Chai Almond Cookies (low carb)

If you've tried my Almond Bun / Bread / Base recipe, then this is a sweetened up rendition of that.  

I love Chai spices.  I don't care what form the spices come in...  tea, coffee, sweets, and whatever else they may be in that I've yet to try.  I'll drink it or eat it (to be honest, that pretty much goes for anything!!)  This 'cookie' recipe has more of a texture like cake kind of, so they'd make really good Whoopie Pies, I just haven't tried them that way yet.  I have to figure out a good filling (maybe my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe!!)  Anyway, here's the recipe I came up with...

Chai Almond Cookies

3/4 cup Almond Flour 2 Large Eggs 
5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (softened works best, in my opinion)
5 tsp Splenda
1.5 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or more if desired)
1 Tbsp Cinnamon (powdered)
1 Tbsp Ginger (powdered) 
2 tsp Cardamom (powdered) - I didn't have this so I didn't use it but the Chai recipes call for it
2 tsp Cloves (powdered)
1/2 tsp Nutmeg (powdered)
1/2 tsp Allspice (powdered)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
Mix in the eggs
Add the softened butter to the mixture
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Use a spatula to pour out the batter / dough onto the parchment paper into small piles at regular intervals on the cookie sheet (like you would regular cookies).  I think I got about 8 cookies but they were quite large in size.  Keep in mind that they will flatten and spread out some, so you don't want to have them too close together.  However, I also kind of twirled each cookie on the paper to make it a little more round, just to be safe.
Bake for 12-20 minutes (my oven requires about 20 minutes.  I bake it for ten minutes and then rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees to try to get a more even bake, just to be safe).  They cool very quickly, so you don't have to wait long to eat them.

Chai (Almond Flour) Cookies

I'm sorry that I don't have all the cookies on the plate but we scarfed most of them up right away. 

Almond Buns / Bread / Base Recipe (low carb & actually easy!)

On a low carb diet, you don't get to enjoy bread like you may have once done.  I know I miss it.  I came across this recipe for Almond Buns and messed around with it some and I like what has happened.  The basic recipe has stayed the same, I've just added ingredients from time-to-time and baked it differently.   I've also begun making my own almond flour to try to save a little money.  I've read you can save a lot by doing it yourself but I can't seem to find really cheap almonds so I don't think it's saving me all that much...  it's just hard to find almond flour nearby (I have to order it online).  This recipe calls for 3/4 cup of Almond Flour and I've found that if I take 3/4 cup of whole almonds and grind it up in my Magic Bullet with the low-lying flatter blade, it usually comes out to about 3/4 cup almond flour (not packed!)
(note: supposedly it's easy to make almond butter if you grind too long but I haven't had a problem yet.  I have had to shake my Magic Bullet to get some of the almonds to actually get chopped up completely and even then, they don't always get totally ground.  It's recommended that you use a flour-sifter to get the chunkier bits of almonds out but I don't have one so I kind of just pick them out with a fork.)

Anyway, here is the bread recipe...

Almond Bun / Bread

3/4 cup Almond Flour 
2 Large Eggs (I've used whole eggs and All Whites / Egg Whites)
5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (softened works best, in my opinion)
1.5 tsp Splenda (optional)
1.5 tsp Baking Powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
Mix in the eggs
Add the softened butter to the mixture
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Use a spatula to pour out the batter / dough onto the parchment paper and then spread it evenly.  I try to place it near the center with a few inches of empty parchment paper on all four sides to ensure a more even bake.
Bake for 12-20 minutes (my oven requires about 20 minutes.  I bake it for ten minutes and then rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees to try to get a more even bake, just to be safe).
Once the 'bread' is baked, take it out of the oven and within a minute or so (it cools fast), you can cut it into 6-8 'slices' (about the size of regular bread).  Like this...

After baking & before cutting

Almond Flour Bread after cutting to size

You can store the 'bread' for about 4-5 days (depending on humidity where you live) outside of the refrigerator (in a ziplock bag) but it does seem to mold much faster so watch for that to happen.  That's why it's best to do it in the small amounts called for in this recipe.

This is my "go-to" faux bread recipe because it's fast and easy!  It provides a nice base to mess around with too.  Instead of Splenda, I've added 3 tsp Parmesan Cheese for a more 'savory' flavor.  I've also added more Splenda, Vanilla Extract and Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) to make a chocolatey sweet snack.  Recently I made a Chai Cookie with this base recipe and they were really good.  I'll be sure to post the recipe for those soon.  Let me know if you do anything different.  It's fun to experiment with it!!  Enjoy!!

Layered Coconut Flour Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (low carb)

After making the Coconut Flour Bread recipe, I got more creative.  I've been wanting sweet treats so I decided to play with the recipe a little more.  I've seen some recipes for 'Crepe Cakes' on Pinterest and decided to make something similar.  However, I seem to have a hard time making low carb crepes based on recipes I've gotten off the internet (so far anyway!) so I decided to bake the 'faux crepe cake' this time.

Coconut Flour Cake

4 eggs (I used All Whites Liquid Egg Whites - 12 Tbsp)
4 Tbsp coconut flour
2 Tbsp unsalted almonds, ground into a flour
3 Tbsp protein powder
1/2 tsp Almond Extract (or any kind of extract you want to use in order to flavor your cake.  I just have been craving almond for some reason!)
4 Tbsp butter, unsalted (at room temperature so it's soft)
6 Tbsp Splenda (or granulated sweetener of your choice, add more or less to taste)

Preheat the oven to 350* F.
Combine all the dry ingredients first, then added the eggs, butter and extract.
Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Pour batter / dough onto the parchment paper in a very thin layer.  If you have a small cookie sheet, you should be able to use it and fill the cookie sheet.  However, my cookie sheets are all average / large sized so I had a few inches of empty paper on either side and about 1 inch on the top and bottom.  Because of possible cooking inconsistencies in some ovens, I baked it about 5 minutes, then rotated the cookie sheet so the side that had previously been in the front of the oven was now in the rear and baked it for about another 5 minutes.  Times may vary.
When the 'cake' was done, I tried to cut it in fairly even sizes and let cool.  It doesn't take long because it's so thin.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. Cream Cheese, brick style, the entire brick
8 Tbsp. Half & Half or Heavy Cream
4 tsp. Splenda (or to taste)
about 1 tsp. Extract (I used Almond)

Soften the cream cheese.  I softened it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  Combine all the ingredients.  I used a hand mixer in order to 'whip' the heavy cream into the cream cheese better, otherwise it would have been too lumpy and liquid.

Application:

Take a 'slice' of the cake, place on a plate / platter.  Apply a thick layer of frosting to the cake.  Place another 'slice' of cake on top of that, apply another thick layer of frosting.  Repeat.  At the top layer, you can either apply the layer of frosting just to the top or also down the sides.  I applied it just to the top.  

Layered Coconut Flour Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (low carb)

Depending on the thickness of your layering of the frosting, you will probably have some leftover.  You may want to decrease the quantities some.  If you do have some leftover, you can just dollop some on top of the cake when you serve it or do whatever you want with it.  I ate what was left and it was delicious!!  Here's a photo of my cake.  I shared it with my family and we had 4 healthy servings.  I think it was a little dry (the cake part) so next time I think I'd use whole eggs rather than just the whites to see if that moistens it some.  The nutritional info below is based on whole eggs.

Coconut Flour Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Nutritional Information (4 servings)

513 calories, 10 carbs, 46 fat, 17 protein, 3 fiber, 277 sodium