Too good not to share: Maple-Oat Thumbprint Cookies

I can’t keep these a secret any longer. These are some of the simplest and most delicious cookies I’ve ever made. They are everyday cookies, for sure. There’s nothing decadent about them. But who wants decadent all the time? Most of the time I just a little satisfying bite that’ll pick me up. These cookies do that, and in addition, they can be thrown together in three minutes flat, they have no white flour or refined sugar, and they fill the kitchen with the warmest, most comforting aroma while they bake. Oh and everyone loves them. These guys are just about perfect.

I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to post about these cookies. But here goes. Don’t wait to make these, there’s just no reason to deny yourself.

Also, I’ve submitted these cookies to CLICK, a photography event hosted by Jugalbandi.  The May theme is Cookies.  Go check it out here.

Ingredients
makes about 30 small cookies

-1 cup almonds (roasted or raw), or 1/2 cup almonds, 1/2 cup walnuts
-1 cup rolled oats
-1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
-pinch sea salt
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 cup safflower or olive oil
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-1 banana
-zest of half a lemon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet.
2. In a food processor, chop nuts and half the oats into coarse meal.
3. In a large bowl, combine nuts, oats, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Add the lemon zest and mix.
   Add the oil and maple syrup to the dry ingredients. Mix lightly.
4. Roll into walnut-sized balls. Place on an oiled cookie sheet. Press an indentation in the center with thumb.
   Press a slice (or a chunk, depending on size of cookies) of banana into each indentation.
5. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes, and one step closer to the perfect chocolate chip cookie…

This week I had a bunch of orders for Cakes for a Cure. I made three Melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Cakes (thanks Clotilde!), 8 batches of cookies (chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin), and one order of Red Velvet Cupcakes, which I was pretty excited about! The cupcakes ended up coming out delicious, and so so cute. The cookies, I’m proud to say, are very very close to what I consider to be absolute perfection in chocolate chip cookies. I like a thicker cookie, generously studded with chips, crisp and a little knobbly on the outside, but soft and ooey gooey in the middle. I want that one middle bite that almost tastes like cookie dough. And of course, there must be lingering but delicate hints of butter and vanilla. Ooooh.

So up until now, my main issues have been texture and height. There is a time and a place for a thin crispy cookie; I will admit that I have had a few thin, crispy chocolate cookies that were, admittedly, delicious, but those were exceptions. I like a cookie that I can really sink my teeth into. So, you’ll understand how disappointed I’ve been each time I put a batch of perfect-tasting chocolate chip cookie dough into the oven only to find, nine minutes later, a pan of dry, greasy, melted-looking chocolate chip pancakes. I don’t know why it took me so long to do some research on cookie chemistry, but I am infinitely glad that I finally did.

Test Batch!

mmmm… more later