C is for Cookie (and Chickpeas)

Recently we had a meeting at church where we were required to provide tea and goodies for all those attending. On occasions such as this is my job to provide something vegan and gluten free so others like me can enjoy a treat along with everyone else. I know from experience how sad you feel (and hungry) when everyone else gets homemade baked goods and there is nothing for you. So I made a batch of my secret ingredient cookies. Don’t look at me like that. These are rich and moist and  like tiny bites of cake and very morish.

C is for Cookie (and Chickpeas)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1 tin chickpeas drained and well rinsed (I find tinned ones to better for this than home cooked ones--you want mushy ones not firm ones)

1.5 TB liquid sweetener--maple syrup, agave, whatever--I used golden syrup

1.5 TB rapeseed (canola) oil

¼ tsp blackstrap molasses

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 flax egg (1 TB flax meal mixed with 3 TB hot water and allowed to gel for a few minutes)

1/3-½ cup brown sugar  (I used Tate and Lyle Light at Heart which is half Demerara sugar half stevia--¼ cup = ½ cup sweetness)

Mix all this in your food processor.

Then blend in

¼ cup gluten free flour. Not the kind with starch--just flour. I used buckwheat. You could probably use wholemeal pastry flour if you don’t need to be gluten free.

Spoon into a bowl and mix in

2-3 TB chocolate chips, 2-3 TB dried cranberries and (optionally) 2-3 TB sunflower seeds.

Then form into walnut sized balls  and bake for 15-18 minutes. Mine were really moist inside at 15 minutes--like eating raw cookie dough (which is not that bad…) but at 18 minutes were brown on the outside and cooked in the middle like little cakes. It made 15 cookies.

They were snaffled up by everyone--not just special diet people so I know they were good.

Now go make them yourself.