If you haven’t met my very good friend, Maggie, from She Let Them Eat Cake I can honestly say you’re missing out. We started chatting and eventually decided to start The Balanced Platter. We’ve chatted every week on Skype for at least the last 8 months. We’ve shared joys and heartaches. Every day I’m grateful for all she’s brought to my life. Stop by her blog – her whimsy and creativity in the kitchen will add so much to your life, too.
When my son Callum was born I had a raging sweet tooth! Perhaps it was sleep deprivation, perhaps it was my totally out-of-whack hormones. It didn’t matter. I needed a cookie or two to help get me through the day.
Back then I was a gluten-eating, sugar-eating woman so my cookie habit didn’t really do much to help me get through those tiring and emotional days.
If only I knew then what I know now!
These vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free cookies would’ve saved my life back when I was a new Mom! And if I lived closer to my dear friend Amy, I would bake her a batch of these cookies. For those moments. You know the ones – baby’s crying and hungry, but mommy’s starving and wants to eat too.
I packed these cookies with nutritional goodness. Buckwheat flour is a whole grain, loaded with protein and fiber. And instead of spiking our glucose, buckwheat will actually lower our glucose levels helping to balance out the unrefined sugar that is in the recipe.
A nutrition packed gluten-free cookie that you can eat for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup coconut oil, liquefied
- ½ heaping cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon powdered stevia
- 2 tablespoons ground chia combined with ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups buckwheat flour
- ¼ cup arrowroot flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup quinoa flakes
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup chocolate chips (or unsweetened carob chips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the oil, applesauce, sugar, chia mixture, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the buckwheat and arrowroot flours, sea salt, baking soda, cinnamon and quinoa flakes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just to combine. Stir in raisins and chocolate chips or carob chips.
- Scoop batter with a small ice cream scoop onto the parchment lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool for five minutes, then transfer to wire baking racks.
Maggie is the founder of SheLetThemEatCake.com. The website was born out of her intense passion for feeding her friends and family nutritious and delicious food. Maggie and her family abstain from gluten, dairy, and eggs due to food allergies and sensitivities. Maggie’s husband has celiac disease and her children have sensitive tummies that feel better free from these three increasingly common allergens. Since her husband’s celiac diagnosis in 2005, Maggie has been learning about the importance of whole foods and using food to heal and to maintain a healthy and youthful body.
theresa
posted on March 1, 2012 at 11:12 am
These look very good, thanks for sharig the recipe. Are they a sturdy cookie that would travel to school or are they pretty delicate and crumble easily?
[Reply]
Maggie Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 11:54 am
@theresa,
You’re welcome! These would travel well to school. They freeze well too. Enjoy!
[Reply]
Kate
posted on March 1, 2012 at 11:37 am
are there any substitutions possible for the various flours, oils and sugar alternatives to reduce the number of unique ingredients required for this recipe?
[Reply]
Aurora Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 11:53 am
This is what will be in your pantry if you are trying to eat a ‘healthy’ GF,Dairy Free, Refined sugar free diet.
This looks like an awesome recipe!
[Reply]
Maggie Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 11:58 am
@Aurora,
Thanks so much, I like the sounds of your pantry
[Reply]
Janis Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 6:14 pm
maybe all this is in your pantry, but not everyone will have these ingredients handy, and they can still be eating a healthy diet.
[Reply]
Maggie Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 11:57 am
@Kate,
You could definitely play around with the ingredients, but you’d have an entirely different cookie. Cane sugar subs well for coconut sugar, but it’s very refined so not as nutritious. Enjoy!
[Reply]
Heather Reply:
March 3rd, 2012 at 8:07 pm
@Kate, Kate, I bet for the chia seeds & water, you can substitute 1-2 eggs (if you can have eggs), sub cornstarch for the arrowroot starch, & try gf oats for the quinoa flakes (or I bet sunflower seeds pulsed in a food processor would work pretty good, too)…Hope that helps! I’m all about substituting ingredients, using what I have in the pantry
Good luck!
[Reply]
Heather Reply:
March 3rd, 2012 at 8:08 pm
@Heather, oh, and try vegetable, canola, or light olive oil for the melted coconut oil…
[Reply]
Mindy Reply:
May 4th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
@Heather, I was glad to see other oils could be used. I’m allergic to coconut so I am anxious about using coconut based products. Other than that these sound really good.
