Sunday, March 31, 2013

Magical Macadamia Nut Cookies


The beautiful thing about these cookies is the fact that they contain no sugar, use only a small amount of natural sweeteners, and have no gluten! Joseph asked me what I wanted for breakfast on a sleepy Easter morning and I mumbled, “Cookies with nuts.” So he invented these to suit all my stringent requirements! YUM!

Magical Macadamia Nut Cookies
Makes 40 cookies

1 cup ghee (clarified butter)
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons Homemade Vanilla or 3/4 teaspoon ground vanilla beans
9 oz. ripe bananas (2 large)
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
4 teensy scoops of Trader Joe's 100% pure stevia rebaudiana extract (that's white powdered stevia), or 1/16 teaspoon
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup white rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts, chopped
Parchment baking paper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut parchment to fit two large cookie sheets. Set aside.

Mash ghee with bananas, eggs, vanilla, honey, maple syrup, and stevia. Use a hand-held mixer to complete the job, and don’t worry if you still have some visible bits and lumps of banana. Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing smoothly. Add nuts and blend completely.

Drop by walnut-sized spoonfuls onto the parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes for the first batch; less for the second. (Don’t know why, but the second batch always cooks faster.) You can also chill the dough, roll it out, and cut shapes with a cookie-cutter, or roll it into a log, wrap, chill, and slice. If you used the chilled method, set your timer and check them after 10 minutes.

Makes 40 cookies.