I do not usually eat a lot of desserts; I’m just not into sweets that much. Maybe its because sugar makes me bounce off the walls. Or maybe it’s because desserts tend to be calorie bombs that don’t lend themselves to wholesome ingredients. These cookies satisfied all my needs for a healthy dessert, and they even passed the approval test of my fiance’s co-workers!
I have been craving something sweet recently, which brought me to develop this recipe. I wanted a dessert that was easy to carry in a packed lunch or as a snack, to satisfy cravings on the go. Cookies were the answer. I also wanted my dessert to have some nutritious ingredients. Pecan meal and whole wheat flour were my ingredients of choice. I did not want the cookies to lack in flavor, so I added cardamom to spice things up. Welcome pecan cardamom cookies!
These cookies came together in a breeze. The only time consuming step is softening the butter. When I forget to set out the butter, I use my microwave on half power, usually 30 seconds, turning half way. I buy pecan meal at my local co-op, but you could also grind pecans in a food processor or clean coffee grinder.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it doesn’t make very many cookies. At the rate that I consume them, a large batch would go stale before they would get eaten, therefore this recipe is perfect for me. I used flaxseed meal as an egg substitute because this small batch recipe didn’t need a whole egg (See photo above). If you double the recipe you could use an egg instead of the flax and omit step 3.
- ½ cup pecan meal (or ½ cup pecans, ground)
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 TBS flax seed meal
- 2 TBS warm water
- ¼ tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup white whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Mix together pecan meal, butter, and sugars. Mix until completely combined.
- Whisk together flaxseed meal and water. Beat for about a minute, or until it starts to gel up.
- Add flaxseed mixture and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Sift together remaining ingredients. Add to wet ingredients and stir until combined.
- Place teaspoon sized balls 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake 10 minutes for soft cookies, and 14 minutes for crispy cookies. The edges should be golden and the centers soft. Cookies will collapse as they cool.
