Working With What You Have: Cookie Edition

I want to start this post by wishing all the Moms who are reading a very happy Mother's Day! Watching my Mom and Grandma in the kitchen gave me an appreciation for cooking and baking and I carry that with me every day. Today I woke up and realized I completely forgot to buy my mom a Mother's Day present, and by forgot, I mean, I'm a student and my funds are limited. With that in mind, I had to be resourceful so I headed to the cabinet to see what I could create. No chocolate chips or oatmeal were to be found, so there went my idea for chocolate chip oatmeal-cookies. I did however have all-purpose gluten-free flour, trader joe's hemp protein powder, almonds, almond butter, and raisins.

Sounds like a weird combination, but I was willing to try it.

 

I created the recipe below as I went along (which is something I frequently do) and I realized that my improvisational cooking method is somewhat symbolic for some things that I've realized since starting this blog. When I decided to go back to school to study nutrition and start this blog, I feared writing about myself at all because I think we constantly judge ourselves and fear judgement from others. Allowing myself to write about things I've dealt with personally (like calorie obsession) and things I'm learning has taught me that despite being imperfect, what I've learned can help others. All the best teachers and wisest individuals I've come across aren't the ones who appear to be perfect, they're the one's who embrace what they have, appreciate the lessons they've learned and are willing to share it with others. So, what does this have to do with cookies? The following recipe may not be your cup of tea, but it serves as a reminder that you can work with what you have to bring joy into the world (in this case, joy was a smile on my Mom's face because if there's one thing my Mom can appreciate, it's a baked good). Don't worry if you don't have the items I've used, as I've come up with a few alternatives listed next to each ingredient.

Almond Raisin Protein Cookies (makes 3 dozen)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (you can use whole wheat flour, spelt flour, or any other kind of flour)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• dash of salt
• ½ cup Trader Joe's Hemp Protein Powder (you can use any kind of protein powder in a flavor you enjoy. The one I used was vanilla flavored)
• ½ cup applesauce
• ¼ cup almond butter (instead of using oil, I used almond butter because it's tasty, nutritious, and is a good fat source in place of oil or butter).
• ¼ cup almond milk (I used unsweetened original variety, but a vanilla flavor might also work well)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup of raisins (or another dried fruit that you prefer)
• ½ cup almonds (whole, raw)- you can use any other kind of nut that tickles your fancy
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and in a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and protein powder.
• In separate bowl, combine applesauce, almond butter, almond milk, and vanilla extract.
• Create a well in the dry ingredients with your fingers or a spoon, and add in the wet ingredients. Mix.
• Add in the raisins and almonds
• Grease a cookie sheet, and drop cookie dough on the sheet using a spoon.
• Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes (keep on eye on it, because all ovens differ in temperatures and each batch I made took a different amount of time).
• Enjoy!

Experiment with this recipe with the ingredients you have and embrace imperfect, improvisational baking!

-Jess