Garam Masala Cacao Ginger Cookies
Yes, cookies, cookies, cookies!
I spent all day in the kitchen yesterday. My sweet boyfriend was in the neighboring corridor editing and we joined in a complimentary flow which led me to bake and craft and craft and bake. I had dreams and visions reawaken of a community kitchen- maybe called the ‘Red Barn’ or something inherently rootsy, homey, and old world feeling. Maybe it would be called ‘The Nourishing Roots Kitchen”. Either way, I see all these long wood tables, wooden walls, plants and candles simplistically adorned…there wouldn’t be your traditional cash register to pay. There would be membership options so that no money had to be exchanged per meal. There would be a locally, seasonally crafted menu offered just several nights a week. People would store their own artful wooden bowls, plates, and utensils that are included in membership at the Kitchen for each time they ate. It would always be intimate.
We would acommodate no more than 10-12 people per meal night. The other nights would be dedicated to cooking classes and theme nights. There would be a kids night with costumes and treats. Healthy treats. Kids could have healthy Halloween once a month!
Let’s teach our children how to be empowered around food, with joy and liberation, not restriction or denial.
We could also incorporate kids theatre…teach them about the food, allow them to make it, experience it, enjoy it, and then perform about it (atop the wooden tables!) Nights for mothers, nights for fathers, teenagers, elders…We could have resident chefs or sous chefs from the community who’d feature their most rooted family recipe in a healthy adapted form. We would be all about adaptations of family recipes….Chicken Divan, Beef Strogganoff, Sloppy Joes…and undoubtedly, incredibly luscious, joy fostering, honeyed morsels.
There would be an alchemy nook lined with sauerkraut, kimchee, kombucha, ginger beer, love cordials, Ayurvedic jams and other heart enhancing creations- representing fullness in creation, seeding, cultivating, the womb of that Ocean Mother patiently awaiting to bear her fruit. The art of yin.
I see it as a place of Motherhood in the collective sense. A place where all are held in the name of Nourishment. A place where families unite and feel as though they are home too. A place that truly feels like your kitchen. Or perhaps the kitchen you’ve always wanted! A place where dinner members can help with the menu, offer ideas and inspiration. We might bottle and jar our goodies, or we may just keep it in house. Haven’t decided yet. 😉
And there would most certainly be seasons where ever this Kitchen called home. Seasons, snow, soup and an absolute need for a upright old fashioned coat rack by the front door.
Either way, it’s rooted in flow, ease, grace, enjoyment, and connection- and that’s where these cookies came from. The pungent spice Garam Masala gives me that feeling of fullness, comfort, and complete acuity of cellular reception. Garam means “hot” and Masala means “mixture”, in Hindi. गरम मसाला. The composition of the blend of these ground spices vary across differing regions of India. The typical garam masala consists of cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and black pepper. It has anti-inflammatory properties, helps to control blood sugar, enhances digestion, and brain function.
Cacao (unprocessed raw chocolate) has all its antioxidants intact and is known to be one of the healthiest foods on our planet! Sourced from cacao pods hanging on a cacao tree, cacao contains incredibly high amounts of magnesium and chromium. The nutrition density of cacao benefits every function of the body with high levels of Vitamin A, B, C, E, Magnesium, Copper, Calcium, Manganese, Zinc, Sulphur, Iron, Omega 6 Fatty Acids, Enzymes, Soluble Fiber, beneficial phytonutrients (chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants).
So I crafted these gluten free cookies ~ I will do my best to reiterate the measurantants I used (or didn’t). Mainly, trust your kitchen gut, awaken your inner alchemist, and have FUN.
Recipe:
Culinary creative process:
2 cups freshly ground almond flour made from raw organic almonds (Bob’s Red Mill is good too)
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder (if you’re in San Diego, In Harmony Herbs has amazing powdered and dried herbs that are great for baking and alchemizing (elderberry powder, rose hip, amalaki, etc.)
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP Garam Masala
1 TBSP Cacao powder
1 TBSP freshly grated organic ginger
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup ghee (could use coconut oil)
1/4-1/2 cup jerusalem artichoke syrup (J.A.S. is a superfood syrup made from the jerusalem artichoke root that contains FOS (Fructooligosaccharides) that don’t affect the blood sugar levels and also contain prebiotics, which aid in digestive flora. (could use maple syrup or coconut palm sugar, however I like the moist texture of the syrups).
1/4 cup organic blackstrap molasses (or less depending on how sweet you’d like it)
procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix almond flour, buckwheat flour, garam masala, cacao, salt, baking soda, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.
In a small saucepan, slightly melt coconut oil or ghee just enough to whisk in with the eggs and other wet ingredients.
In another mixing bowl, whisk eggs, slightly melted ghee/coconut oil, sweetener of choice, and molasses. Blend the wet ingredients with the dry into a nice moist cookie batter.
Lightly grease your baking tray with some more ghee or coconut oil.
Use a TBSP to scoop out little button shaped cookies for a more finished look. Or just scoop em out and onto the tray!
Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your desire for softer or crispier cookies.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Cacao coocoos,
Whitney
