Pumpkinseed Butter Goji Cookies

March 7th, 2015

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I’ve grown very used to making my own nut butters, it’s complete second nature by now. I buy nuts and seeds in bulk, which is cheaper, and blending them up to a buttery stage in my food processor is quick, easy and produces delicious results. 

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The other day I ran out of my homemade tahini and needed it as an emergency for a recipe, deciding to grab a jar at the store. I got a look at my local health food market nut butter shelf for the first time in a long time and was amazed at the variety of different nut and seed butters on display. A beautiful bright green butter caught my eye – it turned out to be sprouted pumpkinseed butter.

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I didn’t buy it that day, but the idea haunted me for a few weeks before I finally gave in and made my own pumpkinseed butter. Mine is not sprouted but toasted, and the color is not as brilliant but still very beautiful. After having it on toast and loving it, I imagined that the butter would be a nice base for baked goods. That’s when these cookies were born.
They are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with the pleasant addition of goji berries. If you don’t have goji, replace them with other dried fruit, chocolate pieces or nut of choice. Enjoy!

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Pumpkinseed Butter Goji Cookies
 (loosely adapted from here)

makes 16 cookies

for pumpkinseed butter
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

for cookies
1/4 cup oat flour, plus more if needed
 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup pumpkinseed butter (see below)
3 tablespoons coconut oil – soft, at room temperature
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup goji berries

to make pumpkinseed butter
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine pumpkin seeds with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt in a medium bowl, mix to coat. Spread on a parchment paper covered baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Let cool.
2. Place pumpkinseeds in a food processor and grind finely. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil through the funnel with machine still running. Continue to process until a ball of pumpkinseed butter forms. Scrape the walls of the food processor if necessary. Add more oil, 1 tablespoon at a time and continue processing until seeds turn into creamy, runny butter. You’ll need 1/2 cup of it for the recipe, keep the rest refrigerated in an air tight container and spread on toast or use in more baking.

to make cookies
1. Keep oven at 375 F. Combine 1/4 cup of oat flour, brown rice flour, oats and soda in a medium bowl.
2. Combine pumpkin butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a separate medium bowl and mix to combine.
3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir to combine. If the batter appears too runny, add more oat flour, about 2 tablespoons should be enough. Add goji berries.
4. Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Using a small (1 1/2″) ice-cream scooper or 2 teaspoons, scoop a cookie at a time and arrange on the sheet 2″ apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden brown. Let cool completely to firm up.

Tags: cookies, dessert, goji, pumpkin seeds

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