gluten free option – Wait…are those…cookies?!

September 19, 2020June 1, 2021

Fave cookies + coffee

Hellooo! Decided it was time the fave cookies made another appearance on here.

one of the many favorite coffee making methods

They are routinely requested for family gatherings with both C’s fam and mine; I love them, he loves them, I think most people love them (at least okay no one has told me to my face that they’re crap SOOO I’m going to take that as an affirmative). Definitely the most frequently made thing in my baking – I venture to bet I make them about every other week? Sometimes just for me but mostly to share… because I HEAR ABOUT IT if I don’t! Ha.

I’ve made some adjustments to the recipe over the years and also sometimes I add coffee. Because really, why would I just DRINK my coffee when I can also EAT my coffee. Preferably while also drinking my coffee. You see the trend here.

original version that started it all: sans coffee

These cookies are very adaptable – they’re already refined sugar free, dairy free and vegan, but they can easily be gluten free also with an easy flour swap. Haven’t yet made them grain free but I’m sure that’s a project that’s gonna happen. They also travel well – I LOVE them cold so C and I always leave them in the fridge, but it’s not necessary; they’ve accompanied us on many a ski trip and hike.

So here you go! These might be my favorite thing to make, if I had to pick something – they come together in about ten minutes and are universally loved + allergy/food preference friendly. Everyone wins!

Unrelated to cookies but Frieda the Staghorn has a new shield frond!

Fave Cookies + Coffee

Refined sugar free, dairy free / vegan, whole grain. Gluten free alternative: replace the whole wheat flour with an equal amount of brown rice flour. Yield: 10-12 cookies. A Wait are Those Cookies original.

1/2 c almond flour, packed
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour or spelt (1/2 c brown rice flour or oat flour works too)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp instant espresso granules*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 egg (or 1tbsp flaxseed + 3 tbsp water)
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c melted coconut oil
1/4 c maple
Chopped dark chocolate

*Variation: omit espresso and add a scant tbsp of finely chopped rosemary instead; or omit coffee if it’s not your thing; as written without coffee is the original version that started it all

If you’re using a flax egg, put that together first – add flax + water to a small bowl and let sit for five minutes. Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir together all the dry stuff: almond flour, oats, coconut, flour of choice, baking soda & powder, salt, and espresso.
Add in melted coconut oil, vanilla, maple, and gelled flax egg and stir until everything is combined. Stir in chocolate. Make little balls and flatten them slightly; drop them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes; the top should be slightly firm to the touch when done. Remove and let cool for at least five minutes on the baking sheet before moving to cooling racks to cool completely.

June 3, 2018June 21, 2022

Wait, is this actually a cookie recipe?

Cookies!

Though this blog is named after them, I find that I rarely post them on here…. which is silly, given that I make this particular recipe at least several times a month – they are perennial favorites of all parties.

I realized after I made them for C &I this weekend (they happen to be both of our favorite cookies) that I had never actually posted this recipe on the blog so – I am fixing this now! They are so easy, just mix dry, stir in liquidy stuff, mix, bake, BOOM! Cookies. I think my record to make them is 17 minutes start to finish, including bake time (then again, I do sort of bake a lot so perhaps I am not the best metric ;)

We ate these for dessert with ice cream (of course! can recommend mint and vanilla with high marks) and alongside a late brunch/lunch after a very sweaty hike. Of course, they are also excellent alongside a tall glass of milk (whole, if you please).

There was some haze in the sky today but we still had a great hike/walk up to Bernal – here are some snaps:

And a few from when I stopped at the beach on the way back from camp training to say hello to the ocean, always a worthwhile activity:

So anyway – tomorrow is Monday, ew – do yourself a favor and take 15 minutes to whip up some cookies. The beginning half of your week will thank you!

Oaty Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

My favorite cookies – I make these more than anything else, at least a few times a month! C & I love them, fam loves them, etc etc. Whole grain, refined sugar free, dairy free & a gluten free option (just use 1/2 c brown rice flour instead of 1 c of whole wheat). Cakey, dense, chewy cookies that are great for hiking or snacks or whatever else. A Wait are Those Cookies original. Yield – somewhere 12-16.

