Flourless Tahini Cookies

This cookie makes a nice alternative for people who are trying to avoid flour in their diet. I have eaten 3 of them in the past hour since they came out of the oven. I'm not avoiding sugar or flour in my diet but my jeans tell me that I should consider doing that. Hip hip hooray that spring is here because I need the burst of energy and longer days to do some outside work and drop a few pounds. Will I give up cookies in this effort to be wearing my skinny jeans? Probably not!

Do you remember the Bit O' Honey candy bars! This cookie reminds me of that texture and sorta the same taste. Imagine a Bit O' Honey with oatmeal in it. Okay, you get the idea. Chewy, but not like a chewy oatmeal cookie. This is a sticky sort of chewy texture. The biggest bonus for me was the use of dried fruits.

I like it when a recipe offers a new experience for me. Rolling the cookies into balls with wet fingers, and then flattening them slightly with wet fingertips made this a pleasurable new experience. The dough smelled great prior to baking and while baking. If I ever make these again, I will bake half a batch because, Mister and Aimee are pretty traditional in what they enjoy eating. This recipe would be a treat exclusively for me.

It made great use of my homemade tahini paste and I'm satisfied with the outcome. I also had several mis-match packages of instant oatmeal with dried fruits such as blueberries and apples that added a nice twist to the 1/2 cup of dried cranberries. Another added benefit is the total use of honey as the sweetener instead of sugars. As I mixed the honey and tahini together I had my doubts. But, they came out just fine.

Flourless Tahini Cookies
from Bob's Red Mill 

1 cup of tahini
1 cup of honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup, chopped dried fruit, soaked and drained
3 cups of Quick Oats
1 cup of nuts ( I used slivered almonds)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper ( I would imagine this is a must do because these cookies are pretty sticky until they cool.)

In a medium bowl mix together the tahini, honey, vanilla and ground cinnamon. Add re-hydrated fruit and oatmeal to this mixture and then add the nuts.

Using wet hands roll the dough into 1" balls. Flatten the cookies slightly with damp fingers. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Mine took 13 minutes to be exact. Allow to cool on the parchment lined bake sheets.

The Tahini is easy to make at home. 

Sesame



Pods filled with tiny little sesame seeds.

This journey of growing Sesame seeds in my home garden began in December of 2010. I purchased seed packets harvested from the gardens at Monticello, the home of  President Thomas Jefferson. Among the packets were sesame seeds. Wandering around the gift shop on a chilly December day, my gardening brain decided, seeds would be my souvenir from the visit. Year after year I will plant and replant this seed as a reminder of our trip.

Really, this would be my whole point of growing this crop.

Pale blooms adorn the plant

The plants are in the late bloom stage right now. All of my diligent work is about to pay off. A chill in the air should bring about harvest time soon. Here's the low down on how I cultivated Sesame.

• December 2010: purchased seeds from the gift shop at Monticello.
• April 25th 2011: Direct sowed 2 small rows of 5 seeds each row. None of which sprouted. The soil temperature here in Ohio wasn't warm enough, that's my guess anyhow.
• May 5th 2011: reseeded 6 seeds in containers and sat them in a cold box to sprout. Of the 6 seeds, only 2 sprouted. Of the 2 sprouts only one plant survived.
• June 9th 2011: reseed of 6 seeds once again (being frugile with the seeds from Monticello). Again, only 1 plant survived.
• July 1st 2011: two spindly looking plants were transplanted to the main garden
• September 21st 2011: two Sesame seeds plant (stalks) are in the late bloom stage and showing signs of a good harvest. 

So, what have I learned from growing sesame?
Next year I will plant 5x more seeds than I hope to have in crop. The seeds will be started indoors during late April and nurtured with care until the soil temperature warms significantly. This is a basic rule of thumb for any warm climate crop grown in Ohio.

The souvenir seed packet cost around $4.00. I planted the seeds sparingly because there weren't many seeds in the package to begin with. All in all, this seasons crop is by no means cost effective. Next year will be a different story, with 2nd generation seeds to work with. The Monticello seed package itself was quaint. I'm sure I will paste it into our scrapbook. I may not have enough seeds this year to make a batch of Benne Wafers but, there's always sesame 2012.




2 stalks each are approximately 3 feet tall

I'm pleased with my souvenir purchase. Our visit to Monticello lives on. I'm calling this one a success.

