cocoa biscuits with coconut-vanilla bean frosting

what came first, the oreo cookie or the frosting?
not to sound presumptuous, but i bet you would guess the oreo cookie.
and you know what?
i bet you are wrong!
i bet the frosting came first.
powdered sugar + butter + water/cream = frosting

what to do with frosting?
well it's absolutely delicious to smear across your pearly whites like toothpaste, but eventually that's going to get old.
hmmm what else can i frost?
fingers, check.
fork tines? spoon? spork? triple check.
cucumber? bleh
onion? yuck!
cracker? yum.
sweet cracker? oh ya.
sweet, soft, chewy cracker? mmhmumom
oh, you mean a COOKIE?
right on!!

all purpose flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, espresso powder, bp, salt, touch of cinnamon, all held together with some cold coffee made a huge sticky gob of dough. i had to coat my hands with flour to coat the doughball with flour to drop it onto a well floured surface then gingerly shape it into a long and skinny rectangle and slice it into 1 inch pieces. i pressed sliced tamari roasted almonds into the top of each cookie for fun. put these in the very hot oven (~375) for honestly 6 minutes, they bake super fast. let them cool completely and then frost. keep cookies refrigerated so the frosting doesn't melt and so they don't get stale. if you want to keep these cookies soft without refrigeration, add a spoonful of oil to the dough.
the recipe for the frosting goes something like this: spectrum's organic coconut oil (despite it's name it is a solid) mixed with a ton of powdered sugar and a huge squirt of vanilla seeds from the bean, I added just a few teaspoons of cool water and beat until my wrists cramped. dance with me on this one. these are sooooo yummy, for all ages.

toasted sesame coconutties

inspired by classically rich and decadent macaroons, made without any of the egg and butter.
shredded coconut is naturally oily, so I used only strong coffee to hold brown rice flour, unrefined sugar, lots of vanilla beans, toasted sesame seeds, cinnamon, and chocolate chips! I baked these, or toasted them, in the oven at 370 degrees F for about 15 minutes. They were perfectly crispy and sweet on the outside and molten on the inside thanks to the cocoa butter and coconut oils. Delicious, sweet, and nutritious!

Aren't they lovely? 

fruity, nutty granola cookies

It was February. I wound up in Madison, Wisconsin. Yes, the MidWest. There was snow everywhere. There was fantastic and cheap Indian food. I was frigid frozen cold, trapped beneath a treeless, solid gray sky. Then there was the Madison Botanical Garden, an indoor tropical coffee plantation that sent my flat hair into luscious, curly frizz. And to top off the day in Madison, there was the Willy St. Co-Op and inside the Willy St. Co-Op, across from Jamerica, there was The Natural line of baked goods from the fantastic folks at La Campagne Bakery. Well, for 5 bucks we picked up a package of Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies and were instantly hooked. A week later, from my PNW kitchen I am scouring the Interwebs trying to remember the name of this fine cookie's creator. The good folks at Willy St. searched their bread aisle for me and finally returned the name of La Campagne. I looked up the bakery and ordered 4 packages of chocolate oatmeal cookies. Few days later, all I get is 4 packages of CRANBERRY-oatmeal. So I complain and they send me free chocolate oatmeal cookies AND two packages of the best granola I have ever had. To my dismay however a main component to it is la beurre.

A few handfuls of their granola (which features almond, blueberries, cranberries, and raisins), fresh vanilla bean, a bit of graham flour, a gob of honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, chunks of firm apple, grated ginger, and the white of one egg made for the sweetest smoothest cookie to date. Thanks to the folks at La Campagne!

Beet cookie

Weeding in the dirt. So that the beets may breath. 
Cleaning out the farm shack. Upturning ball jars that shower spider's silky egg sacs. 
Eggs and seeds are all I need. 
Just as an oat an apple a stick of butter can morph into a cookie.
So too can a sweet purple beet. 

Sweet, juicy, wholesome, nutritious, with just a
 tad of added brown sugar, dried blueberries, dried cranberries for tangy-ness, oats, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin seeds...all held together by the white of one egg.