Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free Paleo Almond Pecan cookies

It’s gray and a bit lazy here in Missoula. I love the snow, and I love winter (it is my favorite season). “Real” winter is one of the reasons we moved here. But the “real” winter has faded away in the last few days, with drizzle replacing snow, and mud replacing the white-covered grass up here at the house.

So we’ve been feeling house-bound, Annika and I. Or at least I have. We can’t tell if she’s teething or going through a growth spurt, but she alternates refusing to eat and nurse to gobbling up anything we give her. Today we’ve attempted 4 naps and she’s only taken 1. She’s learning to walk, but is still too afraid to do it on her own, so she wants us holding her hands constantly. All this has led to an exhausted Momma and Daddeeee. (I love the way she says Daddy – it comes out “Duh” (space) “Deeh.”)

My gluten-free snack foods have been bugging my tummy again, as grains often do. (And as they do for a lot of my patients also!) So I bought almond flour and coconut flour and I’m getting into Paleo cooking again.

This afternoon I modified this recipe to make some GF, DF, SF cookies that would be better on the blood sugar than my normal fare.  Besides the fact that high grain diets can contribute to dysbiosis, I have found that grains and baked goods made with regular flours tend to spike blood sugar rapidly.  The problem?  Blood sugar spikes lead to blood sugar crashes, which none of us need – especially not an exhausted Mom at three in the afternoon.

I popped the cookies into the oven not knowing what to expect.  Yesterday I modified another recipe for pumpkin paleo cookies, which started out at a disaster (eventually recovered by extra time in the oven and liberal application of honey just before eating).  But 5 minutes into bake time I knew we had a winner.  These cookies will fill your house with the most delicious toasted pecan and caramel smell! Even Jason, my olfactory-challenged husband thought they smelled delicious.

These cookies really beg for some afternoon coffee, or “Fika” in Swedish (pronounced “Feeka”).  Afternoon coffee is to Swedes as Tea is to the British.  Just like the Brits, Swedes require small snacks for their coffee break – often sweets like cinnamon rolls, applecakes, sweet breads, marzipan cakes and cocoa balls.  But here in the states, my Swedish family usually eats store-bought cookies or scones unless we have a special occasion.  These cookies are firm enough to dunk – an important Fika characteristic.

So as I sit here listening to Annika lament about her 2nd nap over the monitor, I am a bit homesick.  I hope these cookies brighten your day as they have mine.  (Miss you Mom.)

Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free Paleo Almond Pecan cookies

2 c almond flour
1/2 c chopped pecans (preferably toasted pecans)
3 Tbsp coconut sugar (I cheated and used regular sugar, making it not-so-paleo)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp molasses (Organic is a must! The way they refine molasses means that any pesticides will get concentrated along with the sugar.)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp applesauce or finely chopped apple
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Mix the almond flour, pecans, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir thoroughly to saturate all the nut pieces with the wet ingredients. Grease a baking pan with GF cooking spray, organic grass-fed butter (not DF, obviously), or Spectrum Spread (which is what I used). Roll small golf-ball-sized pieces of dough into a ball and flatten with your hand; place on greased cookie sheet. (Should make 12 cookies.) Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes.

Hey look – the sun came out!