By Amy Barton

It's confession time again.  Easter isn't a holiday I really go out of the way to celebrate, particularly in culinary terms.  I love (LOVE!) marshmallow Peeps just as much as the next guy (okay, probably more).  I have more jelly beans in my house than I have brains in my head.  If someone makes a gorgeous loaf of bread or hot cross buns, I'm on it.  But me?  I just don't throw on my apron for Easter-y things.

Until now.  You see, I remembered one small detail about one of my favorite cookies to make:  The batter stays a batter, it doesn't really become a dough.  So most of the time after you drop it on your baking sheet, you'll end up with some round cookies and some a little more oblong - like an egg!  

You need to know about these cookies.  I call them "lemon cookies" obviously, which doesn't do any amount of justice to their unique flavor and texture.  The best way I could try to describe them would be.... think lemon spongecake meets shortbread meets sugar cookies.  They're lemon flavored and have a slightly springy, airy quality to them.  Just slightly.  At the same time, they're not a cookie that has any rise too it, and they have that floury texture sort of more like a shortbread.  BUT they're also substantial enough to be sugar-cookie-ish.  They're awesome plain (my preference), but they also take to icing or a glaze BEAUTIFULLY.

INGREDIENTS
-  1/2 cup butter, softened (room temp)
-  1 cup sugar
-  4 eggs
-  2 1/8 cups flour, sifted
-  2 teaspoons lemon extract


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (or feel free to use a stand mixer).  Add your eggs and beat them into the butter/sugar mixture until they're blended in completely.  Stir in lemon extract.  Add the flour (sift it first!) and beat it until smooth.

Drop batter onto greased or parchment paper lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart.  Depending on the size of cookie you want, baking time will vary.  If you want a smaller, more wafer-like cookie, drop by teaspoonful and bake for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.  For larger cookies (as pictured here), drop by tablespoonful (or 2 tablespoons at a time), and bake 10-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Allow to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing and putting on a rack to cool the rest of the way.

Once completely cooled, cookies will still be slightly tacky on the top for a short time.  It's not like your fingers will stick to the lemon cookies, but if you dropped powdered sugar or sprinkles on them.... you might end up with sweet decorations you hadn't planned on.  I happen to love these cookies as is, with the slight taste of lemon and the somewhat flour-y, delightfully unique texture.  


HOWEVER.. a little icing never hurt anyone, right?  Since I don't bake much for Easter, I don't have a lot of super spring-y decorations - so my cookies (some of them) ended up a little more on the bold color side.  They tasted good and bold, too!

After digging around, I did find some Valentine's Day decorations.  Nothing like a little culinary repurposing, eh?

The great thing about this recipe is that the cookies are fairly neutral in flavor (save for the slight lemon taste).  You can add flavored glaze, icing, or frosting.  You can cook them a little longer so they're crunchier and then dip them in coffee or tea for a fantastic breakfast treat.  You can tint them any color you'd like with food coloring.  And of course, you can decorate them for any holiday or season.  

Send me your pictures - I want to see your original spin on these cookies.  Amy@AmysTreats.com

Look out, Red Lobster!!  I've got the grain-free, gluten-free, guilt-free, sitting-next-to-a-ridiculously-obnoxious-party-of-5-free answer to your evilly addictive cheddar drop biscuits.  I know you're shaking in your seafoody booties.

Before I get to the meat and potatoes (or coconut and cheese?) of my post here, I'll say this:  I was shocked (SHOCKED!) at how large the grain-free community actually is once I got to looking around.  Some people are gluten intolerant.  Some are anti-GMO products (which MANY American grown products happen to be).  Some are low carb lovers.  Some are simply curious.  Whatever your reason may be, just know that this is not one of those crappy "alternative" recipes.  This isn't something that'll get you by in a pinch in a "that'll do" kinda way because you don't eat traditional flour.  Nay, my dear treat lovers.  This is a ridiculously tasty anytime treat that you can whip up in under 20 minutes.  It's as easy as stirring and plopping.

Note:  If you've never used coconut flour, don't be afraid of the name or taste.  It IS made from very finely ground coconut - but when used in recipes like the one I'm about to share with you, you do not taste coconut.  I promise.  I wouldn't do that to you.  Cheesy coconut biscuits would be gross.

One last disclaimer before I send you into a coconut flour induced fit of lust:  These biscuits do rise a tad, but not a great deal.  That being the case, you can make them any size or shape you desire and they'll closely resemble that when finished baking.  The photos in this post are from different batches, thus they look different. 

INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup butter, melted (or you could use coconut oil)
- 1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted
-  4 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (granulated garlic)
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer mine with 3/4 cup)


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Melt butter and pour in a medium bowl (or microwave the butter in a microwave-safe bowl!).  To the butter, add eggs, butter (or coconut oil), salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley.  Mix well.  Sift coconut flour and baking soda into your bowl.  Whisk well, until completely combined and not lumpy.  Stir in shredded cheddar cheese.  Drop batter by the spoonful onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or greased baking sheet, if you don't have parchment paper).  Bake at 400 degrees, or until the tops of the biscuits begin to brown (see photo).   Keep an eye on the oven if you choose to make your biscuits bite-sized (smaller) or fairly large, as cooking times will vary with size.

