I know I tend to usually just talk about food and cooking, sometimes I tell you guys a bit about different things we have going on, but I rarely just sit down and type out what I am feeling. I guess maybe it is for fear that no one actually cares to read it, but sometimes it feels good to just vent. It’s therapeutic. So hopefully no one minds.
This summer the one word that has been ringing in my mind over and over is “patience”. I have never had a large amount of it, but this summer I have really been learning how to embrace patience and to really go with the flow. My yoga practice has taught me many many things, I think the most important that I have personally taken away is being able to cultivate my breath and to control my emotions with it. To be OK with me and what I have been given, to hold on to what I need and to let go of what I don’t. And to embrace the flow of life. Both on and off the mat these things have all come into play in many aspects of my life. This summer I have really been able to use so much of what I have learned in so many different ways.
Trying to sell this house and move across the country was a decision we made sometime last summer. We didn’t exactly know our time frame, at the time, but we knew this was the next step for us. Early in 2012 we made the decision that we would get the process moving along and get our house on the market in the summertime to hopefully move by the fall. When you think about selling the home you have lived in for 9 years and leaving all of your family and friends behind, there are so many things to think about, there are so many self-imposed questions that you have to answer and there are even moments of doubt and fear. We thought about it all, we talked it all out, we did the research and we put the hours into readying the house. When the time came in June to list the house, we were insanely excited to get this new phase started. We started talking about what the soonest we would be out there by, and what if the house sold too quick and we didn’t wrap up all the loose ends here. We kept out summer free of our usual festivals, events and travel so we could be available for showings and get this process moving.
Obviously our house hasn’t sold yet, we are just 2 months in on having it listed and we are both very optimistic it will sell, but we quickly learned that it is likely going to take some time. More time than we both originally thought. Everyone that has seen our house has had very positive things to say, they are impressed by all of our updates to it and the price hasn’t once come up as an issue, the problem we are dealing with, is that it is a townhouse. Not everyone wants a townhouse. So, we have had a decent amount of showings and no offers, just yet. All of the feedback has been, in a nutshell, that it just wasn’t what the buyers were looking for, so there isn’t anything we can do to “fix” what isn’t right. Nothing is wrong. We just have to wait for this perfect person to come along. I know they will. But we have to wait. I am not great at waiting. I am not great at being out of control. This summer has been the biggest lesson in patience that I quite possibly have ever had. The biggest lesson in going with the flow. I cannot control everything. I cannot make everything happen the way I want it to and when I want it to. I have always known that, but now the universe is really showing it to me. It is testing me.
In some ways, I think it is good, I have been able to really enjoy the place I have called home for over 32 years, to the absolute fullest. I have been able to really enjoy my family and friends. It has been so nice. If our house sold right away, I may have felt like I wasn’t quite ready to go. I might have wanted more time, I might have regretted leaving.
Some days trying to be patient and knowing the one thing I am most looking forward to is all out of my control, I feel like I could just scream. It is like counting down the days until Christmas when you are a kid. Only I can’t count down because I don’t know when the big day is coming.
Ah. Patience.
This cookies have been a bit of a lesson in patience. The first time I made them, I was so optimistic that the recipe I created was perfect. The dough felt the way it should, it tasted perfect. I knew they were right. They were wrong. They were too soggy, they didn’t have enough flavor and the zucchini that I used was a bit to “squashy”. They just weren’t right. I knew I would have to play around with some things in the recipe to get them to match the vision I had in my head. I also had to wait to have the time to bake them again. After tweaking the recipe and finding some time on Sunday night, I made them again. With fingers crossed and some deep breaths, into the oven they went. They came out perfect. Soft, chewy, delicious cookies.
These could be a regular chocolate chip cookie’s very close sibling. The zucchini flavor is very subtle, almost undetectable. It really just tastes like a different version of a classic chocolate chip cookie. You get the green flecks from the zucchini and if you are like me, the most satisfying thing is that you get to use up at least one or two of the very many zucchini you have on hand. Plus, if you have kids, what a great way to sneak a little bit of veggies in. These cookies are a “soft-batch” type cookie, which I love, with a really nice soft and fluffy chew to them. They aren’t the thin crispy cookies that I know some people like. I also love that they are totally grain-free. I have been having so much fun playing around with recipes that don’t rely on a grain.
Thanks for letting me vent.
[print_this]Grain-Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies – Gluten-free + Dairy-free with Vegan Option
Makes approximately 18 – 24 cookies
- 2 cups blanched almond flour, tightly packed
- 1/2 cup arrowroot starch (you could also use tapioca starch or potato starch)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup maple sugar, coconut sugar, raw sugar or other granulated sweetener of your choice
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or olive oil, walnut oil, etc)
- 2 farm fresh brown eggs or 2 flax-seed eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds mixed with 6 tablespoons water)
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup shredded zucchini, with all of the excess moisture squeezed out (squeeze it inside of paper towels, a clean kitchen towel, cheese cloth or through a strainer)
- 3/4 cup dairy-free gluten-free chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor, combine almond flour, arrowroot starch, salt, baking soda and maple sugar, process until combined. In a small bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil, the eggs, vanilla and psyllium husk. Pour the wet mixture into the food processor with the dry ingredients and pulse into the dough comes together, add in the shredded zucchini and pulse a few times more, then take out the blade and stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
Scoop dough, one level tablespoon at a time onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in batches, if you need to.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges are slightly golden brown and they are fully cooked. Cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool further. Serve.
