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GF Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Dipped Flourless Oatmeal Cookies

October 18, 2018 by pamflo

It’s a chilly 46 degrees right now as I write this post. Perfect weather for baking 🙂 These oatmeal cookies have almond flour as a substitute for white flour and are sweetened with coconut palm sugar. Coconut palm sugar (not to be confused with palm sugar) is made from the sap of the coconut palm tree. This is a solid alternative sweetener for refined sugars and is most similar to brown sugar. Although this type of sugar provides the same […]

Categories: Chocolate, Cookies, Cooking Tips, Dairy Free, Dessert, Gluten Free, Healthish, Low Sugar • Tags: Bake

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Paleo Chocolate Muffins

Healthy Chocolate Breakfast Muffins

May 31, 2018 by pamflo

Looking for a breakfast treat that’s healthy, not too sweet and easy to make? These flourless, dairy free chocolate muffins are just the right combination of sweet and savory. These muffins contain amazing fudgy chocolatey-ness from good quality cocoa powder. Maybe chocolate is not a popular item on your breakfast menu, if that’s the case you can skip the sprinkle of dark chocolate chips. Avocado and coconut milk add the moisture and dates act as a natural sweetener. With so […]

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Chocolate, Dairy Free, Dessert, Gluten Free, Low Sugar, Muffins, Paleo • Tags: Bake, Whiz

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