Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

These cauliflower wings are lightly coated on the outside (take your pick of almond flour or corn meal) to get them super crispy. Once they're golden and looking super scrumptious, they get blanketed in buffalo sauce, and cooked just a bit longer--enough to make them sizzle but still be super saucy. Extra sauce optional, but recommended. 

While I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, I love seeing these meat-free "wings" on the table at an football viewing party. For one, it's always nice to have a side of veggies at parties to balance out the nachos and queso dip. (Nachos and queso dip are delicious OF COURSE, but I like some veggies, too, to avoid that, UGH why did I only eat cheese feeling later).

I'd even serve these cauliflower wings next to a plate of these Chipotle BBQ Chicken Wings or Honey Sesame Chicken Wings. Variety is always welcome in this household. …And, so is cauliflower. 

Something else about cauliflower wings? Since cauliflower is a pretty mellow vegetables, whatever sauce you use — in this case, buffalo sauce - SHINES. It’s the primary flavor, and is bold. Which, if you like wings, you’ll like.

Wings are of course a typical game-watching food, but our household doesn't so much raise a finger for football... on the rare occasion we watch a game, it's because it's a good excuse to have friends over. But can I tell you something? I don't even know who is playing this weekend. Forgive me. 

But hey, no one said you had to watch football to enjoy wings. I know we'll be watching the Olympics all next month, and that definitely warrants a good spread of snacks. 

And even when there's nothing to watch, one doesn't have to look far to find a reason to make wings. Our house is the go-to house for hosting board game nights among friends, and cauliflower wings (or chicken wings) are really good game-playing food. Just have plenty of napkins on hand, otherwise your game pieces will end up sticky with sauce. 

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Published January 23, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4  teaspoon ground paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Heaping 1/2 cup almond flour or corn meal

For the sauce: 
• 1/2 cup Franks Buffalo Sauce
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• For serving: blue cheese dressing, extra Franks Buffalo Sauce, & minced cilantro for garnish 

Directions:

1. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. (affiliate link!). Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Rinse the cauliflower, and then remove the leaves and stem, cutting the florets into bite-sized pieces.
3. In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the milk, coconut flour, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Add cauliflower to bowl, and use a spatula to turn the cauliflower in the batter until each piece is coated. Add the almond flour or corn meal to the bowl, and toss until each piece of cauliflower is coated.
4. Spread cauliflower out on sheet pan, with space between each floret, and bake for 20-23 minutes. Cauliflower should be softened through but not yet browning.
5. While the cauliflower is cooking, make the sauce: melt the coconut oil in a bowl, and then add the Franks buffalo sauce. Whisk until combined. (P.S., you can also use a pre-made sauce, like Wing Time Buffalo Sauce, or mix it up -- I often do half the batch in Trader Joe's Sriracha BBQ Sauce!)
6. Working in batches, place 1/4 of the florets in the bowl with the sauce. Toss (or stir with a spatula) until the florets are coated in sauce, and then return cauliflower to the sheet pan. Repeat until all of the cauliflower is coated.
7. Place cauliflower back in oven, and bake for 10 more minutes. (Optional: if you would like your cauliflower even browner on the edges, you can roast everything under the broiler for a few minutes -- watch closely to avoid burning!)
8. Serve hot with a side of blue cheese dressing (or ranch if you prefer!), extra Franks hot sauce, and a sprinkle of minced cilantro.

Simple Paleo Pancakes

There are three secrets to making perfect Paleo pancakes: 1) blend like you mean it, 2) grease like there's no tomorrow and 3) believe in yourself. 

The first is essential to getting all of the chunks out of your batter. This recipe uses banana for natural sweetness. The starches from the banana help make the batter lush and creamy. But, in order to transform that banana into luxurious pancake batter, you're going to want to blend it until it's basically a banana smoothie. This recipe also uses coconut flour, which tends to clump up, but those clumps can't stand up for a minute against the blades of your blender. While traditional pancake batter can handle a few clumps, you'll want this batter to be silky smooth, so blend like you mean it! 

The second secret is tactical but essential. Use a non-stick pan, or a cast iron with a ceramic enamel like a Le Creuset skillet (what I use) and then grease that puppy up. Coconut oil will work better than butter, because the solids in butter may burn, and cause your pancakes to stick. I haven't tried ghee, but I would imagine a very well clarified ghee would work great too, just make sure you use enough! I will re-grease my pan with a 1/2 teaspoon of oil between every pancake when I really want every single one to come out of the pan with zero flaws. There's another trick here that will make your pancakes shine: think small. Paleo pancakes are going to be a bit more fragile than regular pancakes, so make Silver Dollar sized pancakes. They're easier to flip!