These can be stored in tightly sealed container for a few days either at room temperature or in the fridge, or you can freeze them and take them out at your leisure. [/print_this]
29 Responses
These look fabulous and I can’t wait to try out the recipe. Just wondering if you could tell me what psyllium husk is for and what would happen if I left it out. Thank you!
Psyllium husk is great for making gluten-free baked goods doughy and chewy. It also helps with the moisture and with binding. You can maybe try it without or replace with some ground chia seeds. I started using it in pizza crusts and other baked goods like my recent cobbler recipe, but I thought it would help keep these cookies from being too moist with the zucchini and to make them nice and chewy. I was right.
Psyllium husk is available in the health food sections in most grocery stores and definitely at a health food store. It is very inexpensive.
Let me know if you experiment without it in this recipe, I would love to hear the results.
Thank you for this recipe, I will be making it! I understand your journey with patience. It took us three months to sell our house and we had some drama with the person who bought it. In the end though we feel so blessed to be where we are now. I wish you all the best with your home 🙂
Thanks so much Di! I am glad we aren’t the only ones. Lately I feel like anyone I talk to that sold their house, it sold in days. After 1 month passed I definitely knew that wasn’t going to happen for us, it may be a slow journey, but it is a journey either way and it is obviously happening for a reason. Thanks for your well wishes!
Beth, these cookies look fantastic! I recently got some psyllium husks and powder just so I could try some of my other blogger friends’ recipes. 😉 Perfect timing. 🙂
I’m sure the house sale and moving will work out. Just keep visualizing it all working out! Patience is a very good thing indeed and yoga helps so much with that and so much else. I regret any day that I miss my yoga.
xo,
Shirley
Thanks Shirley! Yeh I am like you, I just grabbed some psyllium husks earlier this month after seeing so many great recipes. Boy am I glad I did, I love what it does to in baked good recipes!
Also, thanks for the nice words about our move and all that! I am happy that I have been able to look at this in a positive way and take it one day at a time. You are right though, if for some reason I have to miss yoga it makes me very sad indeed.
Oh well patience is sometimes soooo overrated 😉 I personally find your therapeutic post very nice and very personal. And the reason all these nice people follow your blog isn’t just all about the recipes. If we were not interested in who you are, we would buy a boring cookbook!
Ha yeh maybe you are right. I have been trying, if for nothing but my own peace of mind. I feel like if I dwell too much on how antsy I am, then I will go nuts! Thanks for your nice words, too – it made my day to read! 🙂
These look so delicious. I love chocolate/zucchini combos!
And patience is so difficult. Of course yoga is helpful for those lessons, but it’s also more challenging to practice being totally yogic when we’re outside of the studio, ya know? Sending you lots of positive energy!
Thanks so much Raechel!
Could hemp seed be a substitute for the psyllium husk? It’s kind of chewy-ish too … (and I have some of that!)
Donna – I don’t think hemp seed will give you that same texture and chew. The thing about psyllium is the way that it reacts to with the moisture. It sucks it up and creates this nice texture, unlike anything I have ever tried before.
mmm these look wonderful! I recently started yoga and it’s a complete mood booster and relaxer for me. I definitely feel you on the patience thing! I’m working on it, yoga for sure helps me channel my inner peace and of course having a positive mindset is the way to go. Good luck with everything, it’ll all fall into place in time 🙂
I made these cookies last night, and oh my goodness!! They were so amazing. My husband didn’t want me to share them with our dinner guests! Mine came out very cake-y, almost like zucchini bread in a cookie form (which we LOVED). Have you thought about tweaking the recipe, or using as is, for plain zucchini bread?
Ya know – that isn’t a bad idea. It is definitely a little cakey for sure, but I was really loving that about them. I may have to take your suggestion and make a bread now, too!
Thanks and I am so glad you all liked them. Makes my day to hear that!
Wow, this post was like reading my mind! We are in the exact same situation. We put our townhouse on the market just over 2 months ago in mid June. I have been stressed out of my mind cooking and cleaning (which never ends with 2 young kids!) and trying to look for new houses. It’s exhausting to say the least. Thank you for the reminder: patience is a virtue! And one that I am not good at either 🙂 Best of luck to you dear-I know someone will love your place! And those cookies sure are a great way to unwind!
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I can’t eat almond flour. Can I use another nut flour? I make my own but it’s more like a meal than a flour.
Your instagram the other day of ice cream sandwiches has inspired me to make these this weekend, with some fresh strawberry vegan ice cream! I can’t wait! Thanks so much for the recipe! 🙂
[…] Grain-Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies from Tasty Yummies … gluten free, dairy free, with egg-free and vegan options […]
Is a food processor necessary? Or can I mix by hand?
Erin, the food processor just gets things mixed up really really well. You can definitely mix it by hand though. Just make sure it is all incorporated very well, you may have to actually get your hands in there to get it moving. Let me know how it works out for you. Thanks!
I just finished gobbling down a couple of cookies from my first batch of these and all I can say is Thank You!!! These are the best gluten free cookies I have made since going gluten free 2 years ago. I couldn’t taste the zuccini at all and the overall result was moist and chewy and just delicious. With these cookies, you forget you’re on a gluten-free diet. Wow!
I’m curious to know why you specified brown eggs.
Only because that is what I always use and I try to be as specific as possible with my recipes. That said, there is no real fundamental difference in brown or white, when it comes to a recipe like this.
Could coconut flour be used Instead? I’ve been seeing some not so good things about almond flour. Thanks
I made these tonight and they were fantastic! I didn’t put mine in the food processor so my zucchini was in small strands versus chopped up. They still turned out really good. I am grain free and this is the closest to flour cookies that I have found yet. Yum!!!!