Ireland is drowning in a sea of green... my kids went to school dressed up this morning. While my 5-year-old boy just put on an Irish rugby jersey (why make things complicated if you can keep it very simple?), may 7-year-old daughter was a lot more sophisticated: a very stylish skirt with different shades of green (which we bought in Walmart near Tampa, by the way!), the hairband had to be green, too, and… I can’t deny this is entirely age appropriate but instead of a shamrock on her cheek, she opted for green eye shadow instead. And then, the inevitable question: “Mummy, will you bake the green cookies?”
The cookies in question are low carb and even made it into our book “The Ketogenic Kitchen“. Instead of using flour or ground nuts, the “bulk” in these treats comes from ground sunflower seeds. Apart from tasting delicious (especially if lightly roasted and seasoned with herbs and spices), they add a nice flavour to many baked goods. They’re full of nutrients like Vitamin E, magnesium, B Vitamins and selenium, to name just a few. And much lower in carbohydrates than regular flour.
And apparently there’s something else in sunflower seeds: Chlorophyll! It reacts with the baking powder/soda in the recipe. When I made the cookies for the first time, I was shocked at how green they turn out after baking. It doesn’t look overly appetising at first when you don’t know what the exact reason for the green is. But for a day like today, it makes perfect sense to eat green cookies! If this is an issue for you- or it’s not St Patrick’s day- you can easily substitute the sunflower flour with ground almonds.
Makes 12 biscuits
Ingredients
55g soft butter
1 duck egg
55g erythritol
2 tbsp Yacon syrup or blackstrap molasses (optional)
2 tsp Vanilla essence
150g sunflower seeds, ground to a fine flour.
2tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
60g dark chocolate, e.g. Lindt 99%, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Using a hand blender, process butter and egg in a small bowl for a few seconds.
- Add erythritol and vanilla extract and whisk everything well.
- In a separate bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix.
- Add dry to wet ingredients and incorporate to a firm but wet dough. Gently fold in the chopped chocolate pieces.
- With your hands, form 12 flat biscuits, place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. If this is too messy, use 2 large spoons! Bake for 12 minutes.
Nutrition information (per cookie):
Net carbs 3.9g (15%)
Protein 3.5g (11%)
Fat 10.4g (74%)
Fibre 1.5g
Calories 127
