Paleo Snacks: Pizzelle Cookies

Need some suggestions for quick Paleo snacks?  With five kids in this house, we need healthy snacks all day long!  Here’s my go-to list of Paleo snacks, including a new favorite – Paleo pizzelle cookies!

FYI, if all you need is a recipe for Paleo pizzelles, just scroll down a bit.

For everyone else, here’s a short list of my favorite Paleo snacks.  For those new to a Paleo diet or who are simply testing out some recipes to see if they’re a good fit for your family,  Paleo snack foods can be difficult to come by.  The most economical thing to do is to learn to make your own Paleo snacks.  To help you out with that, here’s a quick list of grain-free, refined-sugar-free and dairy-free snacks.

Paleo Snacks – Family Friendly Version

These Paleo snacks are kid-tested and mother-approved.  We’re a family of seven, with kids ranging in age from fifteen to four.  They’ve been raised with healthy foods – lots of veggies, fresh dairy and fermented grains.  However, every now and then we go all-out-Paleo and take out the dairy and grains.  Especially after the holidays, our tummies need the wholesome break that the Paleo diet provides.

For example, for the next few months, my family will be sticking to the Paleo diet – for the most part.  In the interest of full disclosure, we’re Paleo-ish.  We still use a little butter, we still eat raw milk yogurt and a couple other raw dairy ferments.  You do whatever works for you and don’t sweat it!

Regardless of how strict we are, snacks can be hard to keep grain and sugar free!

Fruits and Veggies

Ok, I know you already know this one, but I had to put it at the top of the list because it’s the easiest!  Having cut up fruits and veggies on the table or in the lunchbox makes them accessible and eatable.  We home educate and so I keep fruit and veggies cut up on the table all day long and the kids simply graze.

All that chopping does take time, though!  To make it easy on myself during my busy week, the kids and I are getting better about taking an hour on Saturday to pre-cut:

• carrots
• celery
• beets
• peppers
• oranges
• apples
• other seasonal veggies and fruits

We don’t really mind browning on fruits like apples very much, but if you do, you can sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent it.

Tender items like cucumbers and bananas we cut the day we need them.  I also grate up sweet potatoes and other root veggies for use in recipes throughout the week while I’m at it.

Store everything in airtight containers in the fridge and use them up within the week.

Nuts and Seeds

These are a great option for a Paleo snack that don’t require a ton of time.  Raw nuts and seeds are always healthier, but even so, you can make or purchase flavored varieties without too much trouble.

Here are some delectable herbed Toasted Almonds.

Here’s everything you need to know about sprouting seeds from the Sprout People.  No, my kids aren’t so cool that they’ll just pick up a handful of sprouts and eat them.  However, they’re really filling and can easily be tossed on top of sandwiches and salads.

For a discussion on nuts, seeds, fermenting and sprouting be sure to check out the Homestead Kitchen chapter of our book, The Do It Yourself Homestead.  Don’t have a copy?  No worries!  We’re saving one just for you here.  To learn more about the book, click below:  

Jerky

Beef jerky is a traditional favorite and here’s a great tutorial for making your own.

Don’t be limited to beef, though.  Here’s a simple recipe for Turkey Jerky that can be done in the oven.

Eggs

You’ll eat a lot of eggs on a Paleo diet, most likely.  Scrambling eggs doesn’t take long but having hard-boiled eggs on hand makes them easy to put into school lunches and take on road trips.

Here’s how to make great Hard-Boiled Eggs every time.

If you’re feeling ambitious you can even try this recipe for Paleo Deviled Eggs.

Fruit Leather and Veggie Chips

Dried fruit and veggies make very portable and tasty Paleo snacks.  It’s easiest to make these recipes with a dehydrator, of course.  However, you can dehydrate fruits and veggies in the oven, or even the solar oven (click here for making apple chips in your solar oven!).

Here’s a tutorial for making your own Fruit Leather.

Also, a family favorite, here’s how to make your own raisins.

