Don't you just love a good poke cake? I do, but it can be difficult to find a recipe that doesn't use a nasty boxed cake mix. Also, a lot of recipes call for just vanilla extract to add a bit of flavor. By mixing vanilla and almond extracts, you can add a bit of depth to really make this cherry poke cake extraordinary.

I myself am not a big fan of coconut, but I've seen poke cake recipe variations that included a bit of coconut extract, and even a handful of shredded coconut. Feel free to play around with various flavorings. You never know what you may come up with!

Anyway, enough talk. Let's get on to the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup full-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 (3.5 oz) package cherry jello 
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water


Topping:
1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Cherries with stems for garnish


How to make it:
1: Preheat oven to 350°.
2: Butter and flour a 9" x 13" baking pan.
3: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
4: In a medium mixing bowl, mix together buttermilk, oil, eggs and extracts.
5: Slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry, stirring thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated. Use a hand mixer if you like. (Batter will be thick.)
6: Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for roughly 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
7: Let cool, in pan, for 15 minutes.
8: While the cake is cooling, whisk together the boiling water and Jell-O powder in a medium mixing bowl until dissolved. Stir in the cold water. Using a wooden skewer, poke holes all over the cake, then pour the Jell-O mixture on top.
9: Place cake in refrigerator, and let cool for three hours.
10: Make the topping by combining the heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a handmixer, beat on high speed until it is whipped cream consistency. Spread this over the cold cake, and return to the refrigerator for one hour.
11: Top with fresh cherries, and serve.

With the warmer months approaching, the last thing you want to do is fire up your oven to make a batch of cookies. With this easy no bake cookie recipe, you can whip up a delicious batch of chocolatey goodness without having to preheat your oven!

Cookies may be the last thing on your mind when thinking of a low-carb dessert, but these sugar-free, low carb coconut macaroons let you have a taste of sweetness while still sticking to your diet. This is such an easy, low-carb dessert recipe, you can whip them up whenever a dessert craving strikes and have them on your plate in less than 20 minutes!

Just a few notes here: you MUST make sure that your bowl and beaters are 100% dry and free from any speck or drop of oil. Just the tiniest amount of water or oil will cause your egg whites to fall flat.

Also, you may want to add a pinch of cream of tartar to your beaten egg whites to help them keep their form. I did not use any, but humidity can play a part in how well they hold up. If your egg whites collapse, the cream of tartar will help.

For a variation, try melting a handful of low carb chocolate chips with a little coconut oil in a double boiler and using it as a drizzle.

Now. On to the recipe.

This recipe makes 20 cookies, with a net carb count of 1.9 grams, depending on the brand of sweetener you use.

What you need:
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated low-carb sweetener ( I used Truvia)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded/desiccated coconut

How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and the sweetener together until stiff.

3. Add the vanilla and 2 cups of the coconut, and gently stir. Excessive stirring will cause the egg whites to collapse, so be gentle here.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and scoop out a tablespoon of the coconut mixture. Form it into a ball and place it on the baking sheet. if the mixture won't hold a semi-ball shape, you may need to mix in a little more coconut. You want the mixture to just hold its shape long enough to bake.

5. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Keep a close eye on these, as they can burn pretty quickly.

These keep pretty well in the refrigerator if kept in a covered container. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month.