I know Valentine’s Day is coming up, and I should have something heart shaped for you, but right now I have to confess I’m thinking more about my neighbor than I am about my sweetie. Let me explain…
When we moved here 6 years ago, there were a variety of features of our property that didn’t register as they probably should have. For example, I might have expected that a house on “Slate Hill Pl.” might not offer the most friable garden soil in the region. I might have investigated how difficult it would be to remove a urinal. I also really could have taken a moment to notice how VERY VERY long my driveway is.
Out of cheapness and a determination to prove my ruggedness, I forbade Mr. Little Sis to purchase some kind of machine to help us with the snow that might arrive on this driveway. For years my stubbornness bore few consequences, with the exception of one very long weekend of 4 feet of snow assisted by very kind and forgiving friends.
Enter the winter of 2013-2014. I’m reasonably certain we’ve had more individual snowfalls this year than we had over the last 3 years combined. The good news is that last year my resolve diminished during a holiday sale and we obtained machinery to help deal with precipitation on our VERY VERY long driveway. Ironically, my neighbor (who has an EVEN LONGER driveway) obtained an even larger, and faster snow moving machine.
So where are we going with all this (and WHEN DO WE GET THE COOKIES)? My wonderful neighbor, if he begins his task first, comes and does our driveway with his super fast machine, “to get us started.” His boost amounts to a good 75% of the work, and so Mr. Little Sis is freed up to go help another neighbor, who is a tough old bird, but will for some reason, let Mr. Little Sis (and no other neighbor) clear her drive. What happened when Mr. Little Sis was away during a storm? My neighbor plowed my drive, and another neighbor snuck out pre-dawn and shoveled out Ms. Mary. And the kids and I made cookies for everyone. Sometimes a little snow brings out the best in all of us.
So make ’em for your favorite neighbor, make ’em for your sweetie, make ’em for yourself. These are lower in sugar than the average cookie, although they are admittedly higher in chocolate than most chocolate chip cookies. These are a true treat – one will do and will be a real thank you to whoever deserves it the most.
Good Neighbor Chocolate Chip Cookies (DF) – makes enough to share
3/4 c coconut oil
1/2 c applesauce
2 c turbinado or coconut sugar
4 flax eggs (4 Tbs flax meal + 12 Tbs water)
4 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
4 c whole wheat pastry flour
3 c semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, combine baking soda, salt, and pastry flour. Set aside. In stand mixer bowl or large bowl, mix together coconut oil, applesauce, and sugar. Beat until thoroughly combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and continue to mix until it looks like cookie batter. Add mix ins and combine.
Drop in cookie sized gobs (I use a cookie batter scoop) onto a greased cookie sheet or one lined with parchment. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 2 minutes ON the cookie sheet and then remove to wire racks.
WOW. Okay, that’s not the healthiest thing I’ve ever made, but daggone they are good. Happy Valentine’s Day. Happy Snow Day. Happy Neighborhood.
As many of you know, my twins started kindergarten this fall….. gack. There’s an awful lot swirling around in my head about THAT very fact and rather than sit here and take it in, there’s a whole new world of work and school logistics to get to know. We’re all feeling, while still reasonably enthusiastic, a little tired and beat up around here. The kids are especially tired in part because their school day is so much longer than anything they’ve done before, and in part because the paltry amount of time they are given to consume lunch is not working out too well for ravenous boy and chatty girl. Lunchboxes are coming home with a dent at best. They do, of course, always manage to extract the small sweet that I’ve been including to cheer them up at the time that they say they miss me the most (awww, yes, it breaks my heart a little). Because of these developments, after having a talk about the fact that veggies need to be eaten before sweets just like at home, I’ve doubled down on my efforts to find and make sweet bits that are much less…. well everything. The delightful thing about severely restricting sweets is that your kids get a lot less picky about them and so this is one category of food where everyone, even my daughter, is consistently rapturous about my efforts, and let’s face it, that’s pretty good for the chef. 🙂
This week’s little sweetie scored 100% approval and was just about as easy a cookie as I’ve ever baked. Why is it better than other cookies? Less sugar, less fat, and I used buckwheat rather than regular flour (read about the benefits of buckwheat here) and so have a whole slew of health benefits over your average chocolate chipper. Yes, that’s right, once again I will breach into the realm of the sacred and dismember a classic flavor expectation with a healthier chocolate chip cookie. Nearly blasphemous.
heaping .5 c semi-sweet chocolate chips ( I used minis to ensure choc in each bite and because, let’s face it, they’re cute)
1/2 c chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in smaller bowl. Add wet to dry and stir. The dough will be wetter and easier to mix than traditional chocolate chip cookie dough. Don’t be alarmed. The dough will also be considerably darker than you might expect. Again, it will all be okay. Add chips and nuts (and whatever else your tribe prefers in such things) and stir gently to distribute. Plop onto parchment or greased baking sheets. I confess to using an official cookie dough scoop for such things (my Christmas baking requirements justified this little gem), but use whatever method you usually use with drop cookies. After filling the tray (I got 12-15 per tray), squash the tops a little as they will not spread the way higher fat cookies do. Bake for 6-9 minutes. Mine took 9, but my oven is wacky. Judge doneness by touching the cookie gently. When it feels like a cookie and not a squishy ball, they’re done. Allow to cool on the pan briefly for cleaner liftoff. Cool completely on wire rack, or I should say after you’ve eaten some while they’re warm because you simply must eat some while they’re warm, cool the rest on a wire rack. Delish.
my sister's pantry 