A word of warning if you're new to coconut flour:  It is extremely absorbent.  Look up some recipes.  Give 'em a shot.  Play around with the stuff.  But do not try use it as a measure-for-measure replacement for regular flour.  The properties of the two flours are different (for example, coconut flour just absolutely sucks up moisture - more so than regular flour) and they don't have an equal exchange rate.  Generally speaking, you'll always need more liquid when using coconut flour.

Happy baking!

By Amy Barton

If I've heard one "What ARE you, a rabbit?!" quip, I've heard 'em all.  Hey, I wouldn't mind being a rabbit.  They're fluffy, cute, tasty...  I'm somewhat fluffy, so I'm 1/3 of the way there.

Salad gets a bad rap.  Say it with me:  Veggies are your friend.  Look, when I say "salad," I'm not talking about those pitiful, lifeless, limp little plates of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots you get as a "side" when you go out for dinner.  Those are not salads.  Those are little plates of crap.

A great salad is a beautiful thing.  It's robust.  It's bountiful.  It's fun.  It's a delicious addition to an otherwise paltry, unbalanced meal.  It is not a chore.  At least, it shouldn't be.

You have to have a base, of course.  For me, a solid salad base consists of a few key veggies.

1. lettuces - multiple varieties (choose your favorites!)
2. tomatoes
3. cucumber

Without these, you don't have a salad.  I don't know what you do have, but it isn't a salad.

Great, so you've got a start.  But what else can you add to it to make it awesome?  Not shredded cheese - nay!  Not shredded carrots (who shreds carrots anyway? Cut those babies up and dip 'em in some ranch!).  You could dice up some bell pepper(s).  You could cube up your favorite cheese (in salads, I love colby-jack, fresh mozzarella, or muenster).  Chop up a couple hard boiled eggs, whydontcha?  Toss in some olives!  Gahhh, I love olives.

In addition to the above mentioned common salad jazzer uppers, read on to see seven more easy ingredients that may not always cross your mind. 

Skip over the fresh artichokes for this.  Go directly to the canned vegetable aisle and pick up canned plain artichoke hearts - or jarred marinated hearts.  I love 'em both, but prefer plain for my salads so that the marinade-y flavor doesn't compete with the dressing I make.  They're slightly salty and earthy and offer an awesome texture contrast.

I don't think I need to say much more than "Baby Corn," do I?  I mean, they're cute, they're fun, the flavor isn't overwhelming... And you don't find them in salads very often.  They bring a moderate veggie'd up crunch to the party and a flavor that you can't quite put your finger on, in the best way possible.

Capers (or Caper Berries, depending on which variation your store carries) are a HUGE punch of flavor in a teeny little pea-sized package.  They're briny and salty (a great way to replace table salt) and ever so slightly just pop in your mouth when you bite into them. Bonus: They're inexpensive and readily available. Impress your friends' taste buds with these.  How Mediterranean of you!

This is something you obviously want to stay away from if you have an allergy.  But if you don't?  "Seedy" may not be a positive when we're talking about the south end of the Las Vegas strip - but when we're talking salad? Wining!  A bit of nutty crunch comes to the party with this ingredient - along with healthy fats, amino acids, and a decent amount of fiber.  Be sure to buy unsalted seeds if you want to control the salt!

"Sprouts."  What does that make you think? The ultimate "blah" health food of yesteryear?  Time to reboot the ol' brain!  Sprouts are fun, add tons of texture contrast (which is actually a little surprising, since they're not crunchy), and bulk up your bowl without tons of calories.  Use alfalfa or broccoli sprouts for delicate bulk, or mung bean sprouts for a lighter, water-chestnut-like crunch of freshness.

Huge fan of fresh citrus, that's me.  I don't put it on everything, but damn near.  Fresh lemon juice gives a fresh, bright pop to anything - and it goes especially well with fresh produce.  It's not sweet (duh), so don't worry about fruiting up your salad.  You could omit this if you're planning for a creaming dressing (ranch, caesar, etc.), but I think it pairs well with all of them.

Look.  There isn't much of anything that doesn't approve when you add avocado with it.  Yes, even sweets.  Avocado chocolate pudding, anyone? AVOCADO SMOOTHIE, ANYONE?! (I think I just decided on dessert).  In salad, it adds a creamy richness and loads of healthy fats.  When you use ingredient #6 with it, it won't turn brown after you cut it.

One of my favorite things about salad is that you can add or take out anything you want.  So, mix and match!  Me, I use all 7 of these ingredients in my salad - and more.  Use things from the pantry, cut up some leftover meat, put together your own salad dressing... You'll be a lettuce-head in no time.