The Mindful Foodie

Baking is chemistry. Getting a tiny element wrong can mean a huge disaster. That’s why following a recipe to the letter is crucial. But this time, there was no recipe. I was making something I concocted in my head. I like to experiment sometimes, you see. Fortunately, it worked. Otherwise, I would’ve had to eat a whole batch of not-so-good cookies!

Why was I experimenting? I wanted to make cookies that were not only gluten-free, but also vegan – which would make it suitable for anyone with dairy and egg allergies as well.

These little gems, besides being yummy, are actually good for you, too. They’re full of protein from the quinoa, buckwheat and almonds, low in saturated fats, and are not all that sweet. While maple and rice syrup are all quality, natural sugars, they’re still sugars, so I prefer to keep them at a minimum. If you have a sweet tooth or are serving the cookies to guests, add the rapadura* (or muscavado) sugar in the amount stated in the ingredients list. I wouldn’t add anymore of the syrups, as the dough will become too wet, making it difficult to shape the cookies.

As for the flavour, the orange is quite subtle; the cardamom, a bit more powerful. But how I love cardamom! It reminds me of my mum’s homemade sweets, like barfi and gulab jamun – yum! While these biscuits are nothing like Indian sweets, the cardamom’s heady aroma tricks my senses. But if you dislike cardamom, simply leave it out.

Bake and enjoy with a cup of tea – or even for breakfast!

Cardamom & Orange Quinoa Cookie Recipe

Makes about 24 cookies

Note: I used Australian measurements, where 1 cup = 250 mLs

Ingredients

• 1¼ cup quinoa flakes
• 1 cup whole almonds
• 2 organic oranges (will need the zest and ½ cup juice)
• ¾ cup buckwheat flour
• ¾ brown rice flour
• 4 plump green cardamom pods or ¼ tsp ground
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
• ¼ cup rapadura* or light muscavado sugar
• 1/3 cup (8o mLs) almond oil
• 1/3 cup (80 mLs) rice syrup
• 100 mLs maple syrup

*Rapadura sugar, also known as panela, is made from evaporating pure sugar cane juice over low heat, which is then crystallised. Other than the excess water, nothing else is removed, so it’s rich in vitamins and minerals that are naturally found in the sugar cane plant. Rapadura sugar can be found in health food and organic stores.

Method

Preheat oven to 170°C (conventional). Dry roast the almonds and quinoa flakes in the oven, on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper for 8 minutes (you can do this on separate trays, particularly if you have a smaller oven). Once done, set aside to cool (keep the baking paper to bake the cookies). In the meantime, zest the oranges and place the zest in a bowl. Set aside. Now juice the oranges. You’ll need half a cup of juice for this recipe. If you end up with more, either reduce it in a pot over medium heat to half a cup, or drink the excess! Then add the juice to the zest and keep aside.

Next, grind the almonds in a food processor until it resembles a coarse meal. It’s ok if you have some chunky pieces of almond. It all adds to the texture. Pour it into a large mixing bowl. Now, grind the quinoa flakes into a coarse meal and add it to the ground almonds. If you’re using cardamom pods, remove the black seeds and grind them into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Thoroughly mix the cardamom powder and the remaining dry ingredients with the quinoa and almond meals. If you’re using sugar, stir it in at this point, too.

Whisk the almond oil, maple and rice syrups with the zest and juice; add this wet mix to the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly. You’ll end up with a wet, sticky mixture. To shape the cookies, take about a tablespoon of mixture into your hands, roll it into a ball and flatten onto the baking tray lined with paper. The cookies should be about 3–5mm thick. Leave about a centimetre between each cookie – you may need to use 2 baking trays to fit them all in.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown. If you notice your cookies are browning too quickly, turn down the heat by 10°C. Completely cool on a wire rack before enjoying. Store any remaining cookies in an airtight container. I usually line the container with the baking paper.