Paleo No-Bake Carrot Cake

By Sereina:

I only remember having carrot cake a few time in my life, but for the past year I've been wanting to make one. It had been a long time and I still hadn't made it, so now that I'm dairy-free and not eating sugar I decided to look for a Paleo recipe. I found this on on Google and it is so good! It wasn't till I made it that I realized it was a no-bake recipe. There's no flour and it's sweetened with dates. And the frosting on it? It's made with cashews, yet it tastes so good.

Paleo No-Bake Carrot Cake
via Betty Rawker

Ingredients:

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup (about 9) medjool dates, pitted

1 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice seasoning

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Frosting:
1 cup raw cashews
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Put the carrots in a Vitamix for food processor and mix until shredded. Scoop into a large bowl.

2. Puree 1 cup walnuts in the Vitamix for food processor  Add in mejool dates and then blend into a paste. Add to the bowl with the grated carrots.

3. Add the shredded coconut and stir/mash until combined.  Then add the vanilla, five spice, and walnuts, if using them. Mix until well incorporated.

4. Shape the carrot cake with your hands onto a plate. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

5. Blend all of the frosting ingredients together in the Vitamix for food processor until smooth and combined. Add more water if needed. Chill in the fridge until the cake is done, then frost the cake.

Paleo Snickerdoodles

These cookies don't taste exactly like regular sinckerdoodles, but they're still really good! With the texture, we decided that they're like donut holes. They're really easy to make and the hardest part is letting them chill in the fridge for an hour. The nutmeg almost makes them taste like eggnog, so they'll be really good for the Christmas season too. Recipe found here.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of almond meal
• 1 tbs of coconut flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon + extra for rolling dough in
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well.
2. Cover the cookie dough and place in the fridge to chill for one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Roll the cookies into small balls and coat in cinnamon.
5. Use the bottom of a cup or jar to flatten them out.
6. Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.