“A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.” -Barbara Johnson
Pumpkin season is here. Can’t miss it. Decorating nearly every store, restaurant, office, door stoop are the bulbous orange fruit. It’s one of my favourite sights for it means the holiday season is just around the corner. Try our Honey Walnut cookies for a change this Thanksgiving season! Your guests will secretly thank you for giving them a temporary respite from turkey and pumpkin. Here’s how it all started:
Cruising the aisle at Trader Joe’s, my eye lit upon their Pecan cookies. Now if you’ve never tried it before, do yourself a favor and try it once with all its rich, buttery goodness. Then imagine you had just burnt calories like an olympic runner and have another cookie. Or ten. Later on you can go back to the diet that you swore to stick to two New Years ago and are still ‘working on it’. They are that good. Since I am ‘still working on’ my last New Year’s resolution, which I’m sure I was drunk on good cheer while making it, I looked away from the cookies prettily laid on the shelf, and left with just the groceries from my list.
Disaster averted, I hurried home, packed away the groceries and started taking out ingredients for making cookies. One of my taste-tasters, Big T, looked in askance as I brought out flour, baking powder and honey, for it is well known that I seldom bake. It’s not for lack of trying but my oven is temperamental and baking just is not my strong suit. That said, I do occasionally try to make a pact with my oven – I give it long periods of rest, he gives me somewhat even heating and fairly reliable thermostat readings (or even just a reading). Today was one of those days. I had cookies on my mind ever since setting eyes on those pecan cookies at TJ.
This recipe is largely adapted from Baking Bites. I like it for a few things it does not do: It does not use eggs nor butter – this allows me to imagine it’s healthier and thus acceptable within the confines of my imaginary diet, and great for my vegan friends. It also does not involve a mixer nor take more than 30 minutes to make. Best accompanied with a glass of milk, almond milk or soy, and extra doses of good cheer.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅙ cup blossom honey
- ⅙ cup regular honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp rum extract (optional)
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat the oven to 350F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, mix oil, honeys, vanilla and rum extracts. Add to the flour mixture and stir until almost combined. The consistency should be mildly sticky but still easily crumbly.
- Add the walnuts and stir until walnuts are well mixed in the dough.
- Make 1' balls from the dough and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The dough should be easily moulded by hand.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. The cookies should be just turning brown on the edges and very slightly soft when lightly probed with the back of a spoon.
- Remove from the oven. Using a fork or knife, gently lift the cookies to make sure the cookies are not stuck onto the parchment paper. Let it cool for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Rum: Optional. Add for a more unique but subtle flavor.
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I really liked them they look beautiful. For my taste I would prefer less sweet. Have you tried less sweet.? I’m afraid I ruin them if I take sugar out.
I’m so sorry for not replying earlier.
I have not tried it with less sugar than this. Our cookies are generally already quite low in sugar; personally I think any less would change the character of the cookies as a ‘sweet treat’!
Did you try it a different amount?