The third secret is confidence. Trust your pancake flippin' skills and go at it. Reality: everyone in the house is just happy you are making pancakes, so when you put them on the table, be excited. Cook those pancakes fearlessly: letting them cook almost entirely through on the first side before you go in the for the flip will help a lot. I look for little bubbles around the edges and a almost-set center before I flip. This will make the pancake easier to get with a spatula, and easier to turn over. Once your pancake is done, go forth and fearlessly top that thing with all of your favorite things. Drizzle syrup. Add berries with reckless abandon. Make that pancake a towering breakfast feast. Just don't forget to turn off the stove! 😉 

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

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Simple Paleo Pancakes

Published May 9, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Just remember: blend, grease, confidence.

Yields: 6 silver dollar pancakes   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup milk of choice 
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• Coconut oil for cooking

Directions:

1. Place the eggs, banana, milk, and coconut flour in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a non-stick of ceramic enamel skillet over medium heat until the oil glistens. Pour 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan, and cook until bubbles appear around the edges and the center looks like it is beginning to set. Use a spatula to flip the pancake, and cook 2-3 minutes more or until the pancake is golden. Place pancake on plate.
3. Repeat step 2 until all of the batter is used.

Paleo Almond Flour Snickerdoodle Cookies

Snickerdoodle cookies fill your house with the best, homiest, sweetest smell. Especially these snickerdoodles, which are made with cinnamon, coconut sugar, honey and almond flour.

It is snowing here today — giant flakes that drift like feathers on their way down. And lucky me! I have the day off. I’m sticking around the house, and this weather is PERFECT for cookies, which is exactly why I jumped in an made this recipe, which I originally created in 2016, but am revisiting today (January, 2019).

I’m using my go-to combination for cookie dough here: almond flour with a tiny bit of salt and baking soda, and honey and coconut oil. It’s miraculous to me that those five ingredients are all you need (plus a little vanilla) to make a gluten-free, grain-free, better-for-you cookie dough, but it’s true. What’s more, they come out of the oven a little bit chewy and crispy on the outside. Dipped in a glass of milk they are SO tender and melt-away delicious.

I LOVE cinnamon — in snickerdoodle cookies, but also in pie and almond butter and chai and more. Apparently that love does not run in the family, something I learned some time in high school:

It started at my Mom's house. When I found the cinnamon jar empty, I asked her if we had anymore. She mentioned something about being surprised we were out, she didn't like cinnamon at all and would never use it. I'm not sure which put more of a rut in my baking plans: finding out we didn't have cinnamon, or finding out I might need to just skip it all together. After all of these years, how could I not know that my own mother didn't like cinnamon?! I had been putting it in next to everything.

It was only a few days later I was to find out my dad agreed with her. After the missing cinnamon debacle, I tried to make the same exact recipe a week later at my dad's house. You can probably guess what happens next. He was out of cinnamon as well! I asked him the same thing: "Do we have any more?" and he respond in almost an identical way: "That's weird that we're out, I hate cinnamon." My eyes just about popped out of their sockets. Hate cinnamon?

I hadn't realized anyone had a problem with cinnamon until that moment in my mom's kitchen, and now you're telling me both of my parents are holding a grudge against the stuff?! 

For the record, I replenished both cinnamon supplies, kept baking with cinnamon, and they both continued to eat my baked treats happily. I guess their distaste for cinnamon only went so far. 

Watch the video below, or click here if you do not see the video player.

Paleo Almond Flour Snickerdoodle Cookies

Published August 2, 2016 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Yields: 12   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup honey, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Fit a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
3. Add melted coconut oil, honey, and vanilla and stir to make a stiff dough. Scoop dough by the tablespoonful into your hands, and gently shape into a sphere. Repeat until all of the dough is used.
4. In a small bowl, combine coconut sugar and cinnamon. Stir to incorporate. One at a time, place the cookie dough balls in the sugar mixture, and roll to coat. Place coated cookie dough ball on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1-inch between each cookie. Repeat until all of the cookie dough balls are coated.
5. Using a fork, gently press down on each cookie to flatten it to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
6. Bake for 10-14 minutes, until cookies are puffy, fragrant, and golden. Allow to cool 10 minutes (they will continue to set as they cool).