March 7th, 2015
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.
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.
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!
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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December 19th, 2014
I want to wish you all a happy holiday season and thank you for your readership, for trying our dishes and for buying our book (in English and in French)! Hope you enjoyed this year of recipes, we have many more coming to you in 2015. Stay happy and healthy.
Even though I often use sage in my savory dishes, this fudge marks the first time I tried it in a dessert, and it was a revelation. The combination of rich, dark chocolate and earthy, piney sage makes for a very festive treat. I added goji berries for their brilliant red color and medicinal properties.
I imagine sage would also be a great addition to cookies, crumbles and other baked goods. A word of warning: you should like the taste of sage in order to enjoy this fudge, and if you’re not sure, try to add less at first. You can also completely omit it, the fudge stands very well on its own.
Happy Holidays!
Chocolate Fudge with Sage and Goji Berries
(inspired by Emma’s Raw Chocolate Fudge)
3/4 cup dark chocolate – finely chopped
1 1/2 cup (12 oz) sesame tahini
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (preferably raw cacao)
1 tablespoon maca powder – optional
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
about 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus more for sprinkling on top
handful of goji berries
Melt chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a double broiler, add tahini and stir until completely smooth. Add cocoa, maca (if using), vanilla extract, salt and sage. Continue to mix to incorporate. Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, extending it to the sides. Pour the chocolate-tahini mixture into the dish, smooth with a spoon on top. Sprinkle with sage and goji berries. Place into the freezer until set completely. Take the tray out and remove fudge by the extended edges of parchment paper. Cut into bars and keep in the freezer, covered. Enjoy straight from the freezer, they melt fast.
Tags: chocolate, dessert, fudge, goji, sage
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October 23rd, 2014
I’m back from a very inspiring trip to Italy.
It seems that back home, autumn has taken over and there is no turning back. Cold season has come hand in hand with fall – everyone around is sneezing and sniffling.
I came up with this healing drink in a hurry, when my husband felt a sickness coming on a day prior to an important meeting. He drank it before bed and woke up feeling no signs of a cold, no joke! I later tried this method on myself, and it worked once again.
It goes without saying that you don’t need to be sick to enjoy this medicinal drink.
The mix of nutritionally dense goji berries, alkalizing lemon, anti-inflammatory turmeric and raw honey is sure to give your immunity a good boost. The flavor of the tea is bright, much like its color, and will have a warming effect.
When Organic Burst sent me a sampling of their pure, ethically traded super-powders, I knew what to do with their Baobab powder right away – it took this Goji Tea from very good to dynamite.
Here is a chance for Golubka readers to try the baobab powder, along with spirulina, wheatgrass, maca and other healing products from Organic Burst. Leave a comment here until November 5th, 2014 for a chance to win their Full Range set of nutritious goodies (we are giving away two).
Goji Tea
1/3 cup goji berries
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1 lemon – juice
1 teaspoon honey (preferably raw)
1-2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon Baobab powder – optional
1/2 teaspoon bee pollen – optional
Place goji berries in a heat-proof dish, bowl or large mug. Pour boiling or near-boiling water over the berries, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Pour into a blender, add in the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth and foamy. Pour into mugs and enjoy hot or warm.
Tags: baobab, drink, goji, turmeric
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