Carrot Cookies

Sophie: "I didn't know cookies could be healthy and taste good at the same time."  They can if you get the recipe from Heidi Swanson's blog 101 Cookbooks .  Since we are getting healthy here, we are back on the juice.  After juicing a bunch of carrots this morning I was left with a metric ton of carrot pulp.  It is still pretty moist and very finely grated--perfect for carrot cakes/breads/cookies.  

Carrot Cookies

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (Heidi says you can sub all-purpose, I used a mix of whole wheat pastry flour and barley flour because that's how I roll)

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup grated carrots

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp grated fresh ginger (I subbed a tablespoon of grated orange zest)

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed til liquid

Mix oats, flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.  Add carrots and nuts.  In another bowl mix syrup, zest (or ginger) and oil.  Combine.  Drop by tablespoons on a parchment lined baking sheet.  I used the non-stick foil.  Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

These cookies don't spread much.  This made about 2.5 dozen which I will bring in to work because even though they are healthy this effect is likely lost after the 4th cookie.  That's my bike on the trainer in the background.  I ride it while I watch Top Chef because I like to suffer on more than one level at a time.

Welcome Home Cookies

It's no secret that I love to eat.  I cannot understand people that "forget to eat" or "don't care what I eat as long as I don't have to cook it."  I have instilled this love of good food in my children, and I am sure Sophie will be expecting a good snack when she gets home from camp tomorrow.  I found the perfect recipe on the Union Street Kitchen's blog.  Relatively healthy, but not recognizably so for a preteen.  I modified the recipe slightly because I wanted to use my sunflower seed oil--it has a very assertive flavor and was responsible for a caesar dressing fail.  However, sunflower seeds and jam pair nicely.

Union Street Kitchen's Jam Thumprint Cookies

• 1 cup of sliced almonds whirled in food processor til finely ground
• 1 cup of oatmeal whirled in food processor til finely ground
• 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Combine these dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

In another bowl mix 1/2 cup sunflower seed oil with 1/2 cup brown sugar.  Then add two eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla and whisk until combined.  Mix into the dry ingredients with a sturdy spoon.  It will make a stiff dough.

If your kitchen is warm you can chill the dough briefly, it will be easier to form into 1" balls.  I formed all my balls first (heehee), then washed my hands and made the thumbprints in the center of each, wiping my thumb with a wet towel between cookies--that way they didn't stick to my thumb and the wells were more defined.  BTW you should have your oven preheated to 350F at this point....sorry for not mentioning sooner.  Fill the wells with jam of your choice; I used blackberry.

 Bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm and lightly browned.  They do not spread too much.  I made just shy of 2 dozen.

Enjoy!

happy cookie boat

Maddy and I made a trip to New Braunfels this week to renew her passport, and while we were there we found these cookies at Naegelin's Bakery, the oldest bakery in Texas.  We were picking up Sophie at school and the happy face cookies were a huge hit for the kid that loves a colorful treat who has a mother that would never mix up 6 separate batches of icing.

Double Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

 

New beginnings! A new camera, the Sony NEX-3, that will allow me to shoot some of my own blog posts when Ian is away in D.C.  And.....a new feature on the blog....lunchbox loaders.  I will try to do a weekly post of healthy treats for lunchboxes of old and young alike.  So you can avoid Twinkies and stale pastries in your office.  From Super Natural Cooking....

1.25 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/3 cup oat flour

1/3 cup wheat germ

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup cocoa

6 Tbs. butter at room temp

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

combine all dry ingredients except sugar and mix well.  Beat butter with stand mixer until creamy and then add sugar until well combined.  Mix in eggs one at a time scraping between eggs.  Mix in all dry ingredients until stiffish dough forms, then add nuts/chips.  Form into flattish logs ~12" long by 4" wide.  Bake for about 25 mins.  Take out of oven and cool x 10 minutes--lower oven to 300 degrees at this time.  Slice log into 1/2" thick pieces and lay on a new parchment paper.  Bake at 300 for 10 min, flip and bake an additional 10--they should be firm and dry at this point.  Cool on wire rack.

Wow.  A whole blog post by myself without someone else taking the picture.  Now I don't have to be like the kid on the Shake 'n' Bake commercial..."and I helped...."