- Dark Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough Truffles -

Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate Christmas! I do- it's my favorite holiday. I have some of the best memories that involve Christmas time with my family. Love it. This year, though, I won't be with any family during this lovely holiday. But I will be with my wonderful housemates and some friends from work. Since I will be at someone else's house for Christmas dinner, I wanted to bring a yummy dessert that I could still eat and other people could enjoy, too. I was going to make these cookies, but I decided instead to make dark chocolate covered cookie dough truffles. They just seem more fancy. :) 

I've made them once before a couple months ago and have been wanting to post the recipe here for all of you. The ones I made today are better than the first batch and I'm excited to give you this recipe. An easy and delicious holiday [or anytime!] dessert. You can top these with a dusting of cocoa powder or powdered ZSweet for a decorative touch.

Cookie Dough

• ½ c butter, really soft
• ½ c ZSweet, powdered [I buy granulated and powder when I need in the blender.]

• ¾ almond flour, firmly packed
• 2 tbsp coconut flour, firmly packed
• 1 tbsp finely ground flaxmeal
• ½ tsp real salt
• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ c walnuts, chopped very small

- Beat butter and zsweet until mixed & fluffy.
- Add flours, baking soda and salt. Beat on low just until mixed well.

- Stir in vanilla and walnuts.

- Roll dough into about 20 balls.

- Cover dough and place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
[- While dough is chilling, make chocolate shell.]

Chocolate Shell


• 1 oz bakers chocolate

• 4 tbsp coconut oil [can use unsalted butter]

• ¼ c ZSweet, powdered [I buy granulated and powder it when I need to in the blender.]

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla

- In a small saucepan over low heat melt bakers chocolate, coconut oil, and ZSweet. Stir frequently.

- When melted, remove from heat and add cocoa powder and vanilla. Stir well to incorporate.

To Make Truffles

- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

- Remove dough from fridge.

- Place dough either one-by-one or a few at a time in to the chocolate and coat thoroughly.

- Remove from chocolate and place onto parchment.

- Once all of the cookie dough has been coated in chocolate, place in freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden the chocolate.

- Once the chocolate is hardened, serve or place truffles in an airtight container and store in the fridge.

*Enjoy! And, like always, if you make these please come back here and let me know. :) *

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! I hope you are blessed with peace and joy this season and in this coming new year!

- Mexican Meatloaf with Jalapeño Lime Cream Sauce -

Tonight was one of those nights where I just stared into my fridge trying to decided what to make for dinner- which would also be my main meal for the next couple days. I really wanted to make something simple, but something I've not made before... something simple with ground beef. Simple for me would be meatloaf. And it's flavorful & healthy. But I didn't want traditional meatloaf. I wanted something with character. With spice. I though for a second about how I could change it up and, A-ha! Mexican spice meatloaf. As I was getting the ingredients out of the fridge for that, I saw a carton of jalapeños I needed to use. Immediately I remembered the jalalpeño mushroom cream sauce I came up with a couple months ago that topped a quesadilla I had made. Though this time I didn't want a mushroom sauce so I decided to omit the mushrooms and add lime juice instead. 

Satisfied with my plan for dinner I got to making the meatloaf and while it was in the oven I made another test batch of brownies. :) I think this is my 5th test batch in a week to figure out how to make a delish grain-free, sugar-free brownie without following someone else's recipe. It's more challenging than I anticipated. Good thing I like challenges!

Anyway, back to the meatloaf- when it was done cooking, I poured some of the drippings into a skillet and made the jalapeño lime cream sauce. While that was simmering I cut a green bell pepper and half an avocado, plated them with the meatloaf slices and then topped it with the lovely sauce.

I was really excited to try this and didn't want to take the time to take pictures, but I shot one with my phone just in case this meal was blog-worthy. This photo below was, like, 30 seconds before I ate the meal all up. It was SO good. I could eat this everyday!

The meatloaf itself was tender, moist, rich, and filling- but not heavy. And the sauce complimented it wonderfully: a subtly flavored sauce that blended well with the spices in the meatloaf. The avocado added more richness and creaminess while the green peppers added a nice fresh crunch. What a tasty and simple to prepare meal. This will now be a staple meal for me. As it is full of super healthy fats and protein, while being low in carbs and is grain-free. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Mexican Meatloaf

• 1 ½ lbs grass-fed ground beef
• 2 organic eggs, beaten
• ¾ c blanched almond flour
• ½ onion, finely chopped• ½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1 ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ⅛ tsp cayenne [or more to taste]
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 tsp real salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

- Preheat oven to 360º
- Mix all ingredients well.
- Place in loaf pan and bake for 40 mins.
- Let cool in pan at least 10 minutes.
- Slice and serve with jalapeno lime cream sauce.

Jalapeño Lime Cream Sauce

• 1 c water
• ½ c organic heavy cream
• 3 tbsp plain organic yogurt Or organic sour cream
• 3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped [save seeds from 1 pepper]
• juice from half a large lime or a whole small one

- Add everything into a pan and simmer for about 10-15 minutes stirring frequently.
- When sauce thickens and jalapeño pieces soften, it’s ready.
- Serve over Mexican Meatloaf  or any other dish you’d like and enjoy! :)

*As always, If you try this [or any!] recipe, please come back here and let me know. I'd love to hear how you liked it or any changes you made. :)