Teff, peanut butter, and cookies, oh my! Teff adds a subtle hazelnut/chocolate flavor to these peanut butter cookies, and just so happens to be gluten free and high in dietary fiber, protein, iron, and calcium. With this easy six ingredient recipe starring the super nutritious teff flour, you can almost convince yourself that you are eating these cookies for health, and not pleasure! Almost…
We found this recipe conveniently located on the back of our bag of teff flour from Bob’s Red Mill. It is by Leslie Cerier, who just so happens to be the author of one of our favorite cookbooks: Going Wild in the Kitchen.
1 1/2 cups Teff Flour 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup canola oil 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup peanut butter
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients together in a big bowl. In your favorite food processor blend the maple syrup, canola oil, vanilla, and peanut butter well. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, incorporating well. Form little balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheat. To get that classic criss-cross look that peanut butter cookies are famous for, get your criss-cross action going with a fork. Bake for about thirteen to fifteen minutes. Allow them to cool all of the way, and then gobble them up!
This recipe is a good example of how to use your creativity and preferences to create new variations. When I was dreaming up how to do a gluten-free take on the classic combination of lemon and poppy seeds, I thought almonds and coconut would be a delicious complement. The result is a cake that’s moist and scrumptious, with a fun interplay of flavors and textures. Zest the lemon before you squeeze the juice; it works so much better that way.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook
2 eggs
1 cup apple or peach juice
1/4 cup melted extra-virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup finely ground raw almonds or almond flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup poppy seeds
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Generously oil a standard loaf pan or 9-inch round cake pan.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tasting mildly like chocolate, teff flour has plenty of natural sweetness and blends well with nuts and chocolate. These cookies, a classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate, are delightful treats.
ingredients
1 1/2 cups teff flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, optional
1 1/8 cups peanut butter
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil or canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the teff flour and salt, if using. Set aside.
3. Place the peanut butter, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla in a food processor, and blend until creamy. Add to the flour along with the chocolate chips, and stir to form a moist dough.
4. Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls, and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet about 3/4-inch apart. Flatten gently with a fork.
5. Bake 15 minutes, or until they lose their shine. Remove from the oven.
6. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
For a Change . . .
• To make Hazelnut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies, use hazelnut butter instead of peanut butter. You will also have to increase the teff flour to 2 cups and use 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
• If teff flour is not available, try another whole grain flour.
These dark cacao truffles are delicious, quick, and easy to make.
1 cup grated raw cacao butter
1 cup raw cacao powder
6 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Optional: ¼teaspoon -1 teaspoon maca powder
Pinch of sea salt
¼ cup goji berries or a combination of goji berries, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, chopped hazelnuts or shredded coconut.
Blend the cacao, cacao powder, maple syrup, vanilla, maca, if using and salt in food processor.
Taste and adjust the seasonings, if desired.
Shape into walnut sized balls.
Put the goji berries, and/or hemp seeds, ground hazelnuts, cacao nibs, or shredded coconut on a large flat plate and roll balls in them.
Eat immediately or store in a jar on the counter.
Makes 12-15 walnut size balls
Optional: for a creamier truffle add ¼ cup extra virgin coconut oil.
I love eating Navitas Naturals Organic and Fair Traded Products: Cacao Butter, Cacao Paste, Cacao Powder, Maca, Cashews, Goji Berries, Hemp Seeds, Mulberries, and much more.
Especially good news for all those wanting to make Leslie Cerier, The Organic Gourmet’s dark chocolate truffles, which are vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.
This is the best brownie recipe I know of-gluten free or otherwise. Enjoy them warm out of the oven. Or, in the unlikely event that you have leftovers, rest assured that they get better every day.
2 eggs
1 cup apple or pear juice
1/4 cup melted extra-virgin coconut oil or butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup finely ground raw hazelnuts (skins on) or hazelnut flour (see page 00)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a 9-inch round pan or a standard loaf pan.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients, holding back 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, and stir until thoroughly combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, scraping the bowl to get every last speck of chocolaty goodness. Decorate the top with the remaining chocolate chips.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with only melted chocolate on it). Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and eating-if you can wait that long!
