Choco-coco balls (no bake)

I was inspired to make up this recipe after tasting a cookie Mark got at the coffee shop the other day.  These aren't too sweet, but satisfy any craving for a little bite of chocolate.  They are, of course, gluten free.  They're also super quick and easy to put together, and I think they taste fancy enough that they can be served with something like fruit for a company dessert.

Makes about 10 1-in balls

75 g ground almonds or almond flour 

60 g finely shredded coconut (unsweetened)

28 g maple syrup

16 g (~2  T) cocoa powder

1/4 - 3/8 t. salt

30 g melted coconut oil

Stir everything together in a bowl.  Let it sit for a minute or two.  Press into whatever shape you want - I tend to make 1-in balls.  Cover with plastic to keep them from drying out.

Notes:

- To make the ground almonds, I just throw a couple handfuls of almonds into the food processor.  I store any extra in the freezer for the next time I'm going to make these.  

- The first time I made these I used 60 g of almond flour and 60 g of coconut.  They were really good, very striking, but in some ways too much.  I think upping the almond flour makes them a bit more balanced, but if you like really strong bold flavors you might prefer it with less almond flour. 

- The amount of salt indicated here results in a "salted chocolate" taste.  So, in the midst of coconut and cocoa, you get an occasional taste of salt, in a pleasant way.  If you don't like that taste, use 1/8 t of salt or less.

Serbian cornbread muffins

A Serbian astronomy friend that we met in Madison made these muffins for us last fall, and they very quickly became my staple cornbread recipe.  They're super moist and healthier than regular cornbread.

They're amenable to lots of variations.  The original recipe calls for the addition of feta, which makes them the most eastern European-like.  The kids like them plain.  I like to mix in a handful of chopped pickled jalepenos and queso fresco if I'm serving them with chili.  It's also been really easy to make them gluten free as there is very little regular flour in them.

Depending on your additions, the recipe below makes about 10-12 muffins

3 eggs
1.5 c yogurt
3 T oil
7.5 T flour*
7.5 T (56 g) cornmeal
1 T baking powder
3/4 t salt

Additions: cheese (feta, queso fresco, cheddar) - 1/4 - 1/2 lb, peppers, bacon, etc

*(for gluten free muffins, I use 4.5 T (42 g) of corn flour + 3 T of a 1:1 replacement flour mix

Stir together the wet ingredients, stir together the dry ingredients, add the dries to the wets and mix.  Fold in any additions that you're using.  Bake at 375 for 18-25 min until a toothpick comes out clean.  Note: these tend to stick to regular muffin liners a lot, for some reason.  I use silicon liners, and they pop right out with no mess.  You can also grease your regular foil or paper liners with a spray oil.