Making Cookies Better

Yesterday was my son’s fifth birthday, and I found myself a bit unprepared.

We had celebrated a week early with a big Star Wars party for 24 small children and their accompanying adults.

In addition to cleaning and decorating, I made a homemade coconut flour cake with honey butter cream frosting and some scrumptious but nutritious snacks like bacon wrapped dates, squash soup, wilted kale in butter, grass fed beef hot dogs with homemade cultured ketchup and sweet potatoes fried in coconut oil.  Needless to say, it felt like quite a bit of work, so when his actual birthday rolled around, I was planning to keep it simple.

Then, at 9:30am on his birthday, I found out that I was expected to bring a birthday treat for his school party at noon.  “Don’t worry,” said my ever-supportive husband, “I will just pick something up on the way.”

“Uh-huh,” I replied, milling through my head all of the processed junky treats he could find in the few mile stretch between my house and the school. Not a chance.

So, what’s a Real Food obsessed mama going to do when she’s got a couple of hours and 12 expectant preschoolers waiting on the other end?  Well, make cookies, of course!

Yes, I could have bought some packaged cupcakes or cookies and put them on a pretty plate, but I stand firm in the need for Real Food, even when it comes to sweets.  This wasn’t the baking equivalent to brain surgery – but Real Food ingredients make the standard chocolate chip cookie practically nutritious.

The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, Real Food Style

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour sprouted wheat flour (where to buy sprouted flours)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt Celtic sea salt (where to buy sea salt)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened [from grass-fed Jersey cows]
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar  Sucanat or Alter Ego Mascobado - Unrefined Cane sugar (where to buy unrefined sweeteners)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar   Skip this sugar – the recipe is great without it!
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract [handmade from Tahitian vanilla beans]
• 2 large eggs [from local, pasture raised hens]
• 2 cups NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels  Sunspire Fair Trade Organic 65% Cacao Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients, set aside; cream together butter and sugars, beat in eggs and add vanilla; blend in flour mixture slowly, fold in chocolate chips.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of batter onto preheated baking sheets; bake 9-12 minutes or until edges are nicely brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Why My Cookies are Better than Betty Crocker’s

First of all, these cookies don’t just taste as good as the traditional chocolate chip cookies – the sprouted wheat, unrefined sugars and salt, and pastured butter and eggs make these cookies taste SO MUCH BETTER!  On the nutrition front:

• Sprouted wheat promotes health.  Grains and nuts contain phytic acid, an anti-nutrient which blocks the absorption of minerals.  When wheat is sprouted, soaked, or soured it becomes more digestible, more delicious, and less disruptive to digestion.
• Unrefined Sea Salt is essential to health, whereas refined salts contribute to health issues.
• Butter, especially from grass-fed cows is a nutrient-dense superfood.  Please don’t ever consume margarine or other butter substitutes.
• Sucanat and other unrefined sweeteners have not been stripped are therefore mineral-rich whereas refined sugars are like pure crack. Whether refined or not, sugar is still sugar, and should be consumed in moderation only.
• Real vanilla extract (as opposed to imitation) contains only vodka infused with vanilla beans.  No fake chemical flavors.
• Eggs from pasture-raised hens are a rich source of saturated fat, cholesterol, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, E, and choline. Read how to choose the best eggs here.
• Organic Fair Trade Chocolate Chips are sustainably grown and harvested and contain no fake additives.

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