Guest Post: ShannonMarie of RawDorable

How are you doing today?  Are you feeling peaceful and mellow or a little stressed now that Christmas is just around the corner?  If you celebrate, hopefully peaceful!  If you missed my post on The Winter Solstice, Christmas, and Religion, check out my post yesterday (that was a trigger happy finger post…yikes but at least it was 95% the way I wanted it when it went out!)

I chatted about the Winter Solstice and how it relates to yoga, and I want to sincerely thank everyone for their honest and open feedback in the comments.  I learned so much about you and I love when that happens, so thank you for sharing your stories with me.

I also posted a few Beach Pics, too!

 

So if you missed my Deep-ish Thoughts Post, go enjoy.

Moving onto Today though!
My friend, Shannon Marie of Rawdorable

 

a Mother of Two……and a high raw, all vegan, a supremely creative un-baker and cook extraordinaire is kind enough to share some of her amazing raw dessert recipes today!

But just to praise Shannon Marie a little more…Some of you may remember in my Reader Tribute Post that Shannon Marie Made My Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough into a Doll (check out the dough-ey doll skirt!) in honor of My Daughter Skylar.

Or how about the high Raw Vegan Girl Scout-themed Samoas Cookies I made?

My Samoas were inspired in huge part from Shannon Marie’s original recipe genius!
Ohhh those cookies… The cookie bases were crunchy and the tops were moist, gooey, decadent, with the awesome flavor of Sunflower Butter and coconut and vanilla…

So without further ado, here’s what Shannon Marie has for us today.  I’ll follow up at the end!

Cookies for Santa

When Averie asked me to guest post, I was honored, of course. But being a busy wife and mom (my second child is only a few months old), I found it difficult to fulfill her request with something fresh and separate from my own.

However, since many of you probably have never visited my site, some blasts from the past might be new to you. So, in the holiday spirit, I decided to share my cookies for Santa from blogging years one and two. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Mocha Crinkles
1 cup almonds flour (finely ground almonds and/or pulp)
1/2 cup hazelnut flour (finely ground hazelnuts)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 Tbsp. Java Teeccino grounds
1/4 cup date paste
sprinkling of cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
*finely ground coconut for rolling

In a bowl, whisk together the almond flour, hazelnut flour, cocoa powder, Teeccino, cinnamon and sea salt. Add the date paste, and mix to combine. The mixture should be damp enough to mold, yet still crumbly like a cake.

Divide the mixture into 8 equal sections. Shape each section into a ball, roll them in coconut flour and flatten into cookie shapes. Don’t worry if there are imperfection in your cookies; it’s only the crinkle effect.

Raw Nog Creams
1 cup cashew flour (ground cashews)
1/2 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
1/4 cup date paste
freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
pinch of sea salt
*raw whipped icing for frosting
*dried cherry pieces and pumpkin seeds for decorating

In a bowl, whisk together the cashew flour, almond flour, nutmeg and sea salt. Add the date paste, and mix to combine. The mixture should be damp enough to mold, yet still crumbly like a cake.

Divide the mixture into 6-8 equal sections. Shape each section into a ball and flatten into cookie shapes. Frost with raw whipped icing and decorate with dried cherry pieces and pumpkin seeds.

*These are similar to many of my raw cupcake recipes. Feel free to make them a little larger and serve them as such.

**If you really want to kick these up a notch, add some rum or rum extract to the icing, but I prefer mine rum-free.

Hawaiian Wedding Surprises
3/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup date paste
1 Tbsp. lucuma powder
zest of one lime
dash of sea salt
*finely ground coconut and more zest for rolling
*eight whole raw macadamia nuts for filling

Grind cashews, mac nuts, oats and coconut into flour and add to a bowl. Whisk together the flours, lucuma, lime zest and sea salt. Add the date paste, and mix to combine. The mixture should be damp enough to mold, yet still crumbly like a cake.

