Reading and…. is a new semi-weekly posting of recommended books. These will include books on health, nutrition, cooking, alternative living, environmental issues, spirituality, or anything else I think helpful, inspiring, enjoyable, or smile inducing. If you have a book you would like me to review, please contact me at meghan (at) meghantelpner (dot) com.
Diets, Desserts, and Dogs is one of my favourite online sources for amazing, Making Love In The Kitchen approved, whole food, healthy, simple and always delicious recipes. Blogstress behind this fabulous blog, Ricki Heller, has just published an outstanding collection of her sweetest recipes, accompanied by inspiring information on living a better life while on a restrictive diet.
“I realize that many people may think the term ‘healthy dessert’ is an oxymoron,” says Ricki. I hear this all the time too. She goes on to explain that when she was forced to modify her diet for health reasons, But wasn’t about to give up the goodness of sweet treats just because she couldn’t use traditional ingredients any longer. I hear that! Hence the development of her brand new book Sweet Freedom
All the recipes are appropriate for those with food sensitivities or allergies (such as lactose intolerance, allergy to casein, sensitivity to refined sugar); vegans; those on kosher diets; or moms who simply want to create healthy, all-natural desserts for their kids.
As Ricki, like myself, is a holistic nutritionist, she gets it in the same way I do. She shares my philosophy that the best, most health supportive, delicious food results from using the best, most health supportive delicious ingredients. In addition to all the great recipes, Ricki also provides practical and applicable information on alternative flours, whole sweeteners and other tips on baking up unprocessed goodies.
I love her recipes and the one I have included below was by far and away the biggest hit at my ladies tea party. Please keep in mind when you compare the look of my cookies to hers that I have never been very good at following the directions that come with recipes. I look at the ingredient lists and then do what I think I am supposed to do with them, hence my cookies below looking very different from Ricki’s original recipe for Maple Flax Cookies.
Before you get baking. Get the book!
Ricki’s Marvelous Maple Flax Cookies
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp Sucanat or other unrefined evaporated cane juice
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely ground flax seeds
3 Tbsp whole flax seeds
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Meghan’s Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix all ingredients together with hands or spoon
- Dollop about 1 Tbs worth onto cookie sheet and form into cookie shape- not too thin though as they do flatten as they cook
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes.
Ricki’s Directions (which I am only reading now for the first time and seeing why mine look a little different from hers)
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a mini food processor or coffee grinder, whir the oats until they resemble a coarse meal. Pour the meal into a small bowl and set aside.
- To the unwashed processor bowl, add the coconut oil, maple syrup, Sucanat and ground flax seeds. Blend until combined well and smooth. Set aside while you measure the rest of the dry ingredients, or at least 2 minutes.
- To the bowl of oats, add the whole flax seeds, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and mix to distribute everything. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir to create a sticky “dough”.
- Using a melon baller or teaspoon, drop the mixture onto cookie sheet about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Do not flatten the cookies (they will spread on their own).
- Bake 10-13 minutes, until puffed and cracked on top and dry on the edges. Allow to cool completely before removing from sheet (they will firm up as they cool). Makes 8-10 cookies. May be frozen.
Meghan, thanks so much for this amazing review of the book! I am so glad you liked it, and the recipes.
It’s great to find someone who shares the same food philosophy–and be able to create any of the recipes on your site with confidence that I’ll like it!
Yum, I will definitely be trialing that recipe!
drool! these cookies look fabulous. I’m sure your cookies tasted just fine anyway Meghan ;o) Thanks for sharing the review and the recipe here.
Enjoy your Sun-day – it’s cloudy and very cool here today in New Yawk (frown).
Heh. I’d been thinking of doing a similar feature on my blog, after finding that Amazon’s bookstore code doesn’t stick in WordPress. It disappears.
I’m looking to bake today or tomorrow. Maybe I’ll try these.
[...] of Diets, Desserts and Dogs. We have been blog comrades for a little while now and just last week I reviewed her brand new book. It was great to meet her in person. She was delightful and sweet enough to give me the hard copy [...]
These cookies are fantastic. I’ve a huge crush on oatmeal cookies to start off with, and these are the first I have made since going gluten free. Curiously, it is the flax seeds that keep me coming back for more…
Hi, This cookies look great and I’m going to give them a try. One question though – I heard that heating ground flax seed can harm the essential fatty acids. What is your take on this? Thanks!
Don’t know why I didn’t see this before, but re: heating ground flax, according to the Flax Council of Canada, the interior temperature of the cookie never gets quite high enough to harm the flax oils. . . well, that’s their take on it!
heating ground flax is not the best practice in regards to preserving the healing properties of the EFA’s. But at the same time… this is a cookie