Nicely spicy gluten free, vegan pumpkin chip--or raisin-- cookies
These cookies started out as these cookies from one Green Planet, and then they became a new cookie, just slightly modified, and the kind of accidental "mistake" that makes my day. Oh, and energy bars for Dave on his double run (to work and back, totaling 23 miles).
So, these cookies...oh my! I love them. I'm positive the One Green Planet version is excellent, but I love this slight adaptation so much it may take me awhile to find out. Instead of using straight almond meal, I used a blend of almond flour/meal and brown rice flour, because I had some I wanted to use up. Also, I forgot the maple syrup/sweetener.
I'm not naturally gifted at organization; I value it. Enormously. Like in so many areas of my life, I'm more the steady work horse than the sleek stallion. Maybe I should even say "the burro". In any case, I've learned to work hard at being organized, so much so that I may sometimes come off as anal and uptight about it. Other times, the original me comes out and I probably don't give off even the slightest vibe of having my sh** together. Tell me if it's the same for you? The battle against Mess-ery loves company.
Anyway, there is a point to that whole [lack of real skill at] organization statement. Usually, I hyper plan, list and organize so that I do not drop the ball. But inevitably, we all know a ball does drop. And usually when that happens for me, the ball is BIG. Like, I forgot to put on clothes big. So far not to the point of major embarrassment, but certainly causing mild panic attacks.
It's not like leaving out sugar completely was a BIG MISTAKE. In fact, it's something I would have planned to try had I thought of it. Only this time I was baking a recipe, not intentionally playing with one.
As it turned out, in case I haven't made it clear enough, the omission of sugar worked out, brilliantly. It made my day. I LOVE it when less sweetener ends up better in a sweet treat. (OK, I did throw in a load of chocolate chips...but hey.) I LOVE it, too, when a moment of absent-mindedness evolves into something worthy of taking pride in and maybe even credit for having tried.
As a final added bonus, these super little cookies, which have kind of a soft but very lightly crispy on the outside, biscuit-y texture, filled in as fuel for Dave. As part of prep for the Leadville 100, we've been trying out recipes each week from one of Allen Lim's cookbooks, Feed Zone Portables. So far they've worked out great: we've trialed banana waffles, PB & J rice cakes, apple cinnamon rice cakes, and baked eggs. This week, we had to make some scheduling adjustments to arrange our running schedules with baby play/watching, and as a result weren't prepared to make the portable we thought we'd try. I did have ingredients for Lim's snickerdoodles, though. Looking through the cookie recipes, it struck me how similar they were to these little pumpkin gems, so Dave packed up both in his foil packets and away he went.
So far, these cookies have won approval not only from Dave--as run fuel--but from super cook foodie friends (Kristin O) and discriminating kids --as snack. That's enough approval for me. Happy. :)
**Update 2/7/15: These cookies have endured a whole bunch of trial changes, and every one has worked! They work with mashed butternut or acorn squash, with fresh, mashed pumpkin or canned; they work with 1 cup brown rice flour and 1 cup or less almond meal/with 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce or the coconut oil; with raisins and no chocolate chips. Best part, they're totally fun for mixing and mashing together, just Little Monkey and me. They're edible play dough, and then we bake.
Gluten free, vegan pumpkin chip cookies
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon organic cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon organic ground cloves
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- Add all ingredients in a medium size bowl and stir until well combined.
- Scoop about a tablespoon at a time, roll into a ball in the palm of your hand (using slightly moistened hands to prevent sticking), gently pat them down flat and then put them on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 12 – 15 minutes watching them closely so they don’t overcook and burn.