Chicagoist Bakes: Almond, Flax Seed and Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Roger Kamholz in Food on Aug 23, 2011 6:20PM
For their health benefits, flavor, ease of use and culinary range, whole grains are hard to top. All of the above are on full display in "A Grain of Truth: Cooking with Whole Grains," a hands-on cooking class currently being offered by The Chopping Block. Chef/instructor Sara Salzinski's menu for the class, which we attended recently at TCB's Lincoln Square location, includes Bulghur Burgers with Chipotle Mayo and Arugula Salad; Grilled Summer Vegetable and Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette; and Almond, Flax Seed and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
If you stumbled over the words bulghur and quinoa, you're not alone. To many home cooks, these grains may be exotic and unfamiliar. As we learned in this terribly informative class, both products are pretty darn easy to work with (if you've ever made boiled rice or rice pilaf, you already know how to cook them). Bulghur, Chef Salzinski explained, is simply the "cracked" version of wheatberries. It's popular in Middle Eastern cuisine and is becoming increasingly easy to find at supermarkets. Quinoa hails from the Andes Mountains, in South America, and, besides being tasty, has the added benefit of being a complete protein.
Salzinski's recipe for Almond, Flax Seed and Chocolate Chip Cookies, detailed below, perhaps best showed off how easy it can be to introduce healthy grains into your - or, say, your children's - diet without any complaints about "bird food" and the like. (Flax seeds are high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.) It calls for no butter or any electric beating - just a little hand mixing with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. A fair trade for a delicious cookie.
The Chopping Block will offer "A Grain of Truth" at the Merchandise Mart on September 3, 13 and 26, and at the Lincoln Square location on September 21.
Almond, Flax Seed and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 8 to 10 large cookies
Active time: 15 minutes
Start to finish: 30 minutes
1 1/4 cups whole ("old-fashioned") oats, ground to a fine powder in a food processor
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup egg whites
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl combine oats, flax seed, wheat germ, baking soda, salt, sugar, brown sugar, egg whites, applesauce and peanut butter. Stir in chocolate chips, cranberries and almonds.
Use a large (#16) scoop to place dough onto parchment- or silicone-lined sheet trays. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a light, golden brown. Allow to cool completely on the sheet tray before eating.