sunflower butter cookies.

Peanut butter cookies are a favorite in this house, but today we wanted something different...sunflower butter cookies! I adapted our favorite tried and true PB cookie recipe and sure enough, super delicious - slightly crispy with a little chewiness. Perfect! We will definitely make these again.


ingredients::
1 c. unsalted butter, room temp
1 c. creamy sunflower butter (a nut butter would be fine too!!)
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar (I used raw sugar)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. finely ground whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

directions::
Cream together the butter, nut butter and sugars. Then beat in the eggs, molasses and extract.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Stir that into the batter. Mix well and then refrigerate for a bit.

Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork - classic peanut butter cookie pattern.

Bake at 375ºF for about 10-11 minutes or so. Cool on a rack.

sunflower seeds/butter:: In addition to linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of dietary fiber, some amino acids, Vitamin E, B Vitamins (especially vitamin B1 or thiamine, vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid and folate), and minerals such as copper, manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, selenium, calcium and zinc. Additionally, they are rich in cholesterol-lowering phytosterols!

dark oatmeal cookies

In my ongoing quest for good whole wheat flour cookies, I have also headed into the realm of oatmeal. I love the texture of oats, but don't really like using the quick oats, and don't like when cookies are too sugary tasting. This recipe turned out great. The dark sugars and molasses work well with the oats and whole wheat flour too - making a very rich robust chewy cookie (lots of flavor) that is soft fresh out of the oven and yet doesn't fall apart when stored. Even my 5 year old who doesn't like seeds or chunks in his food ate some - they smell so good!

::dark oatmeal cookies::

1 3/4 cup steel cut oats (not quick oats)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/4 stick butter, softened
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup turbinado (or granulated) sugar

1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp molasses

Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. In a mixer/Kitchen Aid, mix together sugars and butter until creamy. Add in egg, molasses, and vanilla - mixing a little in between each addition. Scoop in the dry ingredients from the bowl a bit at a time on low-med until all incorporated.

On a lined cookie sheet drop 1-2 tablespoon sized balls a few inches apart. Put into a pre-heated 375º oven (middle rack) for 10-11 minutes until golden brown! If you like them softer, pull out a minute early - if they are going in a cookie jar, leave them in the full time. Let sit on pan for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.



ingredient tip::

Even a little bit of good quality molasses is a good thing. In addition to providing quickly assimilated carbohydrates, blackstrap molasses can increase your energy by helping to replenish your iron stores - blackstrap molasses is a very good source of iron. Blackstrap molasses is also an excellent source of manganese and copper and a good source of iron, calcium, vitamin B6, potassium, selenium and magnesium.

whole wheat snickerdoodles.

Over the past few years we have switched over to using only whole wheat flours. For bread we often grind our own flour, but we use whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat white flour for baking everything from cookies to scones. My boys actually like the rich chewiness that whole wheat flour adds to recipes. I often will take traditional recipes and just substitute the whole wheat flour - but with some things (like cookies) it is good to tweak the recipe a little to compensate for how much moisture the whole wheat flour absorbs. In this recipe I used organic stone ground whole wheat pastry flour, turbinado sugar, and have a non-traditional ingredient in the mix too...coconut. It doesn't add much actual coconut flavor, but gives a nice texture and keeps the cookies from getting dry, I think.

::whole wheat snickerdoodles::

ingredients::
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups organic sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups white whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup organic UN-sweetened dry coconut flakes
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

to roll the cookies in
2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp turbinado sugar

directions::
-Preheat the oven to 375 ºF
-Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper
-In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Put aside.
-In a mixer, beat sugar with butter until light and creamy - about a minute or two.
-Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
-Add in the flour mixture a bit at a time until combined...

-In a small bowl, combine the 2 tsp cinnamon and 3 Tbsp sugar
-Roll bits of dough into balls (about 1 1/2 Tbsp per ball) and then roll in the cinnamon mixture to coat.
-Put the cookies about 2-3 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
-Bake for about 10 minutes...cookies should be light and golden.
-Let the cookies cool for a minute or two before transferring them to a cooling rack.



ingredient tip::

The health benefits from whole grains comes from the nutrients and fiber found in the grain kernel, including the germ and bran. So, whole grains contain the good stuff such as dietary fiber, starch, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, lignans, and phenolic compounds that have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases!

::molasses-spice cookies::

We have been looking for a good dark cookie that the boys like but that isn't overly sweet or too spicy. Today we had success with these Molasses-Spice cookies. These are not the traditional molasses heavy cookies (my boys will not eat them!). These cookies are a little chewy in the middle, crisp on the edges, slightly sweet with a gingerbread richness. I love that they all cooked so perfectly and evenly - which is great for cookie exchanges or gift bags!

This recipe is slightly adapted from the recipe in this book. Rather than using all purpose flour we used an organic whole wheat pastry flour - which keeps the rich nuttiness of a whole wheat flour, while still being light and tasty. We also used a rich organic dark brown sugar, and organic turbanado for the granulated sugar.


::molasses-spice cookies::

ingredients:
2 1/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
Some extra turbinado sugar for rolling (the larger crystals are great)

directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375º F.
Stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a bowl.
In your mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup turbinado sugar until light and fluffy - a few minutes on medium speed.
Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Add the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
Put some turbinado sugar in a bowl.
Roll dough into 1-2 Tbsp balls.
Rolls the balls in the sugar and put on ungreased baking sheets - space a few inches apart.
Bake for about 7 minutes and then rotate the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 4-6 minutes. For soft chewy cookies pull out when they still look soft - longer time means more crispy!
When you remove them from the oven let them cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack via spatula.



ingredient tip:
I always feel that if we are going to take the time to bake something sweet, then we should use the good stuff! We try to avoid using refined sugars. But with cookies, you need sugar! By using organic less refined sugars, you are retaining more of the natural vitamins and minerals present in the sugar cane, and not getting any chemical by-products of the refining process. Or, what she said:

"I was on the lookout for sweeteners produced from crops that had been farmed without chemicals and pesticides. I was looking for sweeteners that didn’t contain additives and preservatives, and were as close to their original source ingredient in form and flavor as possible. I want to spend my money supporting sustainably minded producers, working in concert with the environment and giving a fair shake to their workers in fields and factories to produce great tasting products and ingredients."