Merry Christmas! How 'bout a quick and easy last-minute cookie?

 It's probably a little late for another cookie recipe.  But just in case you need to throw something together in two seconds to take with you today, this is the cookie for you.  Honestly, you could eat these for breakfast if you wanted.

This is a nutbutter cookie with not much else to it, and they are faintly sweet, with most of the sweetness coming from the dried fruit.  They are quite crumbly, but have a wonderful crispness to them that only a nutbutter cookie can have.  I am calling them generically a nutbutter cookie because I had three different jars of nutbutter that were all almost empty, which combined gave me one cup of nutbutter.  Combine different kinds, like almond, sun, and cashew, or hazelnut, almond, and walnut, whatever!!

Dried Fruit Nutbutter Cookies (dairy free, gluten/grain free, no added sugars)
1 cup of nutbutter (mix it up!!)
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
45-50 drops of NuNaturals Alcohol Free Liquid Stevia
1/3 cup chopped dried apple
1/3 cup raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit

Mix your egg and stevia and vanilla extract in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix up your nutbutter. If it's cold, microwave it for a minute.  Mix your nutbutter and egg mixture, and then add in your dried fruit.  Incorporate well.  Form into balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.  Flatten cookies with your fingertips and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.  They'll seem undercooked but after cooling for an hour or two they will have firmed up.  This made 17 toddler sized cookies.

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas to all the grain-free groupies out there!  May your day be full of love, laughter, family, and joy.  Xoxo!

Paleo Tart Jumbleberry Jam, with Chia

As promised, today's post is a homemade jam recipe, perfect for DIY holiday gifts.  Jam sounds kind of blah and hillbillyish, i know, but I swear once they are comfortably ensconced in their absolutely f*ing adorable little 4 ounce bar jars and some cute little clear cellophane bags, they will be perfectly holiday appropriate.

See? What could be cuter???  So adorable.  And I'm almost embarrassed to admit how ridiculously easy it was to make.  I did make quite a large quantity, but nonetheless, this was EZPZ peeps.

Paleo Tart Jumbleberry Jam, with Chia
-7 16 oz. bags frozen berries, mixed varieties (I used a combo of blueberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries (!!!!), and strawberries.  DO NOT OMIT CRANBERRIES!!)
-40 drop vanilla creme stevia (optional, depending on who you are gifting)
-1/2 cup chia seeds

This yielded roughly 70 ounces of jam when all was said and done.  Because the fruit was frozen, you start out with tons of juice in the pot.  That's ok, do not pour it off, you'll simply reduce it down.  Thaw your frozen fruit and transfer to a very large pot.  Turn the heat up and bring to a boil.  Add your stevia, if using, and then turn the heat down a tad and simmer until it has reduced considerably and the juice has cooked off.  At this point, with the back of your spoon start mashing the fruit, making sure all the cranberries have burst.  Add your chia seeds, and then continue to simmer until the jam has reached your preferred consistency.  Turn off the heat and let sit for 15 minutes or so, and the jam will continue to thicken.  Spoon into your sanitized jars and you are done done done!  Can you believe there are basically just two ingredients??  I don't know why people think you need to add sugar.  You sure do not!  Although sugar does act as a preservative, so be advised that this jam will not last long as the store bought variety.  I believe you can freeze this jam in freezer safe containers.

I used all 12 little 4 oz. ball jars, and still had enough left over to fill an entire 16 oz. jar, plus another 3 or 4 ounces or so to spread on some random things.  It would make a fantastic filling for thumbprint cookies or a spread for a cake.  With the dark, tart flavors, it's really the perfect gift for the holidays.  I hope you try it!

Not a whole lot else to report.  I am dutifully Whole30ing this week- as evidenced by this yummy crab salad from last night.

Ok folks, have a wonderful day, and enjoy the last few nights of Chanukah if you are participating! XoXoGFG