1/2 c almond flour (packed)
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c shredded coconut
1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour (or 1/2 oat flour, or 1/2 c brown rice flour for gf)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c melted coconut oil
1/4 c maple
Chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips, your call)

flaky salt for finishing (I like Maldon)

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make the flax egg and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Mix dry, toss in melted coconut oil, flax/egg, vanilla, maple, chopped chocolate; mix – these are not finicky cookies! Roll into balls and place on lined baking sheet, flattening them slightly. Top with flaky salt. Bake for 10-12 on parchment at 350 if using whole wheat flour; bake for 12-16 if using brown rice flour.

Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. I like to store mine in the fridge – they get extra dense and chewy that way. They do best wrapped in foil on the counter or in a slightly less than airtight container on the counter (I prefer plastic over glass since glass can make them go soft).

A few variations:

add a tbsp of chopped rosemary
add a tbsp of instant espresso granules
omit chocolate and instead add 1tsp cinnamon and a handful of chopped walnuts

October 19, 2015

Bring on the Pumpkin

The fall baking has arrived!

Despite the weather not exactly cooperating (it sort of did yesterday…. I wore a light sweatshirt past 10 am. Omg. It was awesome), I have checked the box next to the ‘first pumpkin baked good for fall” box. Would have been earlier, but 90 plus temperatures don’t really lend themselves to pumpkin… I mean, they can but apparently for me they don’t.

BUT. Solved that problem yesterday (made this, with a few tweaks: chopped dates instead of chocolate, omitted coconut flour; used difference spices and only 1/4 coconut sugar + maple), plus mashed potatoes, shredded ginger-rosemary chicken, mashed potatoes, rice, hardboiled eggs… And I also somehow found time yesterday to have brunch+a walk with a best camp friend, run a grocery errand, go to Target, clean my apartment, do laundry, read for epi, write more of my midterm paper, and finish my stats homework…. which as anyone in my cohort knows is quite a feat, 18 pages of SAS printout later… AND I made quinoa banana carrot bread, which is actually what this post is about, because I’ve now made it twice in two weeks so obviously it’s a winner.

And I’m stealing the 10 minutes I have early early in the am when it’s still dark out and I’m not studying to share it with you because I love my invisible internet blog friends WAY more than I love doing homework.

I also drew the next installment for the drawing challenge. Day 5: Best Friend. I have so many friends I couldn’t live without; and they all hold a piece of my heart!

Also, sometimes this is what a grad school coping mechanism looks like (and yes, this app is still floating my boat) :

extra dark chocolate, bbread with butter, food writing and a fun app = coping.

So! This bread. Is the right combination of not too sweet, just sweet enough, dense without being too dense, satisfying when you want a snack or dessert. It also has that great craggy top and slightly chewy sides that I think all quick breads should have, but that’s just me. It’s also fodmap friendly, IBS friendly, gluten free with only one teeny tweak, refined sugar free, and whole grain. YAY!

Quinoa Carrot Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf. FODMAP friendly, IBS friendly, gluten free option (Just sub the 1/3 c spelt flour with an equal amount of quinoa flour), refined sugar free, high in beta-carotene and omega 3’s… and absolutely delicious. Inspired by Power Hungry, here!

1 c quinoa flour
1/3 c white or brown rice flour (I’ve used both and either is delicious)
1/3 c whole spelt flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/6 c coconut sugar
3/4 c (2 large) bananas, mashed
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 large carrots, grated
1/4 c mostly-melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/3 c unsweetened hemp milk (or non dairy milk of choice)
1/3 c chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 (or 360 in the case of my abnormally hot and uneven oven), and grease a standard loaf pan with coconut oil.

Toast the quinoa flour in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you can smell it: about 5 minutes (this is important! Quinoa flour can be a little bitter if this step is omitted); let cool for a few minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together toasted quinoa flour, rice flour, spelt flour, sea salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and coconut sugar. In a smaller bowl, mash bananas, then add maple syrup, grated carrots, melted coconut oil, vanilla, egg, and hemp milk, and whisk vigorously to combine. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients, and stir to combine (the batter will be thick, which is fine). Stir in walnuts. Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and bake for 45-50 minutes (mine comes out of my stupid hot oven perfectly browned at 360 degrees and 46 minutes; but you most likely have a normal oven that heats appropriately…) Check for a lightly browned top and a skewer that comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

For storage, wrap this in foil and store it in the fridge for the 30 seconds that the leftovers last…