Hello again, Darlings!
If you’re a fan of Christmas baking (who isn’t?!), then I’m here to tell you that clean Christmas baking is just as worthy of an endeavor!
Baking—for all the holidays, not just Christmas—is a tradition for so many at this time of year. I’m back today to offer all the pleasures of this treasured tradition in a way that honors those of us with different dietary needs such as managing autoimmune issues or following anti-inflammatory protocols for overall wellness. Whether eating clean for anti-inflammatory reasons or to avoid auto-immune reactions, the holidays are one of those times when it is just plain hard to not indulge. Believe you me, I tend to indulge, but it sure is nice to have some sweet options to serve that I know I won’t react negatively to.
Today I’m serving up ever-nostalgic Gingerbread Cookies and the classic Figgy Pudding (omitting the traditional meat parts! This one is a sweet cake!).
My classic Gingerbread Cookies are a great recipe that come together quickly. They are super fun to make with friends, family and kids and bring in that nostalgic holiday vibe (and smell!) that really gets us in the spirit. For this grain-free cookie, I use my go-to cassava flour which is great for anyone looking to use a grain-free flour who might also have nut allergies. Cassava is my favorite baking flour and is anti-inflammatory as well.
Figgy Pudding… the classic approach uses assorted meat parts, but not this one! Mine is a quirky take on Figgy Pudding that is essentially a sweet fig cake also made with my beloved cassava flour. For this I often use ghee—clarified butter without the milk solids—for my fat, but you can also use coconut oil or butter. I will note that my daughter must eat entirely dairy-free, and she does great with ghee. It’s a very sumptuous choice for those who want the toothsome quality of butter but can’t handle the dairy. Figgy Pudding shows up beautifully on the table, and is a sweet one to serve for a group or on Christmas Day.
Check out my videos for both Figgy Pudding and Gingerbread Cookies and let me know what you think! And as always, please message me on Instagram @aubreeholmes and sign up for my newsletter at www.aubreeholmes.com.
Hope you and your family are having a wonderful holiday season. See you next week!
Happy baking,
Aubree
When carefully rolled out, this dough works well with cookie cutters — decorate to your heart’s desire or use a toothpick to make little designs in the cookies before baking.
YOU WILL NEED:
½ cup coconut oil or ghee
½ cup coconut sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup cassava flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
TO MAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a large bowl, cream together the coconut oil, coconut sugar and maple syrup using an electric mixer on a high speed until light brown in color, scraping the sides of the bowl, as needed. If you don’t have a mixer, a fork and bowl will work, as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cassava flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and salt.
Add the flour mixture into the coconut oil mixture and stir together until a batter is formed that holds together when pressed into a ball.
Flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes in the dough and carefully arrange them on a baking sheet. Roll out the remaining scrap dough to continue to cut out cookie shapes until there is not enough dough remaining to make a cookie.
Bake at 350ºF for about 10 minutes. Let cool before removing them from the cookie sheet.
Figgy Pudding with Spiced Butterscotch Glaze
YOU WILL NEED:
¼ cup ghee, unsalted butter, or coconut oil, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing
1 cup dried figs, finely chopped
1 cup non dairy, unsweetened milk
1 cup cassava flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup maple syrup
Zest from 1 orange
2 large eggs
Salted Butterscotch Glaze (recipe follows)
TO MAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a medium glass bowl or medium bundt pan with ghee and set aside.
In a saucepan, heat the non dairy milk and figs over low heat until the figs have softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the cassava flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Set aside.
In a small bowl, stir the ghee and maple syrup. Whisk in the warm fig mixture followed by the orange zest. Whisk in the eggs. Stir the fig mixture into the flour mixture until combined to make a batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Remove the pudding from the oven and let cool slightly. Gently remove the pudding from the baking pan and place on a serving plate. Pour the Spiced Butterscotch Glaze over the top of the pudding. Cut into wedges and serve warm.
This can be kept in a covered dish for 3-4 days.
SPICED BUTTERSCOTCH GLAZE
YOU WILL NEED:
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup nondairy milk
¼ cup ghee or unsalted butter
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
TO MAKE:
In a small saucepan set over medium heat, whisk together the maple syrup, nondairy milk and ghee and bring to a simmer, stirring until the mixture begins to foam, 3-5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low.
Whisk the salt, vanilla and spices into the maple syrup mixture and cook, stirring, until the mixture is slightly thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon, another 3-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the glaze over the Figgy Pudding. Serve right away.
Images via Carla Choy
