cookies for breakfast
It’s rare to have bits of time to myself nowadays. I don’t mean times when Yudi is at his grandparents’ house and while he’s there I run errands, or go shopping, or bake cookies, or spend time online. I’m talking about time to myself, time for my mind, time to think,time to reflect. Of course I miss him when he’s not around but at the same time it’s like this big open prairie of space has opened in my mind that I can peacefully explore. Babyhood – or now, toddlerhood, is a huge amount of fleeting fun for a parent, but it’s easy to get caught up in the toddler talk, the silly games, the using every minute of time you get to yourself to do something that needs to be done – organize, buy, make. This afternoon I got time to think and I realized how much I missed it.
Usually, when Yudi spends the night at his grandparents’ house, I wake up in the morning and bake something. I’m not using my mind so early in the morning to reflect, as perhaps I should be, but I like being in the kitchen when no one else is around and getting the kitchen alone is a rarity in Mumbai with a toddler and a house full of staff.
Two recipes worth noting that I’ve made in the early morning quiet time:
Dark chocolate hazelnut brownies from the Mast Brothers’ cookbook. We visited the Mast Brother’s store/factory in Brooklyn this summer and when Hrishikesh saw a cookbook devoted to chocolate he insisted we own it. I think this brownie recipe is so good because it calls for an obscene amount of butter and eggs. The brownies are super rich and sticky, terrifyingly good.
Dried cherry pecan cookies, from Amy Chaplin’s At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen (a book I bought after Noelle raved about it). I’m the type of person who likes to snack on dessert all day long, but especially first thing in the morning. These are cookies but they are nutritious and very filling, plus they have chocolate, so I feel both like I am both a responsible adult mother to a toddler, and a little like I am a grown up now, one who can eat chocolate for breakfast if I so please.
dried cherry pecan cookies
Adapted from Amy Chaplin
1 cup pecan flour, toasted
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup dried coconut
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coconut oil
5 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup dried cherries, large ones halved
a handful of dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment.
In a medium bowl, stir together the toasted pecan flour, oats, coconut flakes, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry mix and stir to combine well. Mix in chopped cherries and chocolate chips.
Shape cookies into approximately 3 tablespoon mounds and place them on the baking sheet. They will not spread. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden and lightly browning. These cookies may not look done when they come out of the oven but they firm up as they cool. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Once cool, cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge (in Bombay) for a few weeks.
- October 16 2015 | 2 Notes - Comments - Read More →