Recipe: Easy Vegan Peppermint Bark Cookies (Gluten Free!)

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Peppermint Bark is always a favourite at our house at Christmas time. 

It's easy to make, perfect for gifting and delicious to eat - but this year I wanted to add a little twist to it. 

Jesse and I are both cookie monsters year round - but especially so at Christmas time. So, earlier in the year when we were deciding what Christmas cookies to make this year, I suggested a peppermint bark cookie and the ideas started rolling. 

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We thought about shortbread, using peppermint bark instead of chocolate chips in a chocolate chip cookie recipe, making a white chocolate cookie dough - the ideas kept coming and I kept experimenting.... but the best recipe of all ended up being the simplest one.

This Peppermint Bark Cookie Recipe is tweaked from our The Best Vegan Cookies Recipe, but you can also use any chocolate cookie recipe you like (or simply use this recipe as inspiration and dip any store bought chocolate cookie in melted white chocolate and sprinkle on some crushed candy canes!). 

It's simple to make and even if you're like us and not vegan, you'll love this recipe. It's perfect for the whole family and will totally become a new fave. But if the vegan idea doesn't take your fancy, don't worry! I've added a non-vegan option below too. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Gluten Free & Vegan Christmas Brownies

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Growing up, we only ever really had one Christmas dessert; my Mum's Christmas pudding.

Sure there would always be chocolate around and a few packets of Walker's Shortbread (keeping in mind that I didn't know I had coeliac disease until I was 19!), but the star of the show was always my Mum's Christmas pudding. 

These days, Christmas desserts are a little more elaborate at our house. There's Mum's Christmas pudding, my Gluten Free and Vegan Fruit Cake Recipe, this Gluten Free Snowball Cookies Recipe, my Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipe for Jesse and a bunch of other desserts I decide we NEEEED to have on Christmas Day....

And this year, I'm adding a new recipe to the list!

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These Christmas Brownies are a bit of a cross between a fruit cake, a traditional Christmas pudding and the most decadent chocolate brownie. 

They're soft and fudgy with crisp edges and inside you'll find melty chocolate chips, a hint of Christmas spices and little bursts of mixed fruit. 

The flavour and texture alone will make these a new Christmas fave.

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Easy Molasses Crinkle Cookies (Gluten Free!)

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I'm one of those crazy Christmas loving people.

I wait allllll year long to take down my boxes of Christmas decorations from the roof, covering every single inch of our house that I can with Christmas goodness. 

I start playing Christmas carols on the first of November (and let's be honest, randomly throughout the year too) because I don't think one month is enough and I will start baking Christmas recipes as early as possible... you know... to "test" them...

Truthfully, I just think anything Christmas related is better. The decorations are so cosy and lovely, the food is stupidly delicious and everyone just seems to be a little bit happier.

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These Christmas cookies will definitely put a smile on your face too. 

Even though Jesse was mildly disappointed that I wasn't making chocolate chip cookies (his fave) when I first made these, he came home from work and promptly devoured as many as he could before I snatched the container away, wailing "SAVE SOME FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!".

These cookies are crisp and chewy on the outside and delicious soft in the centre. They're lightly spiced and the powdered sugar coating not only makes them look fancy, it makes them taste seriously decadent too. 

These are the kind of cookies you take to a Christmas party because they look complicated - but they're actually really really easy.

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Easy Gluten Free Ham and Cheese Strata

Christmas time is my favourite time of year. The food, the family, the frivolity - but it also brings with it something I don't love... leftovers. 

You see, whilst I'd never see remaining desserts as leftovers, I've never been a fan of savoury leftovers. 

I'm the black sheep in my family because everyone else sees leftovers as a positive. But me? I see the mountains of leftover ham and bits and pieces boring and monotonous and bleh....

Well, I did... but this year, I see those leftovers as ingredients... because this recipe will totally change the way you think about leftovers.

Perfect for using up extra bread or rolls and ham that always seems to be leftover after Christmas, this Ham and Cheese Strata Recipe is super versatile and super delicious.

We've been making it for breakfast and lunch and dinner for quite some time as it works well for just about every kind of meal. 

Best of all? It's a recipe that's super easy to make - and you can make it in advance to reheat and eat later (or even freeze to reheat and eat later!) so it's an awesome meal prep recipe. 

So let me share the recipe with you >> 

Recipe: Easy 4 Ingredient Chocolate Fruit Cake (Gluten Free, Vegan & No Added Sugar!)

I love fruit cake. I always have and I always will - and Christmas isn't complete without my Mum's famous Christmas pudding..

But there is one problem with it...

You see, in my world, dessert just isn't complete without chocolate.

I'm a serious chocoholic who always opts for chocolate desserts - and fruit cake is chocolate free... so that's a bit of a problem. 

So, for as long as I can remember, I'd just have chocolate as well - until this year... when I had the crazy idea to add chocolate to my fruit cake.

Crazy but SERIOUSLY, ridiculously delicious... and I don't think I'll ever be able to look back. 

Fruit cake just got a whole lot more delicious - and even my fruit cake hating husband now approves. Best of all? This recipe has just FOUR ingredients (or five, if you want to add an extra chocolate kick) and it couldn't be easier to make. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Vegan Peppermint Chocolate Tarts (Grain Free + Paleo Option!)

I'm a chocolate fiend. It's no secret. 

I will always opt for chocolate desserts over anything else - and I'll never say no to my favourite chocolate.

Thus, whenever I start thinking up festive desserts - my mind always seems to go to chocolate first. 

But you should totally be grateful for that chocolate addiction as these chocolate laden treats are deeeeeeeeeeeeelicious. 