Last night, I made a delicious variation of Corn Grits with Kale, and Goat Cheddar, a versatile recipe from my latest cookbook, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook. This time I cooked up different vegetables of this glorious autumn season: broccoli, leeks, kale and green bell pepper and left out the melted cheese. Served with a fresh dallop of Vegan Pesto, also a recipe from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook and a dallop of a Roasted Red Pepper Feta Dip, recipe from Going Wild in the Kitchen,.
Just loved it so much, swapped veggies, and this time used cauliflower, broccoli, red onions, thick garlic slices, gogi berries and topped it off with chevre and olives. My friend and I goggled them all up.
Corn Grits with Cauliflower, Gogi Berries, Chevre and Olives
This Mediterranean-inspired salad is light and refreshing, yet satisfying enough to serve as the centerpiece of the meal. For a nice summertime lunch or dinner, serve it atop of a bed of garden greens, with Amaranth and Corn Flatbread on the side.
12 ounces brown rice spirals or penne
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup cut green beans, in 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup minced fresh dill
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup capers, rinsed, if packed in salt
1 teaspoon sea salt
Cook the pasta in a generous amount of boiling water until just tender. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and gently stir until evenly combined. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired. Serve at room temperature.
Variation
Mediterranean Two-Bean Salad: Substitute other beans, such as navy beans, for the pasta.
Excerpted with permission from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook By Leslie Cerier (New Harbinger Publications) www.lesliecerier.com
Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook by Leslie Cerier
Also this recipe was included in the Dr Mark Hyman’s July 17, 2011 enewsletter discussing gluten, and offering lots of great nutrition information and advice:
Although I have a few favorite flavored oils and vinegars that I make every year, like Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar with Vanilla Bean and Garlic Scape ( GArlic Flower) oil, I am always experimenting and concocting new combinations. I also encourage you to use your local harvest of fruits, herbs, spices, edible flowers, nuts, and more to create your own tasty flavored oils and vinegars. Start with one spice like a chili pepper or garlic scape or one herb like basil and then let that be a springboard for your imagination. You can combine several spices and herbs together: one of my favorites is cilantro, basil and chilies.
To show you how simple it is, I have a whole chapter on Making Your own Flavored oil and Vinegars in my cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen. Here is the recipe from Going Wild in the Kitchen for Garlic Flower Oil. It is easy to make and very tasty and keeps well for months, too.
Garlic Scape Oil recipe from Leslie Cerier's cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen
Garlic Flower Oil
Capture summer in a bottle with the mild garlicky flavor of garlic scapes. Use this oil to add the essence of garlic to marinated sun-dried tomatoes, roasted vegetables, pizza, pasta, eggs, sauces, soups, and dressings—on anything you would use fresh garlic and olive oil.
Yield: About 1 cup
2 cups coarsely chopped garlic scapes (stems and blossoms)
1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
1. Loosely pack the scapes in a clean pint jar, leaving about an inch of space at the top. Add enough oil to cover (still leaving an inch of space). Using a butter knife, gently press down the scapes to eliminate any air pockets.
2. Put the cap on the jar, and add a label that includes the contents, date prepared, and approximate date the oil will be ready (2 to 6 weeks from the preparation date).
3. Place the jar on a small plate and set on a windowsill. After 2 weeks, taste the oil. If stronger flavor is desired, let it continue to steep. Continue to check once a week.
4. When the oil is ready, pour it through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a bowl, wide-mouth jar, or measuring cup. Before discarding the strained scapes, either squeeze them with your hands with and without the cheesecloth or press them against the strainer with the back of a spoon to get every last drop of oil.
5. Transfer the oil to a clean clear or dark bottle or jar with a lid or cork, and label it with the type of oil and date. Store in a cool dry place, where it will keep for at least a year.
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I have a coupon code to save 15% off all Navitasnatural.com products, especially good news for all those wanting to make my dark chocolate truffles, which are loaded with navitasnaturals.com superfoods: cacao butter, cacao powder, maca, gogi berries, and more. Here is the recipe from my website that has everyone (nationwide) in my cooking classes smiling: http://lesliecerier.com/blog/category/recipes/cacao-2/