We are in a real predicament in my area as we have no whole food markets and have a little tiny 9 foot section in the local grocery story that has gluten-free options. I have to drive over an hour to the closest town with a whole foods or Trader Joe’s type market. It is very frustrating when you are trying to go gluten free. We also have very few restaurants that have gluten free options. My sister lives in an area that has numerous options, but unfortunately I don’t…yet.
Amy Reply:
May 4th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
@Mindy, I suggest trying iHerb.com – I love them!! I use them all of the time. You can get small quantities for a great price. And, their customer service is great. Here is my affiliate coupon code – you can get $5 off your first order. SIR086
After you place your first order you can get your own code and share it with your readers, too. It’s a great win-win!
Enjoy!!
Kristin @ Eating with Purpose
posted on March 1, 2012 at 11:46 am
So many of my favorite nutrient-packed ingredients are in these cookies…. I can’t wait to try them! There’s nothing better than making sweet treats truly nourishing. Thanks Maggie!!
[Reply]
Maggie Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 11:59 am
@Kristin @ Eating with Purpose, You’re so welcome! I hope you love them, I know Amy does
I’m looking forward to see what you share with us!
[Reply]
Idelle
posted on March 1, 2012 at 1:02 pm
isn’t coconut sugar considered to be sugar? i use it in my baking (make a syrup too instead of using agave) – but still consider it be sugar (even though it’s lower glycemic)….wondering what others think. For me – using 1 cup in a recipe is a lot.
[Reply]
Maggie Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 1:11 pm
@Idelle,
It’s much less processed so it still has a lot of nutrients, as I’m sure you know since you do use it. If you feel like 1 cup is too much for your tastes, play around with the amount. Enjoy.
Yes, coconut sugar is a sugar
[Reply]
Ildiko
posted on March 1, 2012 at 2:30 pm
I would love to try this recipe, but don’t have any quiona flakes on hand.
What could I use to substitute?
Thanks!
[Reply]
Shannon Brown Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 5:38 pm
@Ildiko, GF oats should work if you tolerate them. (I don’t.)
[Reply]
Maggie
posted on March 2, 2012 at 6:03 am
Hi Ildiko – Do you have gluten-free oats? You could try those, or add some sunflower seeds perhaps. Let us know what you decide. Enjoy!
[Reply]
Cara
posted on March 2, 2012 at 11:19 am
This recipe reminded me of an old favorite ( when I could eat wheat ) in Helen Nearing’s cookbook Simple Food. She and her husband Scott were pioneers in sustainable living, farming organically and living off the land in the 1930s. I loved her Buckwheat Crunchies recipe – she used buckwheat groats to make a crunchy cookie. Wonder if I could adapt it to gluten free. It was a simple recipe like all of her’s using only 5 ingredients. In the meantime I’m trying these and maybe using the buckwheat groats in place of the chocolate chips. Thanks.
[Reply]
Elaine L
posted on March 5, 2012 at 6:46 am
I think my girls would like these! Quick question though on subsitutions – is the chia/water mix a sub for eggs?
[Reply]
Maggie
posted on March 5, 2012 at 7:00 am
@theresa,
You’re welcome! These would travel well to school. They freeze well too. Enjoy!
[Reply]
Maggie
posted on March 5, 2012 at 7:01 am
Hi Elaine L – Yes, the chia/water mixture could be replaced with two eggs. I hope your girls love them!
[Reply]
June
posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:36 pm
If you don’t have chia, I have successfully substituted ground flax and water instead. My question is about the applesauce. My family is allergic to apples. It’s a real shame since I love apples! I’m wondering what to sub in for the apples?
I’ve been gluten free for a long time but now I am borderline diabetic. It really means the same thing as being diabetic as I need to be ss and gf! Thanks for all your recipes.
[Reply]
Maggie Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 11:02 am
@June,
You could try another fruit puree instead of the applesauce. I’m sure pumpkin or squash puree would work too. Enjoy!
[Reply]
Sylvia
posted on March 12, 2012 at 6:23 am
I don’t know if this is possible but can you substitute anything for the vanilla? (Some of my family are intolerant to it.) Any suggestions would be welcome.
Thank you. This recipe sounds so nice and I would love to try it.
[Reply]
Maggie Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 11:03 am
@Sylvia,
You could omit the vanilla and add some unsulphured molasses, or even water. Let us know how it goes!
[Reply]