Paleo Edible Cookie Dough

I am all about treats. I know there’s things I shouldn’t be eating, but with the ability to modify recipes to Paleo, I feel that I can indulge in some tasty goodness that doesn’t just claim to be “guilt-free,” it is guilt-free.

My latest effort is edible cookie dough. I’ve been seeing it stores and reading recipes online, and I’ve wanted to try it, but I’ve only run across it when I’m actually on plan rather than taking a trip off the wagon. The recipe I used comes from someone called Natalie Jill, and she shared this recipe on The Doctors. Here is my adaptation.

  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (Nestle has 67 percent dark chocolate)
  • sea salt to taste
  1. Combine almond flour, tapioca starch, honey, vanilla and butter in a blender and blend until smooth. If it seems a little dry, try adding a tablespoon of liquid. I put a little black coffee into my chocolate chip cookie dough.
  2. Stir in chocolate chips and sea salt and spoon into dessert dishes.
  3. Refrigerate one hour.
  4. Enjoy.

The beauty of this recipe is that the dough can be anything you want. Chocolate chocolate chip? Stir in a little unsweetened cocoa. Snickerdoodle? Add cream of tartar and a little cinnamon and coconut or maple sugar. Pecan Sandie? Mix in chopped pecans. There are any number of nominations that can be made with a flavored extract rather than vanilla, different spices and other stir-ins that fit the paleo diet.

Also, Natalie Jill says this recipe serves four. I’m a realist when it comes to snacks and deserts. It serves two.

Jimmy’s Cookies

I’m always looking for noshy, munchy things, and I found these cookies while I was shopping at Walmart one day. They were in the freezer section with the gluten-free and paleo foods, and I was instantly intrigued, thought it took me a while to try them. There are, to the best of my knowledge, two varieties — Chocolate Chunk, pictured here, which are pretty much just chocolate chunk cookies, and Pecan Chocolate Chunk. They are both very tasty.

There are a few cons with this product. One is that they are expensive. A tub of 18 costs $9 at Walmart. The second is that they stay frozen and have to sit out for an hour before you can eat them.


Yeah, I know the pros look exactly like the cons, but the fact is, at that price, I’m not going to sit and eat the entire tub, and with the need to thaw them, I’m not going to eat them impulsively.

These are great for stashing in your freezer for a rainy day. You just take two out and put them on a plate while you make yourself a nice bowl of soup. Then, after lunch, you can make a cup of tea and have your cookies.

RX Bars

I was technically homeless when I started my Paleo-ish lifestyle. I spent my first two weeks at my daughter’s while she was in England, but moved into my car when she came home. I was unwilling to undo everything I’d worked for over the previous two weeks because I didn’t have a kitchen, so I started to think about portability, things that keep and were cheap.

I had actually discovered RX Bars when I was an Uber/Lyft driver. I would be in my car 15 hours a day, and, depending on how the day went, I didn’t necessarily have time to stop and eat. I would pick up these bars at a 7-11 that sold them 2 for $5, and I’d buy $20 of them at a time.

I don’t usually like nutrition bars, but I am really impressed with these. They are just what they say on the front of the package. The egg gives them a little more staying power than, say, a Lära Bar, which is another favorite of mine, and they are more of a meal bar than just something to deal with my sweet tooth. They can be a little pricey — a box of 4 is $6.50 at Walmart, more at other stores —but they are so worth it, particularly when I’m on the road. They come in some great flavors: chocolate chip, chocolate sea salt, coffee, mixed berry, blueberry, chocolate coconut, and, even though they aren’t paleo because of the peanuts, peanut butter and peanut butter chocolate.

Chocolate Cake

I celebrated my last birthday with Kat (friend and adopted sister), Mom, and my two aunts in California. There was talk about what kind of cake Kat and I might want for our birthday, and Paleo didn’t really cross my  mind. I will have an occasion non-Paleo treat, but, for the most part, I try to to keep to plan. There are times, though, when it’s just not practical, and impromptu trips to California for birthday pedicures is one of those times…usually. Before we left on the trip, I found this cake recipe, and Mom tweaked it a tad. The recipe is from a site called My Heart Beets, and you can find the original recipe here. This cake is a very decadent, heavy cake in the European style, and rich, but so very good.

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sifted coconut powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

Chocolate Frosting
5 ounces (1/2 packages of dark chocolate chunks)
4 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon maple syrup, to taste

Cake directions
1.. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients (almond foul, cocoa, coconut flour, baking soda and salt)

2. Add the maple syrup, melted butter and mix well.

3. Add eggs and mix well

4. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Spoon into a 10″ pan greased with coconut oil

5. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.


Chocolate frosting
1. Melt chocolate in the microwave.

2. Mix in butter and maple syrup. Mix until smooth

3. Allow frosting to cool slightly, then pour over cake.

4. Enjoy.

Paleo Banana Bread

Mom and I find a lot of good recipes, but  the ones we really love are those you could  serve to a non-Paleo person without warning them, and they wouldn’t know the difference between the Paleo and the non-Paleo.  It was really  incredible to find a banana bread that we could swap for grain-filled bread without being sad about it. To be frank, I didn’t think it was possible. I’ve had gluten-free banana bread before, vegan and therefore Paleo, and I’ve not liked it. The same goes for cookies and cakes. So, I’m always a little nervous when we try something from those categories.

Just like the chocolate cake and the chocolate chip cookies you’ll find among these recipes, this banana bread is fantastic. You’d never know anything was “alternative” in it. ​Mom found the recipe on a site called Paleo Running Mama, and you can find the original, un-tweaked recipe here.

4 small to medium overripe bananas, mashed well
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled to almost room temperature
1 ¾ cups almond flour
½ cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup mini chocolate chips

1. Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a medium loaf pan with parchment

3. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and mashed bananas. Add the vanilla and coconut oil and combine well.

4. Slowly stir in dry ingredients. Do not use an electric mixer. Mixing too well can cause the bread not to rise. Moisten until no flour is visible

5. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips

6. Transfer batter to parchment-lined loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in them middle of the loaf comes out clean. Place pan on cooling rack and leave bread in pan until it is almost completely cooled. While bread is still warm to the touch, tip it out upside down onto the rack and remove the parchment. Slice when cooled.

7. Enjoy.

This bread will be very moist, particularly toward the middle. These slices are wonderful pan-fried and served hot with toppings. The bread can be stored at room temperatures for twenty-four hours, but should be refrigerated if it lasts any longer than that.

Lära Bars

One of my carry-along staples, even now, is a Lära Bar. These are date and nut bars that come in a variety of flavors. These are not meal replacements but more of a candy bar replacement. They’re sweeter than RX Bars and Epic Bars that have egg in them. Those tend to be heavier, if that makes sense.

I always have one of these in my purse. If I need a little something, it’s enough to take the edge off of hunger without filling me up if I have a meal shortly. They’re great to have at work for that reason. They’re also my go-to if everyone around me is munching on candy bars.

They’re pretty straightforward — no refined sugar (except for the minuscule amount if there are chocolate chips in a bar), no grains, no dairy. Just dates, nuts and possibly some other kind of fruit depending on the flavor of the bar.

My go-tos tend to be the Almond Butter Chocolate Chip and Coconut Pie. In a good Whole Foods, Alfalfa’s or Sprouts, there selection is a little better and you can find a huge range of flavors, but there are some good basics in Walmart.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies


2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.





Makes 18 cookies.