Here’s How to Dry Fruit – pretty much any fruit, and even veggies!

My favorite veggie chips are probably kale chips – here’s a good recipe for those.  They’re not really portable, especially in a school lunch, if you bake them super crispy like I enjoy them.

Try these sweet potato chips and see if they transport better for you.  This is a fried recipe, just so you know.  I think they taste so much better than baked.

Paleo Granola

I love granola and so do the kids.  I do have a child who is allergic to tree nuts so going Paleo is a challenge for her.  Because of all the nuts in Paleo “granola” recipes, this is a snack she has to skip.  However, everyone else enjoys it!

Here’s a basic Paleo granola recipe.

But here’s my favorite – Paleo Chocolate Granola with Dried Berries.  Against all Grain also has a Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bar recipe.  FYI, she alerts you to the fact that you can swap peanut butter for almond butter.

Baked Paleo Snacks

We miss tortilla-style corn chips when we’re on our Paleo-ish cleanse.  I like to make a Paleo snack chip version that, admittedly, doesn’t taste like a tortilla chip but is, nevertheless, super tasty.

Paleo Grubs has a really tasty recipe for a Paleo Tortilla Chip here.

Here are some tasty Rosemary Paleo Breadsticks – they do have arrowroot and coconut flour, FYI.

Pizelle Cookies

I first got enamored of pizzelles because I’m an avid reader of Joybilee Farm.  Chris has several posts and now a e-recipe book of pizzelle deliciousness.  For a sample, here’s her delectable Pumpkin Spice Pizzelles – not Paleo, FYI.  Chris can teach you all about the history of these tasty Italian cookies and teach you how easy they are to make.

To create the traditional shape, you will need a pizzelle maker like this:

When we ate too many richly flavored pizzelles, we made Chris’s recipe for digestive pizzelles to help calm our tummies.  Chris even has a gluten free pizzelle, if gluten is your main problem.

Paleo Pizzelle Recipe

However, when we started our Paleo-ish diet this month, we thought we were going to have to say good bye to our new favorite snack.  Instead, I sat right down and created this Paleo pizzelle recipe.  This recipe is similar to Chris’s pumpkin spice pizzelle because that’s what inspired me.  However, you can fiddle with the ingredients and make savory pizzelles for lunch or dinner.  Or, what we’ve been doing is to use them as a tasty Paleo snack about midday.

Print Recipe

Paleo Pizzelle Recipe

Prep Time

10 mins

Resting time

10 mins

Total Time-ish

12 mins

 

Here's a gorgeous, Paelo-friendly (no-grain) pizelle recipe with pumpkin spice.  You will need a pizelle maker for this recipe, FYI.  

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: breakfast cookie, Cookie press, Paleo cookie, Paleo snacks

Ingredients

• 3 eggs room temperature
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut oil melted and cooled a bit
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Instructions

1. Put the coconut oil in a small pan and set it to melt.
2. Gather all the ingredients and preheat your pizzelle maker.  These mix together pretty quickly and once the pizzelle maker is warm, you'll want to get started.
3. In a small bowl, sift the dry ingredients together - flours, spices, salt and soda.
4. Beat together the eggs, syrup and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add coconut oil and mix well.
5. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.  The mixture will be a bit stiff.
6. Grease your pizzelle maker and follow the instructions for your particular maker.  With mine, I place a tablespoon of batter just behind the center mark on each side of my pizzelle maker.  The maker makes two at a time.
7. Place the Paleo pizzelles immediately onto cooling rack.  They'll stiffen and crisp as they cool.  If you like them a bit chewy, don't press the top of the pizzelle maker down all they way and be generous with how much batter you use.  After some experimentation, you'll figure out how you like the pizzelles the best.
8. With my sized maker, this recipe will yield between 15-18 pizzelles.

If you’re not super strict Paleo, be sure to visit Chris at Joybilee Farm for more pizzelle recipes – including this one for chocolate mint pizzelles!