holiday

Gluten-Free Matzoh! / April 13, 2022 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

I’m popping over here really quick to share this gluten-free matzoh recipe that I love making for my family each year when Passover rolls around. If you’re gluten-free then all of the ingredients should be ready right there in your pantry - superfine brown rice flour (you can use regular, but this will impact the texture a bit), arrowroot powder, oat flour, and psyllium husk powder to make the dough super pliable and easy to work with.

I love a homemade matzah, particularly because you can top it with whatever you please. Some of my favorites include: flaky salt, sesame seeds, za’atar, a mix of crushed cumin and fennel, or you could leave it completely plain! I do hope you enjoy these as much as my family does :) Happy holiday weekend to anyone observing a holiday! xo

Gluten-Free Matzoh

| Makes roughly 5 large squares |

Print recipe here!

Ingredients:

1 cup superfine brown rice flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons psyllium husk powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Flaky sea salt, for topping

Method

1. Place a baking/pizza stone on the middle rack of your oven, and preheat to 500°F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, arrowroot powder, oat flour, and salt.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the water and psyllium husk powder. Let the mixture sit and thicken for about 5 minutes, stirring every so often.

4. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, and add the psyllium-water mixture, and olive oil to the dry ingredients. Stir everything together until a shaggy dough forms.

5. Turn out your dough onto a clean work surface that's been dusted with brown rice flour and knead it until a smooth dough forms. Cut the dough evenly into 4 pieces and covet with a clean dish towel. Dust your work surface again, and roll out your dough as thin as can be (roughly 1/8-inch), into a rough rectangle. Turn the dough a few times to prevent sticking, and dust with additional flour as needed. (This isn't an overly wet dough, so it shouldn't be too sticky.) Trim the edges into a square or rectangle (this is totally optional) and roll the scraps into a ball.

6. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Brush lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with flaky salt (again, totally optional).

7. Dust a pizza peel and transfer your prepared dough to your oven. Bake the matzoh for 7-9 minutes, until the edges are golden. (I generally bake 2 at a time, be careful not to overcrowd as this will impact the baking time.)

8. Remove from the oven, and place on a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough, rolling scraps into a ball (this will give you an extra piece of matzoh).

9. Leftover matzoh can be stored in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to 4 days.

CHOCOLATE SESAME THUMBPRINTS W/ MAPLE-TAHINI CARAMEL / December 10, 2020 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

CHOCOLATE SESAME THUMBPRINTS W/ MAPLE-TAHINI CARAMEL | dolly and oatmeal

no doubt this holiday season will look and feel quite different. we’re all making sacrifices in order to keep our loved ones and even complete strangers healthy. but that doesn’t mean we are forgoing cookie season. as strange as this season will likely feel, i’m determined to make the most of it with my kids. the other week we made sufganiyot for this upcoming weekend’s hanukkah celebration. but i’m already thinking ahead to christmas cookies, because even as much as ames loves a doughnut, he loves a cookie even more.

last year he was still a bit too young to really bake with. but this year i’m putting him to work, starting with these chocolate sesame thumbprints with maple-tahini caramel 😊. they’re quite an easy cookie to make, and only call for a handful of ingredients. they also happen to be gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, and refined sugar free. basically a cookie free of lots of things - but one that doesn’t lack one bit in over-the-top, christmas cookie decadence!

we start by making the maple-tahini caramel, our 4-ingredient (and oh so easy) star of the show. we cook the maple syrup down slightly, remove it from the heat; whisk in the tahini, vanilla, and salt. we let it cool, and then move on to the cookies!

we sift together our dry ingredients, and then separately our wet ones. everything gets folded together to make our dough. like with any thumbprint cookie, we pinch off small pieces of dough, roll them between our palms, and roll them in our toasted sesame seeds (we toast them ahead of time for optimal flavor). we flatten them slightly, make indentations with our thumb, and then bake them off for roughly 12 minutes. they cool, get filled with our maple-tahini caramel, and then topped with a healthy pinch of flaky salt.

while they may not be the typical jammy thumbprint, you will be quite the happy camper with these. they’re full of chocolatey, toasted sesame flavor, with even more sweet, toasty notes from our caramel. truly delicious, i can’t wait for you to make them!

chocolate sesame thumbprint cookies w/ maple-tahini caramel | gf & v

PRINT THE RECIPE!

| makes 18 cookies |

cookie ingredients

2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
maple-tahini caramel sauce
flaky salt, for topping

maple-tahini caramel (makes extra)

