Kumquat, Flax, and Coconut Cookie Recipe; Plus the Kitchen Sink

13 April 2014

I concocted a cookie recipe yesterday afternoon for Phoenix Games at Carol's:

Kumquat-Coconut Flax Cookies (“Paleo-Cookies”)

about a dozen large, juicy kumquats, seeds removed and chopped finely (I used my Ulu knife and board);

about 1/2-3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut;

1/2-3/4 c. brown sugar;

4 c. flax meal;

about a half pound of butter;

1 t baking soda;  and

1 t salt (I used refined sea salt)

Mix flax meal, salt, baking soda together in medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

chop kumquats roughly and irregularly, leaving some larger pieces and some finer, with most or all of the juice coming out of the fruit. Set aside.

beat butter until softened, and add brown sugar; mix together until a thick paste forms. Add kumquats and mix thoroughly. Stir in flax meal in batches until completely incorporated. Add shredded coconut and distribute it evenly through batter. Batter will be loose, but coherent enough to scoop with a spoon.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Using silicone mat on the baking sheet, bake batches of 12-18 (1) T.-sized cookies, leaving a couple inches between. Time baking around 12-15 minutes, until cookies are dry and ends/edges of coconut brown. Cool for one minute on baking sheet, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container when cooled (they will harden after being removed from oven).

These were popular among the gamers, especially Julie and Ralph, who are following a "Paleo" diet, even though the cookies do contain cane sugar as opposed to turbinado, and butter as opposed to coconut oil. I think I'll try to make these in the future with coconut oil in place of the butter. They might taste a little more fruity, and that would be nice.

Something to try after the fumigation and Peter will be here to help me eat them, because even though Kat will eat them, she prefers my "kitchen sink" cookies that contain just about every allergen known to baking:

“Kitchen Sink” Cookies

(the ones I made to clean out the pantry of already-opened ingredients)

3 c. a-p four, plus more for rolling, if necessary;

1 t salt (again, I used refined sea salt);

1.5 t baking soda;

about 1 T. lemon juice;

about 1/2-3/4 c. light molasses;

quarter pound sweet butter;

8 oz. brick Neufchatel cheese;

2 T. almond oil;

rest of an already-opened bag of almond meal (about 1/4-1/3 c.);

1 extra-large egg;

depending on what flavors you favor:

cinnamon (I used about a tablespoon of this);

nutmeg (I used about a teaspoon);

cloves (about a half teaspoon);  and

coriander (about a half teaspoon)

Stir together flour, almond meal, salt, and baking soda. Add spices and set aside.

Beat butter and Neufchatel cheese until softened and well-incorporated and light. Add egg, lemon juice, and molasses, and beat together for about a minute. Add dry ingredients about a cup at a time until it is all incorporated. The batter will be quite thick, and it will be work to get the last bit of it mixed in. Knead in almond oil to soften batter. Refrigerate for several minutes while oven is preheating to 350ºF.

Roll dough into balls with diameters from about 1”-2”, depending on what size you want the finished product. They do not spread much during baking.

Bake in trays of 12-18. Use silicone baking mat on cookie sheet to prevent any possible sticking, though these cookies will probably not stick anyway, with as much butter and almond oil (from the added oil and the meal) as they contain. Time them for about 10-14 minutes, depending on what size you make and how soft you like your cookie interiors.

Cool on baking sheet for one minute, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

These go really well with tea, coffee, and coconut, flax, or almond milk.

Yum.