Tag: cookies

Autumn

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Rebecca3 Comments on Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

“Good habits are as addictive as bad habits but, you know, much more rewarding.”  That simple thought may be my lifeline right now, as I consider the extreme parallel- interests my thoughts have taken lately.

School –  Running –  Cooking.

Teaching –  Running –  A Quick and Healthy Meal.

Learning New Curriculum –  Running hours before sunrise –  Breakfast with pumpkins.

Got to get to that stack of grading –  Workout tomorrow – Remember to check the lights on the hydroponics at school – Roast up those pumpkins for cookies.

Welcome to my world.  The only thing that has kept my new work life “balanced” is equally obsessing over my other two loves, running and spending quality time in the kitchen.

Weeks ago now, I know, but as I was leaving my parent’s house the week before Thanksgiving, I was encouraged to take two perfect little pie pumpkins.  I intended to use them for a pumpkin pie.  That week got busy, however, and I pulled out a can instead.  Now, a couple weeks later and already full force into the Christmas season, I am busy pumpkin-ing up meals on a regular basis.  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin oatmeal, rosemary roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin risotto, the list goes on.  What I’d really been meaning to re-vamp for months now are amazing pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  They are gluten and dairy-free and even better than the original recipe (less cakey, more cookie-y).  Perfect to share for holiday festivities.  Or just to warm and comfort on a cold December day!

Going back to that, ahem, good habits and balance thing, I know my diet may be a wee bit heavy on the orange veg lately, but I keep saying to myself, “You are balanced.  You have three lovely things to not stop thinking about”.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted from Culinate
110 gr / 1/2 cup coconut oil 
1 egg or 3 Tbs. aquafava
320 gr / 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
200 gr / 1 cup cane sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
330 gr / 2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
120 gr / about 3/4 cup chocolate chips
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a mixer, beat the coconut oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla extract.
  3. In a medium bowl, weigh out the flour and combine with the baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
  4. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Fold in about half a cup of chocolate chips.
  5. Pack a cookie scoop level with dough and drop the dough onto a cookie sheet.  Add a couple chocolate chip pieces to each cookie.
  6. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.
 
 
Winter

Oatie-Date Tea Cookies

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Oatie-Date Tea Cookies

I’ve admitted it before.  I have a weakness for sweets.  For the past two weeks, however, I’ve given up refined sugars, among other things, in the Whole Living 28 Day Challenge.  I honestly feel, though I know it will be challenging to permanently slash refined sugars from my diet, that I feel better without them.  For the past week I have been gradually adding ingredients back in, watching carefully, noticing the changes I feel as I add.  Now I am ready to add in baked goods, even if they are slightly more virtuous than usual.

Enter Oatie-Date Tea Cookies.  I was wary of this recipe from the get-go.  It’s refined-sugar-free and has no oil, butter, margarine, etc. In a nutshell, it’s wholesome.  While this is exactly what I was looking for, I’ve not great experience with virtuous cookies.  They just don’t turn out.  These however, were a prize in the making.  They received my resident cookie critique’s seal of approval.  And while they’re not as sweet or fluffy as your usual cookie, they go perfectly with a great cup of steaming tea.

Oatie-Date Tea Cookies, adapted from the Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book
2 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped dried dates
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, salt, and baking powder.
  • In another bowl, beat together the eggs and syrup, along with the vanilla.  Stir in the dates.  Add to the dry ingredients and blend well.
  • Drop the batter by teaspoons onto the prepared sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.  Smash cookies down with a spatula approximately two minutes before they are done.
Winter

Cranberry-Cherry Chocolate Bird Cookies

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Cranberry-Cherry Chocolate Bird Cookies

Are you ready for New Years, 2011, a new resolution, and some positive change? Do you want to clean up your health in the coming year (finally), but aren’t ready to cut yourself off from everything good and wonderful? Or do you simply want try a new take on an old tradition?

If so, I have a wonderful little recipe for you.  It’s actually a combination of two of my favorite cookie recipes.  And really, it’s amazing.  This is a classic chocolate chip cookie with a twist (or several), and you can customize it any way you like.  Personally, mine has an addition of millet and brown rice syrup.  The latter is what keeps these cookies moist for days and days and days, if you’re in the mood to limit yourself, and adds a bit of a unique taste that everyone adores.

I added dried cranberries and cherries, and only a teeny bit of chocolate chips, a combination with a great festive flavor, but certainly feel free to omit and add whatever you like.  To get oat flour without searching at a specialty shop, simply put oatmeal (any kind) in the food processor for a quick whiz.  You’ll find the oat flour adds a bit of earthy- flavor and texture. In a pinch, you can substitute part molasses for the brown rice syrup, but it will really change the taste!

Cranberry-Cherry Chocolate Bird Cookies, adapted from Whole Living & Culinate
To make gluten-free, swap in 2 cups of  Gluten Free Flour Mix instead of the wheat flours. 
 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup brown-rice syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbs. water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup millet
3/4 cup dried cranberries and cherries
a handful chocolate chips
  •  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, rice syrup, sugar, egg, water, and vanilla until completely blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients; fold in the millet, fruit, and chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or as long as overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scoop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 13 minutes.
  • Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.