I loved peanut butter cookies when I was a kid. At some point I stopped eating them regularly and then I stopped making them at all in favor of other types of cookies. These gluten free seed butter cookies are made with oats, with no processed sugar. And since they’re also egg free and made from sunflower seeds they’re also egg and nut allergy friendly. Most importantly, they taste pretty darn good, and so I’ve renewed my enthusiasm for this type of cookie. Let me tell you about the cookbook I found the recipe in. It’s loaded with other goodies you’ll want to try.
Danielle Duboise and Whitney Tingle are the founders of Sakara Life, an organic, plant based meal delivery service. In their cookbook Eat Clean Play Dirty they share their philosophy of food as well as many of the popular foods from their meal plans. The two of them were living lifestyles that made them sick, so they took the time to learn about food and nutrition and began to heal their bodies.
Sakara’s nutritional philosophy is “gut based” meaning they feel (as do others) that many chronic health problems stem from an unhealthy digestive system. The focus is on nutritious, plant based meals built around superfoods like garlic, greens and cruciferous vegetables, all of which appeal to my flexitarian appetites.
There are some recipes with esoteric ingredients that will be difficult to source outside a large city or online. This may be a turn off to many people, BUT (and this is a big BUT) there are other eating plans which also require out of the ordinary ingredients. For example, paleo eating uses coconut flour and ghee. And many people don’t think twice about using MCT Oil for their keto coffee. If you’re adventurous, give those recipes a try, otherwise, you’re free to skip them.
Other recipes which caught my eye:
- Hydrating honeydew melon gazpacho; made with green tomatoes, cucumbers, celery and honeydew melon (same idea as my red gazpacho with watermelon)
- Rainbow wrap; loaded with beets, carrots and daikon radish plus lentils and brown rice
- Vanilla and meyer lemon gin and tonic; adults are free to imbibe under the Sakara way of life
Photo from Pixabay
I chose to make seed butter cookies because I had those ingredients on hand plus we had a fridge full of main course leftovers that needed to be eaten, so a snack or a dessert suited us better. They were really easy to throw together and since they’re also vegan the dough can also be formed into balls and eaten “raw” as energy bites. Another reason to like this recipe is that it’s a small batch. It makes between 12 to 15 cookies, depending on the size.
The cookies tend to be very crumbly and are especially vulnerable when they are still warm. Letting the dough rest for several hours before baking helps, as does storing the finished cookies in the fridge. When baking, make sure the edges are golden brown, I had to cook mine longer than called for in the recipe; it will depend on your oven. The cookies will be very soft when you first remove them, but will firm up as they cool.
One word about the oat flour used in the recipe. You can purchase it, but for a small amount like this just grind up a cup of regular oatmeal in a food processor until it’s a fine as your machine can make it. (It’s ok if your oat flour has the consistency of cornmeal.) Measure the oat flour before adding to the mix. Any extra can be thrown into a smoothie for some additional grain power.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for several hours or overnight before baking. (The dough will keep for a couple days)
- When ready to bake, prepare a baking tray with parchment paper or silicon mat. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Portion the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Arrange on the baking tray and use a fork to gently press the balls flat and make the cross hatch design on top.
- Bake for 7 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool before transferring to a plate or container. Storing in the fridge will help them keep their shape.
In addition to the luscious recipes you’ll also find advice for improving the appearance of your skin and a reminder that feeling sexy is an important part of everyday living. They provide instructions for making a personal lubricant that you may find useful. Give Eat Clean, Play Dirty a try, there’s lots of interesting reading and recipes.
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