Grain-Free Sandwich Cookies With Pumpkin Butter

Grain-free sandwich cookies with pumpkin butter
Grain-free sandwich cookies with pumpkin butter

I have been on a kick, going back to old Foraged Dish recipes and taking new photos. It is insanely satisfying to compare the old ones to the new. Progress is difficult to measure day-by-day, but all of those days add up! I’m sure, in three years, I’ll look back at my photos from 2018 and roll my eyes. C'est la vie.

These sandwich cookies were one of my recent victims, and since it is the season for baking and pumpkin, I thought it would be a good opportunity to update the whole post. That means a few updates to the recipe, too:

  • Simplified. The original asked for both almond flour and coconut flour, but since 2015 I’ve discovered a much simpler grain-free shortbread cookie using just almond flour. I quite like the texture of the cookies, too! They are a bit chewy, stay together well, and have great almond and honey flavor.

  • Drizzled with chocolate. How can you make a boring cookie look a little fancier? Maybe you’re thinking frosting, which is true, but since this cookie is a sandwich I wanted the filling to shine. I drizzled each cookie with chocolate, which was just the right touch!

  • Doubled it. More is better right? In this case, there’s no doubt: the original recipe made about 6 sandwich cookies… what was 2015-me thinking?!?! A dozen is much more reasonable (but you still may want to double that if you’re cooking for a crowd).

Once baked, these cookies are stuffed with pumpkin butter, so the end result tastes a bit like pumpkin pie. Perfect match with a cappuccino! But I also experimented with filling the cookies with salted caramel. Oh. My. Goodness. Now that’s a treat! A bit like an alfajore, if you are familiar. I am definitely going to need to make an alfajore recipe now (Foraged Dish style, of course!).

Grain-free sandwich cookies with pumpkin butter
Grain-free sandwich cookies with pumpkin butter

Grain-Free Sandwich Cookies with Pumpkin Butter

Published October 26, 2015 by

Yield: 12-24, depending on size   |    Active Time: 60 minutes



Ingredients:

  • 2 cups finely ground almond flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin butter
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate

  • Directions:

    1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until incorporated. Add the melted butter or coconut oil, honey, and vanilla, and stir until a dough forms. Shape dough into a disc (about 1 inch thick), wrap in plastic wrap, and place in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour to chill.
    2. Preheat oven to 325°F. After dough has chilled, remove from fridge. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your baking pan.
    3. On a separate piece of parchment, use a rolling pin to roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut circles out of dough and place on baking sheet, with at least 1/2 inch between each cookie. Bake for 9 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool.
    4. Once cookies are fully cooled, spread pumpkin butter on one cookie, and then use another to create a sandwich. Set aside, and then continue until all of the cookies are sandwiched.
    5. Heat the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for 30-second intervals (string between each!) until chocolate is glossy and smooth. You can also do this in a double boiler (stir frequently). Drizzle melted chocolate over sandwich cookies. Allow chocolate to set before serving cookies.
    6. Tip: You can use any sort of jam to fill these cookies! I also made a few with salted caramel sauce and they were SO. GOOD.

    4 Comments

    Chopped Kale Salad with Bacon, Dates & Pecans

    Chopped Kale Salad with Bacon, Dates & Kale

    Two co-workers were talking about the best kale salad ever at this fancy restaurant downtown — Oak. They both noted that it was most memorable part of their meal. The salad.

    That conversation got my mind going, and somehow I invented a story in my head about that salad. In my mind, it had pecans, dates, and even bacon. It wasn’t just kale, there were other greens to lighten it up. And the dressing was tangy and sweet but not overpowering. I thought about that salad so much that I went ahead and made it (because why not?).

    Chopped Kale Salad with Bacon, Dates & Kale
    Chopped Kale Salad with Bacon, Dates & Kale

    It wasn’t until I went to write this post that I remembered the original inspiration (Oak’s famous salad), and figured I should probably look up what their kale salad actually contains. Boy was I off the mark!

    Shaved Apple & Kale Salad. Grana Padano, togarashi, candied almonds.

    I guess I have to just go try the original. Until then, I’m going to pretend my own kale salad is just as famous.

    Chopped Kale Salad with Bacon, Dates & Kale

    Chopped Kale Salad with Bacon, Dates & Pecans

    Published October 4, 2018 by

    Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes



    Ingredients:


    For the Salad:
  • 4 kale leaves, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • Sprinkle of salt
  • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup romaine, shredded
  • 1 cup radicchio, shredded
  • 6 medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
  • 4 slices cooked bacon, cooled and chopped in bite sized pieces
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Directions:

    1. Place kale in a salad bowl. Drizzle lightly with oil and a sprinkle of salt. Using your hands, “massage” the kale, rubbing the leaves with your hands until they are bright green and tender. This will make them easier to eat.
    2. Add shredded romaine and radicchio to the bowl, and toss to combine. Add bacon, dates, and pecans.
    3. Combine first four ingredients for vinaigrette in a small jar and shake to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over salad to your tastes and toss. Serve.

    Chewy Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free & Grain-Free)

    Chewy Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free & Grain-Free)

    If you make any cookie from this blog, let it be this one. I might regret saying that later, but it's how I feel now and what's a blog if not in-the-moment. 

    While I've used a lot of nut and seed butters in baking before (like these peanut butter blondies) tahini is something special in a cookie. 

    Chewy Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free & Grain-Free)
    Chewy Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free & Grain-Free)

    First let me say that I love thin, chewy, fresh-out-of-the-oven-soft cookies. Gooey. Warm. Indulgence. That what makes tahini ideal: its consistency and fat content allows it to spread out into a thin cookie, and even as the cookies cool they never get crispy. They maintain that soft, chewy bite for days. 

    Coconut sugar is also necessary here -- it's not something I usually use, opting for maple syrup or honey in most of my baking - but a crystalized sugar helps to glue the cookies together, so that everything doesn't just fall apart when you pick them up. So you can dip your cookie in a shot of espresso, or a glass of milk or cup of tea. 

    Chewy Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free & Grain-Free)

    Chewy Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Published May 17, 2018 by

    Serves: 20   |    Total Time: 30 minutes



    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup coconut sugar
    • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
    • 1 cup tahini (stirred well)
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla 
    • 1 egg
    • 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate bar (about 2 ounces)

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
    2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk briefly.
    3. Add tahini, vanilla, and egg to bowl, and use a spatula to stir until a stiff, sticky batter forms. Fold in chopped chocolate.
    4. Optional: place bowl of batter in the fridge for 10 minutes to allow dough to stiffen a bit more.
    5. Using your hands, roll dough into spheres by the heaping tablespoonful. Place spheres 2 inches apart of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and flatted slightly with your fingers.
    6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies have spread and are golden. Cookies will still be quite soft when you remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool at least 10 minutes before attempting to move them to a cooling wrack or a plate.

    4 Comments