Chickpea, Coconut Cookies

Every time I bake I wish I could be closer to my friends and family in Rome so to share my creations with them. When I'm there I usually bring cookies and cakes to work to the joy of my co-workers, to my mom, dad and brother that miss my baked goods a lot, and to Laura, one of my dearest friends, especially, that lives close to me. I pass by her place, on a saturday morning or on a weekday after work, ring the doorbell and hand out my latest production. She makes coffee, we have the cookies mingled with chats, smiles and the joyful chirping of her wonderful baby girl. But when I'm there I have a hole in my heart: my husband on the other side of the world.

Sometimes they tell me that I'm lucky because I can have the best of both worlds, living -a small- part of the year in Rome and the other part in Edmonton, but while this is true on some level, what they don't know is that you feel continually split in two, and although you actually are at home in both countries and houses, yet you never feel at home anywhere. There's always something that you miss from your other house, your other closet, your suspended life across the ocean. You live in a constant longing mood. And anxiety starts to build when you get closer to the departing date, from Rome to Canada, from Canada to Rome. It has already started, I can feel it.

Baking helps me relieve the tensions, the stresses, the too much thinking. And I bake a lot. So, when I'm in Canada, me and my husband mostly, my step son and his partner sometimes, we are the ones who eat my baked goods. This food blog is actually responsible for few additional inches on our waistlines 🙂 . Not these cookies in particular, 'cause they are very simple, vegan, and gluten-free. They have a very intriguing flavor: the chickpea flour, coconut flour, pine nuts, cinnamon, brown sugar and lemon zest, subtly melded with water and coconut oil, all contribute to create a bouquet of aromas that appease your sweet craving without letting you feel guilty for indulging in some treats.

The color is golden and warm, very autumnal, the texture is a lovely mix of chewy and crumbly, the essence is a bit of nutty, sweet and tangy. A delightful break from your usual cookie.

If you are a lover of healthy snacks, give them a try, you might be charmed by the peculiar flavor of the chickpea flour and its delightful fragrance.

Song of the day, the acoustic version of: "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes & Hailee Steinfeld.

Chickpea, Coconut Cookies [V. & G.-F.]

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• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 25 5-cm cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 140 g (1 cup) chickpea flour, lightly toasted
• 20 g (¼ cup) pine nuts (or other nuts of your liking)
• 20 g (¼ cup) coconut flour
• 50 g (¼ cup + 1 Tbsp) light brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 lemon, the zest
• 60 ml (approx. 4 Tbsp) water
• 60 ml (approx. 4 Tbsp) vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchement paper.
2. In a pan over low heat, toast the chickpea flour for about 5-8 minutes, stirring constantly and avoiding it to burn. It has to reach a golden color and develop a sweet fragrance.
3. In a mixer add brown sugar, lemon zest, pine nuts and cinnamon and mix until it forms a fine powder.
4. Let the toasted chickpea flour cool down a bit then add it to the sugar/cinnamon/lemon mix.
5. Add water, vegetable oil and coconut flour. The dough will be wet and oily.
6. With the help of a rolling pin, roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it to a 4-5 mm thickness.
7. Using a 5-cm round cookie cutter (or whichever other shape you like), cut the dough to form the cookies and place them gently on the prepared baking sheet.
8. Cook for 10-11 minutes. The cookies will still be soft, they will harden later.
9. Place them on a wire rack and let them cool.

Notes

Since the chickpea flour does not contain gluten, toasting it in the pan helps building the texture of the dough.
The cookies will stay fresh if stored in a tin box for up to 7 days.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

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Ricetta in italiano:

Biscotti Vegani con Farina di Ceci e Cocco

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• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 20-25 biscotti (diametro 5 cm) 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 140 g di farina di ceci
• 20 g di pinoli
• 20 g di farina di cocco
• 50 g di zucchero di canna
• 1 cucchiaino di cannella
• Scorza di limone non trattato
• 60 ml di acqua
• 60 ml di olio di semi di mais

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Instructions

1. Per prima cosa, tostare la farina di ceci: in questo modo, ne verrà esaltato l’aroma. Versare la farina in una padella calda e mescolare spesso, avendo cura di non bruciarla. La farina è tostata al punto giusto quando avrà sprigionato un piacevole profumo ed assunto una delicata nota arancione (non marrone!).
2. Nel frattempo, nel bicchiere di un frullatore, riunire lo zucchero di canna integrale, la scorza di limone (oppure di arancia), i pinoli e la cannella. Frullare il tutto fino ad ottenere una polvere impalpabile.
3. Quando la farina di ceci è pronta, rimuoverla dalla padella e lasciarla intiepidire per alcuni minuti.
4. Unire dunque il miscuglio di zucchero, pinoli ed aromi e mescolare con acqua, olio e farina di cocco. Si dovrà ottenere un impasto molto morbido e leggermente unto.
5. Stendere l’impasto su un foglio di carta da forno, aiutandosi con un matterello. Per agevolare la stesura, si consiglia di coprire l’impasto con un foglio di carta da forno.
6. Ottenere così un disco dallo spessore di 4-5 mm. Ricavare poi dei biscotti utilizzando uno stampino rotondo dal diametro di 5 cm (si possono utilizzare anche altre formine). Con attenzione, staccare i biscotti con una paletta e sistemarli su una teglia foderata con carta da forno.
7. I ritagli si possono impastare nuovamente ed ottenere altri biscotti.
8. Cuocere i biscotti in forno già caldo, a 180°C, per 10-11 minuti. Terminato il tempo di cottura, i biscotti risulteranno ancora morbidi ma leggermente dorati: man mano che si raffreddano, i dolcetti assumeranno una consistenza friabile.

Notes

Conservare i biscotti in un barattolo di latta per 7-10 giorni.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

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Nicoletta

I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.