December is always a challenging month when it comes to food and trying to stay healthy. It seems like every weekend in December there is a Christmas party of some sort that we are invited to attend. And when there’s a party, there is food. Party foods have always been a little bit of a struggle for me, especially the desserts at parties. I’ve found that it’s easy to stick with healthy choices for pretty much everything else except desserts.

 Before, I’ve given into the temptations of beautiful looking, sugar loaded cakes and pies at parties that have left me feeling awful. But during this past year, I’ve come up with a new strategy and it’s been working really well for me. I now bring a “healthy” dessert to parties. Even if I’m asked to bring something else, I’ll still always bring a dessert, too.  I make sure my dessert is full of wholesome ingredients that aren’t loaded with refined sugars or grains. And it’s something I can feel good about eating, too. The best part about bringing your own dessert is that it’s a great opportunity to show others that healthy doesn’t have to mean boring or bland.

 And I think this peppermint brownie roll is anything but boring and bland, don’t you agree?! Not only is it fun to look at and festive, but it’s also ridiculously good. Your guests will have no idea that it’s chock full of healthy, wholesome, real food ingredients. This is what I plan on bringing to most of my holiday parties this year and I can’t wait to hear, “What! There’s no grains in this?!”

 Peppermint Brownie Roll – grain, dairy, nut free

10 servings

Ingredients:

 4 free range eggs

1/3 cup coconut oil or butter

1 cup total of the canned coconut milk water and your choice of milk - use the extra water from your canned coconut milk and add additional coconut, almond or dairy milk to make 1 cup total liquid. *If this is confusing, see directions down below where I explain it better.

1 T pure vanilla extract

3 T honey or sweetener of choice (you can add more if you desire it sweeter)

½ cup coconut flour (do NOT substitute another flour – it will not work. This is a wonderful place to buy it if you cannot find it)

1/3 cup + 1 T cocoa powder

1 heaping tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

 For the peppermint filling:

1 (13.5 oz) can full fat coconut milk (You should refrigerate your can of coconut milk at least overnight so it will whip well)

2 T honey or sweetener of choice

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ tsp pure peppermint extract

optional thickener: 1 T xantham gum or arrowroot

 For the optional chocolate glaze topping:

1/3 cup all natural dark chocolate chips or pieces (60 – 75% dark cacao tastes the best)

1 tsp coconut oil

 Optional toppings: dark chocolate shavings, unsweetened shredded coconut, chopped dried fruit: raspberries, cherries, strawberries, cranberries, etc., fresh mint, dark chocolate chips or pieces, etc.

 DIRECTIONS:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 15×10 raised edge baking sheet with parchment paper.

 Brownie Roll Directions:

 *I know the coconut water/milk thing is very confusing! I just wanted to use that leftover water from the canned coconut milk and thought this was a great way to use it. Here’s exactly what I did:

The very first thing I did to make this recipe was to get my can of coconut milk and dump just the cream into my kitchen aid mixer bowl.  I put the bowl with the cream into the fridge to hang out and get nice and cold while I made my brownie roll. Then I took the leftover coconut water from the can of coconut milk and I dumped it into a measuring cup. I poured my milk into the same measuring cup with the coconut water until it reached one cup total. Next, I went on my merry way making my roll. When the rolled up roll was cooling, I took my mixing bowl with the coconut cream out of the fridge and made the peppermint filling. Hope that helps! 

Mix the eggs, coconut oil, coconut/milk mixture*, honey and vanilla together in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the brownie batter onto a parchment lined 15×10 raised edge baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, but not too long because you still want it to be warm. Using your parchment paper, roll up the rectangle nice and tight. Make sure you start rolling with the smaller side of the rectangle - the 10 inch side. Don’t worry if you feel it cracking – just keep rolling it up in the parchment paper. Let fully cool.

 Peppermint Filling Directions:

Scoop just the cream out of the refrigerated coconut milk can. Save the leftover coconut water for the brownie batter. Place the coconut cream in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Add in honey, vanilla, and peppermint. Continue whipping until thick and peaks form. If you need to add a thickener, add it now and then mix for a few more minutes until it’s as thick as you desire. But remember, your filling will firm up a bit when you refrigerate the roll, so more than likely your filling will not need a thickener (unless you really couldn’t get the coconut milk/cream to whip).

 Once your parchment rolled brownie roll has completely cooled, unroll it and spread your peppermint filling completely over the roll. Roll it back up, nice and tight. You can use the parchment paper to guide you as you roll, but you don’t want to roll it up with the parchment paper this time around. Again, don’t worry if you feel it cracking – just keep rolling! Now it’s time to add any additional toppings.

 Optional Dark Chocolate Glaze Directions:

In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil over low heat. Stir until smooth and melted. Pour chocolate glaze all over the roll. Add any additional toppings. Refrigerate for at least an hour so the filling can firm up a bit.

Serve by slicing in 1 inch slices or keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy!

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