INFORMATION
Everything we put into our bodies makes us who we are, and our body can only make use of what we put in if we have good (or friendly) bacteria in our gut and maintain a healthy gut ecosystem. My family has dealt with numerous digestive trials and I have learned how to prepare & eat fermented, cultured, and nutritious foods that have given us back our health, starting with our gut. We try to follow a GAPS (Gut & Psychology Syndrome) protocol, which is very similar to SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet), that nurtures you from the inside out. Do cookies aid in that repair? Not at all, the empty carbohydrates lacking nutritional value only feed the bad guys living in your guy. However, a healthier snack is better than a junky one, and besides that, who can have Christmas without cookies?GRAIN-FREE SPICE COOKIE RECIPE
So off we go to make some grain-free, easier to digest cookies. Let's bake! (printable version)
One of the wonders of the gluten-free/grain free world is how to cook with these funky flours. I mean, the texture just isn't like wheat and can really look unappealing at times. A secret to mimicking that texture is to use arrowroot powder. That stuff is so versatile from baking to natural bath & body care. It allows us to use almond flour, coconut flour, and gluten free flour and get us a cookie that, well...looks like a cookie.
TIPS
In this recipe I used almond flour Bob's Red Mill - or sometimes called "almond meal"), but you can also use coconut, or sunflower seed flour. You just want to make sure the almond flour is the blanched kind, which means it has been processed in a way that removed the phytic acid that is detrimental to your health, particularly your teeth. (I told you I could fill your head!)
Normally I would have assembled these cookies as my recipe states, but in haste we dumped everything in the stand mixer - whoops.
It's called the "hurry-the-baby-is-sleeping" method. Ah well. They turned out just fine, but really you should follow the steps to get a good cookie.
BEST OF TIMES
A memory I have as a child: When my parents would take us out on Saturday early to get errands done in a nearby city. We would stop to visit my grandma and one of my parents would run to get doughnuts from a local bakery. They would ask what we'd like, and I would always say a mule ear. I can't stand doughnuts, but those molasses mule ear cookies were the best. sigh... So because of that I love using spices like ginger, cinnamon, and allspice in my cookie recipes.
We source most of our ingredients from a local Mennonite bulk food store and our local farmers. Take a look at your eggs. Your egg yolks should be so orange they're almost glowing, not pale yellow like the ones in most grocery stores.
GOT CHICKEN?
I'd raise chickens myself if my city would allow it. I even called the mayor to ask, and he seemed to think I was crazy. I told him I could hear a rooster at the city park down our street. So, someone had to have chickens, right? He told me to tell him where. To which I replied politely, "You can go down there and hear it for yourself, if you'd like." I wasn't about to snitch. It turns out is a couple of macaws that belt out chicken! haha! A neighboring city to ours allows you to have hens, but not a rooster (did you know you don't need a rooster to get eggs?), hopefully our city will catch on to that idea or we'll get to move soon.
This is how your cookies will look once placed on the baking sheet. As mentioned above, it's better to refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes to firm them up. 'They will have a consistency similar to a no-bake cookie.
Once they've done baking and have cooling, use a piece of paper to lay on the cookie halfway. Then, dust the exposed side with confectioner's sugar.
My daughter couldn't wait to snatch one up. I told her she'll be singing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..."
DECORATE
Let's add some festive embellishments. Put about 3 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar in a small bowl. Then add a few drops of milk to create a pasty consistency. Then drop a small amount near the edge of the cookie as shown.
Grab a couple dried cranberries and press them into that dab of confectioner's sugar.
My kids had a blast decorating, especially the dusting part.
And then you're done!
And then you're done!
More recipes like my grain-free spice cookie: