Gluten Free Amaranth Seed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been on a quest to make my recipes healthier and healthier.   There's only so much one can eat in a day, and I'm come to believe that good nutrition is THE most important factor when it comes to health.  Therefore, I find it important to make sure every bite counts nutrition-wise (well most bites anyway).  Anyway, I've been playing with amaranth grain and flour lately. If you're not familiar with amaranth seed or flour, it is very high in protein and fiber, so rather healthy for you.  However, it also resembles bird seed and has a distinctive "earthy" taste to it.   It can take some getting used to, but I've learned to like it.  

Anyway, I've decided to play around with it and came up with these cookies.  They are pretty good, moist, soft and chewy with a slight crunch from the amaranth seed.  They aren't perfectly nutritious (they do have some sugar in them) but for cookies, they're not too bad.

They were so good, hubby couldn't resist grabbing one while I was taking a picture.

Amaranth Seed Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour

1 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup amaranth grain

1 1/2 tsp xanthum gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips (gluten free)

Cream butter and sugar.   Beat in eggs, peanut butter and vanilla until well mixed and creamy.  Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well after each addition.  Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookies sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until done.   DO NOT over bake, they will be very soft when they come out of the oven.

Enjoy your Amaranth Seed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten Free Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love cookies.  My husband especially is a big fan!  Cookies are a staple around here for snacks for hubby, so because of that, I'm always on the quest for healthier, better cookies.  In fact my husband likes to tease me that he still married me despite the fact that while we were dating I made him cookies with dates instead of chocolate chips!  Little did he know, that my cookie concoctions would get healthier and healthier as time went on and the kids arrived, and started eating cookies themselves.

I experimented a bit to get the perfect recipe here.  These aren't super sweet, they have just a hint of sweetness.  If you like a really sweet cookie you might want to add some brown sugar in as well.

  

Gluten Free Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
8 eggs
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
2 cups coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts*
1 1/2 cups gluten free chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Stir in cinnamon, flour and salt.  Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips.  Form into balls and place on greased cookie sheet.  Flatten each ball slightly (these have no leavening agent, so they don't spread out at all on the pan...you can put them closer together than regular cookies). Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until done.  


*My secret to chopping/crushing nuts easily. My kids LOVE doing this.  I place the nuts in little plastic baggies, then wrap in another plastic bag or two, place on the floor and crush them with my feet. Gets the nuts nice and crushed, really easily.  Plus it's fun, and a great way to work out your frustrations.   Just don't tell my mom I do this please, I'm sure she would be aghast. ;)

Yes, these do have A LOT of eggs in them...but that just makes them healthier...more protein!!!  Cookies are a great way to get your eggs in, no?  Actually, these do have sugar in them, so they're not perfect, but if we're going to eat treats, why not make them as healthy as possible?  I like to use coconut flour in a lot of my baked goods due to the high fiber and high protein content.  Coconut flour has 4 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber per oz...as compared to just over 2 grams of protein and fiber in brown rice flour.  I love these cookies, since despite the sugar, they do have a lot of good stuff in them too!  I generally use Azukar Organics Natural Coconut Flour, as I was able to get it inexpensively in bulk and it seems to be a bit less processed than other brands.  This flour is a bit brownish, as compared to other brands where the flour is totally white.
 
I hope you enjoy these gluten free coconut flour chocolate chip cookies!!