Sunbutter Oatmeal Bites

A friend recently shared pictures of no-bake cookies made with cocoa nibs and some dark chocolate in addition to the usual cocoa.  They looked really good, but I couldn't bring myself to put the stick of butter and 2 cups of sugar into a sauce pan.  I debated making a half batch, and then decided to try to do something with less fat and sugar.


1 c. Sunbutter
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp double-strength vanilla
1/3 c. cacao nibs
1/3 c. salted roasted sunflower seeds
1/3 c. raisins




Preheat oven to 350 F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Mix everything together until uniform.  Scoop into 1 Tbsp balls and place on parchment.  Flatten each ball to about 1/2" thickness with a fork or your fingers.

Bake 8-10 minutes.  Cookies will be brown on the bottom but still quite soft & puffy when they come out.  The cool to delicate, crumbly bites, quite filling.

Chickpea bread recipe drift

A few months after giving up wheat, I decided to give away my bread machine and my copy of Beth Hensperger's Bread Machine Book.  I vaguely remembered seeing something about gluten-free in there, so I checked the index, and copied down one recipe before I let the book go.

I picked up some besan (aka chickpea flour) at the Indian Market and tried the recipe.  My boyfriend observed that it was like his mom's Easter Bread - sweet and eggy.

I wanted to try and make an every-day toasting bread out of this recipe.  Over the course of 4 months, I eliminated the maple syrup, and replaced some of the eggs with flax meal.  I also replaced the xanthan gum with ground chia seed and converted to baking by weight, since it's easier to experiment with flour substitutions when you're weighing everything.

The bread still tends to be a little soggy in the center, and is very heavy.  I plan to experiment with reducing the oil (since flax meal and chia seed both contain fat) and try baking it in a narrower (4.5 inch x 10 inch) loaf pan, so there will be future revisions.  Here's the latest.


Chickpea Bread r4

1 1/4 c. water, slightly warm
2 1/4 t. SAF yeast
2 T brown sugar

1 large egg
5 T golden flax meal
water

3 T olive oil
1 1/2 T ground chia seed (measured after grinding)
1 t kosher salt

120 g. chickpea flour (aka besan)
  58 g. teff flour
100 g. brown rice flour
  40 g. tapioca starch
126 g. sweet rice flour
  60 g. Baker's Special Dry Milk


Add the water, yeast, and brown sugar to the mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Break the egg into a measuring cup and beat in the flax meal.  Add enough water to total 3/4 c.
Add olive oil, chia seed, and salt to egg/flax slurry and stir well.

Weigh all the dry ingredients into a lightweight bowl or container.
Grease a loaf pan with butter or solid shortening.

When the yeast begins bubbling, beat in the contents of the measuring cup, and then add the flours.  Beat for about 2 minutes.  Pour into prepared pan, and level the top with a wet spatula.

Allow to rise about 35 minutes before preheating the oven to 350F.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350 F, and then set a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the loaf.
Continue baking for 30 -40 minutes, until internal temperature is over 200F.