1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

method

preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
in a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cacao, and salt - break up any bit of almond flour with your fingers.
in another large bowl whisk together the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. add the wet ingredients to the dry until combined.
place your toasted sesame seeds in a large shallow bowl. pinch off a tablespoon amount of dough and roll between your palms to form a smooth ball. roll the cookie in the sesame seeds until its covered in seeds. place on your cookie sheet, and repeat with remaining dough, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.
use the bottom of a jar or glass, and gently press the cookies down to form little disks (don’t press down too much, you’re looking to have roughly 1/2-inch thickness). gently make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant, and edges are toasted. remove and let cool completely.
once cookies are cool, plop roughly 1/4 teaspoon of the tahini caramel into your indentations. top with flaky salt, and eat!
cookies can be stored in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

tahini caramel:

in a small heavy bottomed pot, heat the maple syrup over medium heat until it starts boiling. adjust the heat to maintain a steady boil, but not so much that the maple syrup boils over, medium-low should be sufficient. continue to cook the maple syrup until it’s reduced by about half, roughly 4-5 minutes.
remove from heat and whisk in the tahini, vanilla, and salt. pour the caramel into a jar and let cool. once cool, fasten the lid on and store at room temp for up to 3 days.

more festive cookie recipes:

(inside out) chocolate chunk cookie bars

KABOCHA SQUASH, FENNEL & RED LENTIL SOUP (FROM LIVING AYURVEDA) / November 19, 2020 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

KABOCHA SQUASH, FENNEL & RED LENTIL SOUP | dolly and oatmeal

since autumn began, it took me a while to warm up to winter squash. but now that the temperatures have finally dipped in southern cailfornia, i’m in the winter-squash-zone. and as you can probably tell from the recipes from these past couple weeks, kabaocha squash is my absolute favorite. it’s flavor is mellow - it’s not overly sweet like butternut squash, nor is it too earthy. it hits somewhere in the middle which when combined with its fluffy velvety texture, makes this squash my forever go-to. especially for soup.

personally, i feel like soup kind of gets neglected in the thanksgiving hub-bub. maybe i’m the only one, but i feel like a good soup deserves a place at the holiday table, for sure. i typically make a apple-butternut soup (it’s an old recipe a former co-worker gave me back in the day, and it never disappoints), or my kabocha squash soup with spicy coconut cream from a few years back. but this year i’m switching it up with this kabocha squash, fennel and red lentil soup.

this beautiful recipe comes from my pal, claire’s upcoming book, living ayurveda. i love the simple approach to this one pot soup. there’s no roasting involved either. all the ingredients and flavors get stewed together, developing a really wonderful flavor. the lentils, which get blended into the soup after they’ve cooked, add a hearty note while providing a good bit of protein. claire calls for spices like: ground cumin, and coriander, and ground fenugreek, giving this soup a robust flavor, which is perfect for this time of year, especially when it seems like were all going to hunkering down once again.

if there ever was a time for claire’s book, living ayurveda, i think we are definitely living through it. i got to know claire years ago, and what i’ve always admired about her approach to self-care/balance/well-being, is that nothing is a one-size-fits-all. that there is no single diet or lifestyle approach that is meant for each person. she carries this powerful notion throughout her book and guides you through various ways to nourish yourself - in depth yoga and breathing sequences, an array of vegetarian recipes (not all gluten-free) that are meant to balance your body through the seasons. it’s one of those books you can read again and again, and still take away so much.

wishing all my stateside friends a safe and socially distant holiday, big love! xo

kabocha squash, fennel & red lentil soup | gf

recipe from Living Ayurveda by Claire Ragozzino

PRINT THE RECIPE

| 4-6 servings |

ingredients:

2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced thinly, fronds reserved for garnish
1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
3 cups cubed kabocha squash, peeled and deseeded
1 cup red lentils, rinsed well
1 teaspoon salt
5-6 cups water
1 tablespoon white miso paste (i used a gluten-free miso)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
plain yogurt, for serving (i used a plant-based yogurt)

method

in a pot, heat the ghee (or live oil) on medium-low heat. add the fennel and saute until tender. add the ginger and cook another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. add the apices and stir to coat the fennel. add the kabocha squash, stir to coat, and cook another 3-4 minutes. last, add the red lentils, salt, and water. cover and cook on medium heat for 40 minutes. stir occasionally, adding more water, if needed.
once the lentils and squash are tender, almost mushy, remove from heat and in the miso paste and lemon juice. transfer to a blender and puree until creamy. taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
serve hot with a swirl of yogurt and fennel fronds on top.