Wow!
Okay. To be clear: I really need to like this cookie. Because, I. LOVE. COOKIES. And I need to abstain from ingesting sugar/dairy/gluten/grains and more. Why? Because I have osteoarthritis with symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, including digestive dysfunction. Reducing inflammation and gastric distress is crucial to my body’s comfort level and these foods can be upsetting and inflammatory!
Plus, many alternative baking flours, like Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour
are a blend of almond & coconut flours and while I have been using this particular blend for some time, I am sadly realizing that coconut flours, sugars and oils distress my digestion. Aargh!
So yesterday, I was hunting around the web for an all-of-the-above-less cookie recipe. I found this one made with Cassava Flour by Lauren Geersten.
Thirty-nine years and day…
ago, I stopped drinking alcohol. Interestingly, at the time, one of the “cures” for alcohol craving recommended by those in the know was sugar. It was the lesser evil. I used sugar for many, many years because I enjoyed it and because it became, for me, a “drug of choice.”
I have slipped on and off of sugar (and dairy) many times…for example, here is one post about a grand resolve I made a year or so ago…. At the time, I was sincere. I’m always sincere. But food cravings or addictions are insidious creatures that fester and grow in the soup of denial.
The good news is that I wake up now and then and try again. That’s another reason I need to like these cookies.
And I do! Some who do not have my body-mind-spirt constitution and who, thus, do not need to abstain from these substances might not. They taste a bit like eating pie crust with jelly on top.
The way I made them is a bit different from Ms. Geersten’s recipe because I eliminated the granulated sugar altogether and used Crisco shortening instead of her recommended oils. I know. Using Crisco or anything soy based is sacrilegious to some and it certainly is not healthy. But like I said, I needed some cookies (it was after all my birthday/anniversary of abstinence) and I didn’t have Palm Oil shortening on hand. For the jelly, I used Smucker’s Simply Fruit Spread, Apricot flavor.
Also good news is that though I needed to bake them a bit longer than is indicated in this recipe (maybe 7 more minutes), and unlike some of the reviewers on Ms. Geersten’s site, my cookies (all eight of them) held together well and were indeed quite tasty, especially with a good, strong cup of Joe.
Now that. You may have to pry out of my cold, dead hand!
formidable woman sanctuary 