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!
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 waffles are delicious with or without a topping. There’s enough maple syrup in the batter that I never feel a need to pour more on top.
Teff Waffles from Leslie Cerier's cookbook, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook
4 eggs
3/4 cup apple juice or cider
3 Tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil or butter
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups teff flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1. Preheat the waffle iron
2. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the juice, oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until well combined.
3. Brush both the top and bottom surface of the waffle iron with oil, then ladle in enough batter to cover the bottom surface of the iron. Cook until the steaming stops or the waffle is golden brown.
4. Serve immediately, or keep the cooked waffles in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve.
This recipe will also be included when I teach Great Grains in the Morning, Festive Holiday Brunches : Pancakes, Waffles, Fruit Sauces and Porridges at the Open Center in New York City on Dec 17th. Please come and participate in this fun and delicious Hands-on Vegetarian Cooking Class. For more information on my cooking classes and to register: please go to http://lesliecerier.com/blog/class-schedule/
Hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall season. Here are some favorite recipes from my cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen that feature the beautiful produce of this colorful season: cauliflower, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and kale. By the way, these delicious vegetables are cooked with gluten free grains teff and quinoa, which are super delicious and nutritious (high in calcium, iron, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals).
Quinoa with Cauliflower and Feta
A wonderful garnish of tangy feta cheese is the perfect crown for this melt-in-your-mouth quinoa dish. Enjoy it as a light main-course or scrumptious side, or use it as a filling for tomatoes, squash, or bell peppers.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
3 cups water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
4 cloves garlic, thickly sliced
4 cups cauliflower florets
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
6 cups coarsely chopped kale
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 pound crumbled feta cheese
1. Bring the water to boil in a teakettle or small pot.
2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and onions begin to soften.
3. Add the cauliflower and continue to sauté 5 minutes, or until the cauliflower becomes bright white. Add the quinoa, kale, red pepper, thyme, sea salt, and boiling water.
4. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
5. Stir the mixture, top with feta cheese, and serve.
Flavored with sweet juicy tomatoes, green bell peppers, fresh basil, and garlic, this teff dish is an irresistible summer repast. Serve plain or garnished with grated fontina, Parmesan, or Manchego cheese, or sliced rounds of chèvre.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
2 cups water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, thickly sliced
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1 cup coarsely chopped green peppers
2/3 cup teff
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups coarsely chopped plum tomatoes
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1. Bring the water to boil in a teakettle or small pot.
2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, and sauté, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and the onions begin to soften.
3. Add the peppers to the skillet, and sauté for 2 minutes, then stir in the teff. Add the boiling water and salt, and bring the ingredients to a boil. Stir in the tomatoes and basil.
4. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer covered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the teff is soft and most or all of the water is absorbed. Adjust the seasonings, if desired.
5. Transfer the mixture to an unoiled 9-inch pie plate, and let cool for about 30 minutes.
6. Slice into wedges and serve.
Hope all is wonderful with you! Sun is shining here and as I am raking up my perennial herb and flower gardens, I am reminded of all the goodness to come!
Just want to let you know, that on March 27th, I am off to Kripalu Yoga and Wellness Center in the Berkshires to teach the baker how to do gluten free baking with teff. This will be fun and delicious! There are lots of gluten free recipes with teff grain and teff flour (pancakes, cookies, pie crusts, side dishes and more) in my cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen. You will find one of my breakfast favorites the Teff Banana Pancakes recipe, which is Wheat-Free and Gluten-Free at the end of this blog, and if you want more recipes, please go to my website: lesliecerier.com and you can also scroll through my blog, too.
Teff Banana Pancakes (Wheat- and Gluten-Free)
This basic pancake recipe is easy to make and is delicious with a variety of sweeteners and juices. Feel free to substitute maple sugar or rice syrup for honey, and soymilk for juice. Ground-up flax seeds easily take the place of eggs in these delicious pancakes made with naturally sweet teff and bananas. The batter is light and looks like pudding.
