Paleo Thin Mints

I follow a Paleo/Primal lifestyle, but every once in a while you NEED to satisfy your sweet tooth. These treats do it for me in spades, and I'm so thankful to my husband for whipping them up for me. (He's a keeper!)

PALEO "THIN MINTS"

For the cookies:

• 1 cup organic almond butter (raw if possible)
• 2 eggs (pastured, of course)
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (homemade!)

For the mint chocolate ganache:

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (we used Enjoy Life's gluten & dairy-free chips)
• 1 tbsp coconut milk 
• 1 tsp peppermint extract

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F.

2. Beat all of the cookie ingredients together with an electric mixer. 

3. Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap. Place another piece of wrap on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out as thinly as you can between the pieces of plastic wrap. Place the rolled out dough on a baking sheet, and stick it in the fridge to chill for about ten minutes.

4. Once chilled, use a cookie cutter or glass (we found that a shot glass was the perfect size) to cut out cookie circles. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and place the cookies there about two inches apart. Bake until set; about 10 minutes.

5. Ganache time! Set up a double boiler, and pour the chocolate chips, coconut milk and peppermint extract into the upper bowl. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Whisk occasionally until the chocolate melts and everything is mixed well. Reduce the heat to low; taste and adjust to your preferred level of mint-ness. 

6. Dip the cooled cookies one at a time into the ganache. (We only did one side of the cookies, and it's more than decadent.) Put your completed "Thin Mints" back into the fridge to harden, and attempt not to snarf up too many immediately.

7. We wrapped these up in sets of two in plastic wrap, and kept them in the freezer. They are the perfect treat after a demanding WOD, during a PMS blitz or for absolutely no reason at all. Mmmmmm...

Sorry there's no photo to go with this post, but I ate all the evidence.

THE BEST DANG PALEO MARINADE, EVER!

Wow... it has definitely been a long time since I've posted anything. (Is it possible that I ran out of things to say?)

Lots of things have changed in my little slice of paradise. I received some not-so-hot blood test results back near the beginning of the year, and found I needed to make some serious lifestyle changes. One of those changes was adopting a strict Paleo diet. Paleo is great - it's entirely based on real food, and there are no quick-fix gimmicks. It's meant a whole lot of kitchen time for me, but I'm slowly adapting to that new reality.

We do eat a lot of good, grass-fed (and organic whenever possible) meats these days, and I'm always on the lookout for new and unusual ways to prepare them. I came across this recipe somewhere online, scribbled it in Sharpie on the back of a newspaper and stuffed it in my cookbook cabinet.  It has now become my most favorite go-to marinade for almost every kind of meat: beef, pork, chicken and even buffalo!

THE BEST MARINADE (PALEO OR OTHERWISE) I'VE EVER FOUND
for 1-2 pounds of meat

1/3 cup coconut aminos*
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. dried mustard
3 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. pepper

I mush all this up in a baggie, add the meat and let everything get happy, happy. (The longer it sits, the better it gets!) I normally double the recipe as we like to cook up a lot of meat at one time... I'm all about lots of leftovers!

Enjoy!

*Coconut aminos are a terrific replacement for soy sauce. It's available at most health food stores, or you can always order some online.