Divide the mixture into 8 equal sections. Shape each section into a ball, while enclosing a whole mac nut inside (that’s the surprise). Roll the balls in coconut and lime zest. Enjoy :-)

Raw Ginger Creams
1 cup pecans
1 cup dried coconut, ground into flour
1/2 cup flaxseed, ground
1 cup dates, soaked briefly
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ground ginger (I didn’t have any fresh)
dash of sea salt
pumpkin pie spice, to taste (also has ginger in it, but I still added it)
*1/2 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses (optional, but really makes it taste like the real deal)
*raw icing

Put pecans, coconut flour and ground flax in a food processor, and process until combined and pecans are finely ground. Add dates, vanilla, ginger, sea salt, pumpkin pie spice and molasses, and process until a ball of dough forms.

Mold dough into cookie shapes, like little mounds. Dehydrate for a couple hours to firm up the outsides, and then chill in the fridge. Top with raw icing (the one I talked about in this post).

Raw Snickerdoodles
2 cups cashews
1 cup dates, soaked briefly
1-2 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt
sprinkling of cinnamon
*a little cream of tartar (optional, but in the baked version)
*lucuma powder and more cinnamon for rolling

Grind cashews finely in a food processor. Add dates, agave, vanilla, sea salt, cinnamon and cream of tartar, and process until a smooth dough forms.

Shape dough into balls, roll them in a mixture of lucuma powder and cinnamon (the original recipe uses cinnamon sugar), and flatten them into round cookie shapes.

Dehydrate just long enough to absorb some of the powder on the outside (like when the sugar granules melt in the oven). Eat fresh from the dehydrator (sometimes I can’t wait) or chill them in the refrigerator.

Chocolate with White Chocolate Chunks
1 cup mixed raw nuts (I had a bag of mixed ones; use whatever you want)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup prunes and dates, soaked briefly (the prunes seem to produce a richer chocolate)
1-2 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. pure almond extract
dash of sea salt
cayenne pepper and cinnamon, to taste (sounds weird, but it enhances the chocolate flavor)
chopped raw cocoa butter

Grind nuts finely with cocoa powder in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cocoa butter, and process until a dough forms.

Shape dough into round cookies and press cocoa butter chunks into the tops. Chill until firm.

Russian Raw Cakes
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup coconut, ground into flour
1/4 cup oats, ground into flour (not raw, but nobody’s perfect)
1 Tbsp. lucuma powder
1 Tbsp. mesquite powder
1/2 cup dates, soaked briefly
agave nectar, to taste (I’m not really sure if I added it or not)
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt
*chopped walnuts
*a mixture of lucuma powder and coconut flour for rolling

Put cashews, coconut flour, ground oats, lucuma and mesquite in a food processor, and process until combined and cashews are finely ground. Add dates, agave, vanilla and sea salt, and process until dough forms.

Shape dough into balls, while placing a few chopped walnuts on the inside of each ball (the traditional ones always had some walnut chunks). Roll in lucuma/coconut mixture (instead of powdered sugar; next time I’ll use just lucuma and/or mesquite) and chill in the fridge.

All these recipes are made out of what I had in my kitchen at the time. Have fun experimenting with your own ingredients :-)

 

Are you a traditional holiday baker?  Do you bake at all?  Do you get into making holiday treats and seasonal goodies?  A few names like Janetha who just made 125 cookies, Jessica, Susan, Bekah, and Diana are definitely coming to mind!  Do you un-bake?  Meaning raw or high raw creations?  Have you ever made any raw or almost raw recipes?  What are you waiting for?  It’s sooo easy!  The great thing about raw baking other than you can eat the dough out of the bowl immediately! is that it’s extremely forgiving.   Dough’s a little too wet?  Add more almond flour.  A little too dry?  Add more dates or nut milk or nut butters.  And I mean, who doesn’t love a little more peanut, sunflower seed, or almond butter in their life?  Tell me what kind of baker you are or if you get into the holiday baking thing.

Or, are you planning on cooking or eating a Christmas Day Feast?  Whatcha making?  

Stay Tuned For Guest Posts & Trip Photos.  Did someone say drinks on the beach at sunset?