Chamomile

Naughty little Peter rabbit was served chamomile tea. One Tablespoon to be taken at bedtime. Bread, milk and blackberries were for the good little bunnies.

Today, I planted chamomile. This is my first time growing it. I was blown away by how tiny, tiny the seeds are.

Packet directions said not to bury the seeds because they need light to germinate.

The sun shined today. All day long, and my garden is happier for it!

Benne Wafers

Thomas Jefferson loved the Benne Wafers. He grew Sesame plants in his garden at Monticello. Benne Wafers are composed mostly of sesame seeds and certainly his garden provided the best seeds for the his treasured cookies. I'll be planting seeds in my garden this year that were harvested from the gardens at Monticello. I decided if I'm going to attempt growing Sesame, I needed to learn new ways to cook with them. So, tonight I made the Benne Wafers that were so loved by President Jefferson and are still loved by southerners today.

Benne Wafers

1 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Place the sesame seeds on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes, watching closely, until lightly browned. In a large mixing bowl mix the brown sugar, melted butter or margarine, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder and toasted sesame seeds together until blended.

Drop dough by half-teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake benne wafers in preheated 375° oven for 4 to 6 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cookies cool for about 2 minutes on baking sheets; remove from baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled sesame seed cookies in an airtight container.
Makes about 72 Cookies

I will add a few comments to the recipe and say this... I greased the cookie sheet first time around and wow did the cookies/wafers spread. Experiment and see if you need to grease before getting to deep into the baking process. Also, I threw an extra handful of flour into the mix. ( that's a real measuring technique ya know, a handful).

After all of that, the wafers turned out delicious.

I'm wondering about harvesting the Sesame seeds this summer after they have grown. A whole cup of seeds goes into this recipe. How many plants will I need to grow to harvest a cup of these teeny tiny seeds?

Sunflower Breakfast Scones

Sunflower Breakfast Scones

A produce stand was having a going out of business sale over the weekend and I landed 4 lbs. of sunflower seeds for $1.00.

Four 1 lb. bags of sunflower seeds for $1.00. Bargain!!

I have never made scones. The point was to find a new use for the Sunflower seeds. I went straight to a sunflower website in hopes of finding a good recipe.
These are very interesting with nutmeg, mandarin oranges, and sunflower seeds. Actually, until tonight, I've never eaten a scone.
I think these were good. I'm not an official scone taste tester though! Try this recipe for Sunflower Breakfast Scones.

I love how beautiful my sunflowers were a few years ago. I grow them for their beauty and for the birds to snack on over the winter months. *Look*


I hope to find more unique recipes for my sunflower seed booty. If you have one that you think highly of, please share it with me!

Dinner plate in the photo is a vintage Crooksville China Company plate. The Carnation Delight pattern. I believe it is early 1930's. My love for pottery, and china lead me to buy this. Pink, isn't it lovely?

 Sunflower Breakfast Scones

2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt Grated rind of 1 orange or lemon (optional) 5 tablespoons cold butter 1/3 cup toasted sunflower kernels 1 can (11 ounce) mandarin oranges, well-drained 1/2 cup milk

Preheat over to 425 degrees and begin to drain the mandarin oranges. Set the oranges aside. In medium bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and orange rind. Mix well with a wire whisk. Slice cold butter into about 10 pieces and cut into flour with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in the sunflower kernels. Add the mandarin oranges and the milk to the dry ingredients. Working quickly, stir your mixture lightly to form a rough dough ball. Dough will seem dry but will moisten as you knead the dough. Knead quickly and gently about 10 turns. Divide dough in half. Pat out each piece into a 6-inch circle and place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Using a knife, cut each circle, making each circle of dough into 6 wedges and separate slightly. Beat 1 egg white with cold water. Brush each wedge with the egg white wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown on top and bottom. For a tender inside, do not overbake. Place on wire rack to cool. Separate wedges and serve.

Coriander

Early summer and late spring brought the aromatic Cilantro alive in the garden. This herb isn't for everyone. I personally love it's pungent flavor in everything from soups to of course pico de gallo.

Technically I guess the whole plant is the Coriander plant and the leaves are referred to as Cilantro. I have read conflicting information about that point. I do know this, when the plant goes to seed (rather quickly I might add) the seed is known as Coriander.

I like that in a plant. Dual uses in the kitchen.