Anywhere Cookies and a New Lens.
I think I may have gone from being a LOT of a banker...
(I'm still trying to decide if I like 'in progress' pics or not) ...to a LITTLE of a baker. At least, I'm sure as heck trying to be. (although honestly I still don't know the difference between baking soda and baking powder and there is a bit too much measuring for me,)
But its kinda working...maybe.
(
Ya, I do like 'in progress' pics, they're kinda raw. I like that) So its been a while since I have posted. And for good reason. I can assure you it has not been for lack of
eating
cooking in this house. I have actually made some very yummy dishes I would have loved to have shared here.
Things like...
-
A new kind of smoothie with coconut milk & kale that tastes every bit as good as a milkshake.
-
Salads in jars that not only look beautiful but self marinates & stay crisp.
-
Grilled turkey drumsticks slathered with garlic scape pesto.
-
Malaysian steak skewers with scallion sesame sauce
But here is the thing...
I never felt I got a 'blog worthy' picture. And I tried.
Like really, really, really tried.
Inside. Outside. Upstairs. Downstairs. Frustrating. Very frustrating. And after soothing my frustration with coconut smoothies, pretty salads, turkey drumsticks & beef skewers (the first two were actually not soothing at all, the latter two helped a little) I think I figured out what it was that maybe holding me back....
I had a small success.
Foodgawker published a couple of my photos. Only material in the community of food bloggers, but a milestone nonetheless. I have submitted several in the past and they were always (rightfully so) rejected. Composition too tight. Poor lighting. Awkward angle. Totally fair. But then one day they accepted. Then again. And it seemed like now there was this pressure when I went to shoot something, that it had to be
Foodgawker worthy. Instead of thinking what picture do I like, I was thinking what would they like to publish.
And as a result, I could not take a picture.
As a people pleaser, this was not totally out of character. But it completely blinded my natural eye and replaced it with someone elses lens. Sad on two fronts. The first being my faithful
three
readers never got to see the yummy food, but moreso on the second. I wasn't doing what I originally set out to do which was let this blog serve as a vehicle for finding my voice in the - scary to me - world of creative arts.
But I am back. The pictures are far from where I want them to be but much ahead of where I started. I just want to explore new permutations and combinations of fresh, mindful ingredients and share them with people I love - on screen and in person. I will continue to tweet-pin-facebook-post-submit the work just to broaden my reach into a new community of foodies and photog's I find inspiring.
So this banker baked us some cookies.
I am always looking for a healthy, portable snack for Little sixtyone45. He is about done with the cheerios and raisins. (
I snuck some cereal puffs in his snack cup and I think he may have scoffed when handing me back the cup in disgust)
The inspiration for these cookies comes from a blog called
Nourished Kitchen (love that name). I tweaked them a bit but I loved that they were sugar free, gluten free and simple. They are made with coconut flour, dates. Sweetened with some natural pear juice and made soft and airy thanks to some Greek yogurt.
She called them the Anytime Cookie 'cause they were healthy enough to eat for breakfast. I'll call them the Anywhere Cookies....
...'cause since I made them they have been eaten in our pajamas on the playroom floor, happily in a snack cup in the car & today, on the side of a west coast mountain. Enjoy.
Anywhere Cookies
(Adapted from the Nourished Kitchen)
Some notes: You could use any type of sugar free fruit juice for sweetener. Vanilla yogurt would be a nice touch as well. You could also add any type of raw nut for a crunch in the cookie. I stored them in the fridge in a ziplock but I believe they would freeze well also. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 8 pitted dates (soaked in warm water for 15 minutes)
- 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup natural pear juice
- ¼ cup of plain Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp unrefined sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 7 T. of dried fruits (I used blueberries and cherries)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the coconut flour, almond butter, and dates in a food processor and blend until well combined and the dates have broken up into really small pieces, about a minute.
- Transfer to medium sized bowl and add the remaining ingredients except for the dried fruits. Using beaters, blend until a wet dough forms.
- Gently stir in the dried fruits until combined.
- Using two large tablespoons, drop the dough in heaping spoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Press down each ball of dough. These cookies will not spread or rise so make sure to make them the shape you want them prior to baking.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until they are golden on top and slightly brown along the edges.