Tasty Treats For the Holidays Using Essential Oils

It’s no secret that holiday season is a time of indulgence – there are parties and social events going on everywhere, never mind the actual Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah meal celebrations. But it’s a fun time and should be time to relax and enjoy. I have been cooking more and more with essential oils and loving the rich flavors that they bring to food, so I am sharing with you some tasty treats for the holidays using essential oils. These would make great snacks to bring along to holiday parties. They’re healthy too!!

Healthy Gingerbread Cookies

• 1 1/3 cups buckwheat flour
• 2/3 cup tapioca flour
• 2/3 cup sorghum flour
• 1 tablespoon chia seed meal
• 1 tablespoon flax seed meal
• 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 drops cinnamon essential oil
• 2 drops ginger essential oil
• 2 drops clove essential oil
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 45 drops liquid stevi

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk. In another bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix well. Add essential oils. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix slowly until combined. Sprinkle a small handful of buckwheat flour onto a clean surface and place the dough on top. Roll until 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutter. Place on a cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes.

Cinnamon Apple Chips

• 7-8 medium sized apples
• 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
• 6 drops cinnamon essential oil

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Farenheit. Place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets. Combine sugar and cinnamon essential oil in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Slice apples thinly, place in single layer on parchment-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place in oven for 45 minutes, turning apples over half way through. When edges of apples are curled, remove from oven and place on wire rack until cool and crisp.

Coconut Almond Balls

• 1 cup finely shredded coconut
• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 3 drops wild orange essential oil

Place all ingredients except 1/2 cup shredded coconut in mixer. Mix well until combined. Roll into balls and coat with remaining coconut. Store in refrigerator.

Banana Bread With Cardamom

• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence
• 1 drop cardamom essential oil
• 2 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free alternative)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Crumb topping –

• 1/2 teaspoon stevia
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8×8 cake pan with parchment paper. Blend milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, bananas and cardamom essential oil in blender until smooth. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add banana mixture and combine using as few strokes as possible, then fold in nuts. Pour into cake pan and smooth the top over. In a separate bowl, combine crumb topping ingredients. Sprinkle crumb topping on top of bread mixture. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20-30 mins.

I’m getting hungry just looking at these recipes again! I’m excited to the make the gingerbread cookies – I’m sure Valentina will love to cut out the shapes of the cookies. I’m not one for sweets and really don’t eat refined sugar at all, so I like that these recipes use coconut sugar, and even that could be replaced with stevia powder. Have fun with these recipes and let me know if you discover any other great oils that bring new and different flavors to them!