Usually I steer clear of any kind of tart, pie or pastry/dough related treat - but I promise you these are actually super simple to make. There's no dough rolling or chilling - all you have to do is mix the ingredients together, press the dough in the pan and you're good to go. 

Onc the shells cool down, simply heat up some milk, pour it over your chocolate and stir it all up before pouring it into your tart shells.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. 

But no one will ever know - because they taste like they should have taken hours to make - and they look pretty impressive too. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Easy One Bowl Paleo Gingerbread Muffins

It's that time of year... 

I find myself playing Christmas music while I work... 

The Christmas decorations are slowly creeping in one by one..

The evenings are filled with the sound of cicadas... 

The breeze through my office window is warm and yet refreshing at the same time..

The smell of my Mum's Christmas pudding fills the house as it boils away... 

Christmas is coming and I cannot wait. 

Not for the presents - but for family and celebrations and food. I think Christmas food has to be my favourite cuisine (that's got to be a cuisine, right?!). Especially those foods you'll find on the dessert table. 

Cakes and muffins and cookies and puddings filled with warming spices, chocolate and peppermint treats in abundance. There's nothing better than Christmas desserts - and I knew exactly what kind of treat I wanted to start my Christmas baking with: the simplest one. 

You see, there's nothing fancy about these muffins. 

They're brown, they're plain, they're boring - but that's what makes them so surprisingly good.

You see, looking at these muffins, you wouldn't expect anything spectacular. But tasting them? That's a whole different story. 

They're soft and fluffy and taste just like Christmas should do. 

But best of all? They are super simple to make and are sure to become a family Christmas staple. Not only are they paleo, they're also gluten free, lower in sugar and lower in fat so they're the perfect healthier Christmas treat. 

Whip them up in just a few minutes and you're ready to wow Christmas guests or totally out-do everyone else's desserts at a holiday gathering 😉

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

The Best Healthy Christmas Recipes (with options for all types of diets!)

I could have come up with a hundred new Christmas recipes this year, but I didn't. Instead, I have shared only a few - but there's a good reason behind that.

Why? Because as I found myself preparing for Christmas, I kept turning back to recipes I had already shared. 

They're the ones my family asked for

They're the ones my friends asked for

and they're the ones I craved.

So I thought I'd round up our favourite (already posted) Christmas recipes just to share with you this Christmas. Why? Because they're tried and tested a million times over and we're still in love with them all. 

This list is the best of the best and there's something for everyone with healthy, gluten free, paleo, grain free, vegan and a few indulgent options too.

So let me share the best of the best with you! >> 

Recipe: Vegan Christmas Pudding Baked Oatmeal

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Do you ever feel sorry for foods?

Okay, so now you think I'm totally nuts - but let me explain.

I was thinking about "Christmas Foods" and realised that Fruit Cake and Christmas Pudding that would probably be the last picked if the Christmas foods were choosing a battle team. 

There's two kinds of people in this world - fruit cake lovers and fruit cake haters (and I feel like they also accordingly love/hate Christmas pudding too) and I feel like most of the world falls on the hating side.

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Me? I'm definitely a fruit cake lover. 

Two weeks ago I shared my Healthy Paleo Fruit Cake Recipe for Christmas and today I'm back with another fruit cake inspired recipe. 

I feel like it's one that even fruit cake haters could fall in love with. If you like raisins or dates or figs or dried fruit - stay with me! This baked oatmeal recipe is naturally sweetened and just waiting to be smothered in nut butter and I bet you won't be able to resist it either. 

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Lightly spiced with Christmassy spices (or not, if you're not into that kinda thing), it makes your house smell incredible whilst baking and works for Christmas breakfast or brunch all over the world as you can enjoy it hot or cold. 

Or if you're like Jesse and I - make a big batch up in advance, slice it up into individual slices and then decide what temperature you want to eat it. Jesse likes it warm whilst I can't get enough of it cold - but thankfully it works for everyone. 

So let me share the recipe so you can decide for yourself >> 

Recipe: Paleo Fruit Cake (Sugar Free!)

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To me, Christmas smells like my Mum's Christmas pudding. 

It's something that has always been a part of our Christmas - whether we were entertaining a few or many, having Christmas lunch or dinner, at home or away. 

Unfortunately after years of enjoying my Mum's Christmas pudding, once I found out I was coeliac it just became something I smelt and looked at instead of ate. But don't feel bad - I've used that as the perfect excuse to come up with my own alternatives each year. 

Each year that recipe has evolved and become better and better. The first year I had this Gluten Free Steamed Christmas Pudding Recipe which was delicious, but perhaps a little too soft and time consuming. 

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Last year I had my Easy Gluten Free and Vegan Fruit Cake Recipe which was a huge hit and the perfect texture and I thought that was going to be the recipe from there on out.... but this year I found out a friend of mine had to switch to a grain free diet due to various health issues - and she was wondering what, if anything, she could eat on Christmas day. 

Ummmm..... we're not going to have any of that, friends. 

If there's one thing I hate, it's people missing out - so I knew I needed to come up with a Paleo Fruit Cake Recipe that would be the perfect healthy Christmas cake alternative.

And oh my word is it good. 

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Jesse hates Christmas pudding and fruit cake - but I left this cake sitting half cut on the kitchen bench whilst I ducked out to the grocery store and Jesse decided he needed to taste test it. 

I got home to find a few pieces gone and asked my Dad whether he liked it, only to have him look back at me confused. Jesse, the fruit cake "hater", had decided this cake was his new favourite and even asked me to make it for him on Christmas Day. 

With that reaction, I think it's safe to say this is the perfect Paleo Christmas Pudding Recipe - but it's so good that non-paleo eaters will love it too. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >>