Pumpkin seeds are packed with nutritional power
Here’s a healthier twist on chocolate chip cookies.
When baking sweets, I like to bake with high-protein, nutrient-dense ingredients. I want my friends and family to get more than an empty sugar-rush from my sweet treats, especially where my kids are involved!
Some of my favourite glutenfree flours are almond flour, oat flour, and pumpkin seed flour. I like to make sure the flours I’m using pack a nutritional punch. It’s all about balance, right?
Almond flour is so popular and I love using it in cookie and muffin recipes.
But if you’re allergic to nuts, or if you want to send your kids to school with a healthier treat in their lunch box, you’ll need a nut-free cookie.
Enter raw pumpkin seeds. They’re naturally high in iron, magnesium, and zinc (among other vitamins and minerals). I grind my own pumpkin seeds using an old coffee grinder or my high-speed blender. The result is a coarse flour that can be used in a lot of recipes that call for almond flour. My favourite way to use pumpkin seed flour is in granola, granola bars, and cookies. Plus, I like to sprinkle it on toast, oatmeal, and salads.
This cookie recipe also calls for certified gluten-free oat flour, which I also make using my coffee grinder or blender. You want to grind your seeds and oats until they resemble coarse flour, if you grind them too long you can turn them into butters.
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pumpkin Seed Flour
11/4 cup ground pumpkin seeds 1 cup certified gluten-free oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds 1 tablespoon psyllium husks
1/3 cup coconut oil, liquefied
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking tray.
2. Grind pumpkin seeds and certified gluten-free oats.
3. Combine ground pumpkin seeds, oat flour, baking powder, and sea salt in the large bowl.
4. In a smaller bowl mix vanilla, maple syrup, ground chia, and psyllium husks. Let sit for a few minutes as it thickens.
5. Add liquefied coconut oil to the rest of the wet ingredients.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Press gently with hand.
8. Cook at 350 degrees for 1012 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on tray for 5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
9. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: 1 dozen cookies
Maggie Savage is a holistic nutritionist who blogs about healthy glutenfree living. Find more of her recipes at www.SheLetThemEatCake.com