Paleo Granny

Happy Sunday!  It is also Paleo Grandad's and my 19th wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately, things still need to get done anniversary or not - laundry and cooking for the week ahead.  After Coronation Street (big Corrie fan), I put a small pork shoulder in my small crockpot for Nom Nom Paleo's Kalua Pork for dinner.

Youngest Son has a friend whose family owns a grass-fed beef farm and, even though they are regularly sold out of sides, halves or quarters of beef, we are lucky enough to get in on some grass fed ground beef, stew beef, breakfast sausage - and this week - beef bones, and beef tenderloin at an amazing price.  Bonus, they have a friend who has a bee farm and I was able to get a big jar of raw honey.  They also have pick-up only a few blocks from us - double bonus.
 

We stopped at Caesar's Restaurant for an anniversary brunch after we picked up the meat and honey. They have great brunch offerings at pretty reasonable prices.  Paleo Grandad ordered the Farmer's Breakfast - two eggs, bacon, fruit and a side of Farmer's Sausage. and I had scrambled eggs, with red onion, smoked salmon and capers - delicious.  Check out Twitter, Facebook or Facebook if you want to see what they look like.  Heck, follow me on Twitter (@paleogranny), Facebook and Instagram to get lots of great Paleo recipes. 

As soon as we got home I threw the grass-fed beef bones into the large slow cooker for bone broth. Paleo Grandad is battling bronchitis so he needs some building up and I just love bone broth.

I always bake at Christmas time and following Paleo doesn't change that. luckily there are tons of Paleo Christmas cookie recipes on most of the Paleo blogs and Pinterest.  I started by making PaleOMG's Gingerbread Brownies which turned out perfectly.  I tweaked them a bit by using one teaspoon of ground ginger and one teaspoon fresh ground ginger.  Click the link to find the recipe on her blog. Quick, easy and delicious.

 

Paleo Snappy Gingersnaps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

I wanted a gingersnap cookie like the ones I remember my mother making.  I couldn't find a Paleo recipe that sounded like it would be a "snappy" cookie, so I came up with this recipe:

2 cups almond flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda (I know that seems like a lot, but I am pretty sure that's what gives the cookie the 

   snap)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger (you could use 2 tsp. of ground ginger, but the cookies won't have the

   same bite)

1/4 tsp, ground cloves

1/4 tsp. cardamom

2 Tbsp. almond butter

1/3 cup organic molasses

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 coconut sugar (for rolling the cookies in)

1. Place the almond butter, molasses and coconut oil in the bowl of your stand mixer, or in a large bowl if you are going to mix by hand, and mix until combined.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the coconut sugar, and combine until you have a thick cookie dough.

 

3.   Using a small ice cream scoop or a a tablespoon, make cookie balls and drop them in the coconut
      sugar and roll them around to coat.

4.   Place the coconut sugar-coated balls on the baking sheet.

 

5.   Using the bottom of a small glass (I used a drink muddler), flatten the cookies slightly.

 

6.   Bake for 12-15 minutes.

 

7.   Remove to a rack and cool.

 

Paleo Grandad liked them both, but said the gingersnap was his favourite.  I also liked both recipes, but I think PaleOMG's Gingerbread Brownies had the edge because it has chocolate in it and, well, it's chocolate.