Chocolate & Cherry Cookies

After trying a few recipe variations with chocolate and cherries, this one came out on top! It has so many ways to adapt it, I think it’s probably pretty much perfect. The one thing I have to stress is when you take the cookies out of the oven, leave them to sit on the baking tray for at least 5/6 mins – don’t touch them – after that, you can use a wide palette knife to gently move them to a wire tray to fully cool. This will be the difference between having a batch of cookies and a batch of cookie pieces!

I used baking parchment on the baking trays to prevent sticking and a heaped teaspoon for sizing them. You will get a decent size cookie from this, bigger than shop bought and a bit smaller than those large Smarties cookies.

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Cranberry & White Chocolate Flapjacks – Gluten Free & Dairy Free Version included

Everyone loves flapjacks or Granola Bars. We love them for their sweetness, the ease in making them and their handiness for breakfast or snacks on the go.

Being realistic and honest with ourselves, flapjacks are not a particularly healthy option but when you make your own, you control the ingredients, the quantities and so they will always be better for you than processed, shop bought versions.

I love the contrast between the slightly sharp cranberries and sweet white chocolate and if you are a fan of almonds, add some toasted almond flakes in there too for extra goodness.

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Easy Nuts & Seeds Bars – Gluten & Dairy Free & Vegan

These bars are packed full of goodness and take very little time to make and only 20 minutes to bake in the oven. They keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge so they are perfect for busy people, healthy snacks, workout treats and if you are short of time in the morning.

The fact you can top them with your favourite ingredients makes them perfect just for you! If you are on a Vegan lifestyle, then substitute the honey for Agave or Date Syrup and be sure to get a vegan muesli. All the ingredients possess nutritional value of their own so these bars are pretty power packed of goodness!

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Classic Gluten Free Shortbread

There’s something so comforting about a piece of shortbread. It’s simple yet delivers on so many levels. The buttery taste, just enough sweetness and perfect for any time of the day.

Shortbread has only a few ingredients but it does lend itself well to adding other flavours too. You can use a combination of flavoured sugar like a lavender infused one along with regular caster sugar. Use the zest of citrus fruit to add other flavours such as lemon or orange but don’t add other liquids to the mix or it won’t result in perfect shortbread. Of course if you like, drizzle a bit of melted dark chocolate over one half of your cooled shortbread for a beautiful finish.

I’ve used this shortbread recipe both in wooden moulds and for cutting out shapes. It works perfectly for both and is very forgiving. If you make this recipe, I would love to see the results and would be great if you could leave a review below.

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Shortbread Biscuits

Shortbread is just one of those treats that’s hard to resist. The full buttery flavour is just so delicious and feels like a real treat.

I have two great Gluten Free Shortbread recipes already on the website if you want to check it out. This is for Shortbread Chunks: https://www.cozebakes.com/2020/05/22/gluten-free-shortbread-recipe/ 

and this is for Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies: https://www.cozebakes.com/2020/07/11/edible-flower-lavender-shortbread-cookies-gluten-free/

Just use the search facility on the website here to find a few other options including a Lemon Shortbread. Everyone likes their shortbread their way and that’s absolutely perfect!

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Funfetti Banana Squares – Gluten & Dairy Free

There are times when bananas are much loved and enjoyed and then other times they are left to go brown and not as attractive looking but that’s when they become magical and the most wonderful of ingredients. The riper a banana, the sweeter it is and this helps to reduce the addition of sugar in a recipe.

This recipe has no refined sugars as it uses Organic Maple Syrup for a little sweetness. You can also use Agave Syrup or an artificial sweetener. I use a combination of Almond Flour and Oat Flour and of course Sprinkles!! Almond Flour is not the same as Ground Almonds so be aware when prepping your ingredients.

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Chocolate & Raspberry Brownies – Gluten Free Option included

Amazing, rich, gooey dark chocolate brownies with bright raspberries throughout and dotted with some white chocolate chunks.

Literally, these brownies take 10 minutes to make with no special equipment needed and no pre-prep planning. Now that’s a recipe I can get behind!

I’ve made both the regular brownies and the Gluten Free version so no one misses out! The Gluten Free information is in bold with the ingredients.

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Sweet & Salty Popcorn Marshmallow Squares – Gluten Free and Sugar Free

I was delighted to receive some amazing products from the Free’Ist range and set about creating a fun and very simple, no bake recipe that everyone can enjoy. Free’Ist is an Irish company that produce a range of products to help reduce your sugar intake but never compromises on taste. The bonus is that a lot of their products are also gluten free!

Check out their website with great Bundle Offers: https://freeist.co.uk/?v=79cba1185463

I took the much loved and well known Rice Krispies Squares and adapted them to add some sweet and salty popcorn from Free’Ist and the combination works so well. I also used dairy free butter and milk which worked great.

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Jammie Dodger Blondies & Gluten Free Version

I saw this recipe in Olive Magazine – olive Magazine Recipes and Travel and Restaurant Tips – olivemagazine and kept it in my virtual back pocket to give it a go. The recipe is originally a regular one and very tasty so I made two versions to keep everyone happy. One regular and one Gluten Free

They are full of white chocolate teamed with raspberry jam and topped with childhood (and lots of adults) favourites, Jammie Dodgers. If you are making the Gluten Free version, you can get your biscuits here from Holland & Barrett Prewett’s Jammy Wheels 160g | Holland & Barrett (hollandandbarrett.ie)

I love this recipe as you don’t need any equipment. It’s all done in a large saucepan so very handy!

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