Serves 4-6; 25 three-inch pancakes.
2 tablespoons flax seeds
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups apple juice or soymilk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey, maple sugar, or rice syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons safflower, almond or coconut oil
1 1/2 cups teff flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Optional: Add 2-4 eggs
1. Grind flax seeds in a blender until powdery. Add bananas, eggs (if using), juice, vanilla, honey, and 1/2 teaspoon oil. Blend well.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine teff flour, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon. Stir in banana and juice/soymilk mixture and mix well.
3. Place the griddle or 12-inch skillet over medium heat. After a minute or two, brush on one teaspoon of oil. Using a tablespoon, scoop up the batter and pour it on the hot griddle, one heaping tablespoon for each pancake.
4. Cook pancakes for 3-4 minutes on the first side, or until you see tiny holes on the top of the pancakes. Flip them over and cook for another minute or two.
5. Serve plain-or dipped into yogurt and Strawberry Sauce.
Loved by vegans and non-vegans alike, this rich chocolate cake is the one I usually make for birthdays. Serve it plain, drizzled with Hot Fudge, or frosted with Vegan Chocolate Mousse.
Yield: 8 servings
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 tablespoons flaxseeds
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips* or 5.3-ounce dark chocolate (70 or 72%) broken into 1-inch pieces (1 ½ cups)
3/4 cup vanilla soymilk
* Fair Traded chocolate is strongly suggested.
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9-inch cake or loaf pan and set aside.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Place the flaxseeds in a blender and grind to a powder. Add the juice, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla, and blend well.
4. Heat the chocolate chips and soymilk in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly about 3 minutes, or until the chocolate melts.
5. Add the melted chocolate and flaxseed mixture to the flour mixture and stir well to form a smooth batter.
6. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve plain or frosted.
For a Change…
Omit the soymilk and use 1 ¼ cups juice. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a skillet over low flame stirring constantly.
Also, you can substitute other flours. If you like, use all spelt flour and substract 25% liquid from the recipe above. Or if you want to add more calcium and iron and use some teff flour, you may substitute up to 25% teff flour for the whole wheat pastry flour. Either way, this cake will please everyone.
VANILLA-SCENTED BULGUR WITH DRIED CHERRIES AND TOASTED WALNUTS
Four servings
2 cup water
1/3 cup dried pitted cherries
2 to 3-inch vanilla bean split lengthwise or 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup bulgur wheat
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup walnuts
2 cups plain yogurt
Optional: honey for drizzling
To prepare:
In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, add the water and cherries with vanilla bean. Cover and bring to a boil. Add the bulgur and salt reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed; the bulgur is tender, about ten minutes. Remove the vanilla bean
While the bulgur cooks, in a small dry skillet over moderate heat, add the walnuts and toast, stirring often, until they are aromatic, become dark, about five to six minutes.
Spoon the bulgur into heated soup bowls, add one-half cup yogurt per person and top with walnuts. Drizzle a little honey or maple syrup over the whole affair for extra sweetness if desired.
You’ll flip for these delicious pancakes, made with naturally sweet teff and bananas. Although my family enjoys them plain or topped with applesauce, they also like dipping them in yogurt and Strawberry Sauce.
Yield: About 25 pancakes (3 inches)
2 tablespoons flaxseeds
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups vanilla soymilk or apple juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoon safflower, almond, or canola oil
1 1/2 cups teff flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Optional: 2 eggs
1. Place the flaxseeds in a blender and grind until powdery. Add the bananas, soymilk, vanilla, honey, oil, and eggs if using. Blend well.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add the banana mixture and stir until well combined.
3. Heat a griddle, cast iron skillet, or large frying pan over medium heat. If it does not have a nonstick surface, brush it with oil.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the hot griddle and cook 1 1/2 minutes, or until the tops are bubbly and the edges are dry. Using a spatula, turn the pancakes over and cook another minute, or until the bottoms are brown.
5. Serve immediately with your favorite topping.
