This year my daughter started packing her own lunch. She is 17 and this growing up process is in full swing. As a parent, it's hard letting go - it's hard for me to not jump in and try to help her - but, in two years, she will be in college and having to get her own breakfast and lunch and dinner and I need to make sure that she is self-sufficient enough to make good choices now. After all, that's what this whole parenting thing is about - right?
About six years ago, I was at a parenting workshop where one of the speakers had two daughters - one a year older than mine, and the other a year younger. I had the opportunity to speak to him during a break and he told me that when his kids were younger, he made sure they knew what was expected of them at a young age - even if they didn't like him a whole lot for his methodology.
And, as time went by, parenting them became effortless - and, the older they got, the fewer the rules that he had to lay down for them. In fact, when his friends and coworkers were complaining about their teens, he had nothing to contribute as he didn't have any of those issues with his girls. And, his speech stuck with me.
Being a single parent, I played the disciplinarian a lot when my daughter was younger - but, these days, I get to enjoy our time together - and, as much as I want to jump in and make her lunch, I let her - because I see how it builds in her a sense of ownership and responsibility. Recently, she asked me to show her how to make cookies using her favorite nut - pecans - and this was the easiest cookie recipe I could think of.
Just plain old, oven roasted pecans crushed into nut butter, mixed with gluten free flour, brown sugar, coconut oil and warming and aromatic cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon. These aren't too sweet - but, they are a perfect and easy treat for anytime!
Gluten Free Spiced Pecan Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups roasted pecans
- 1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Layer pecans in a single layer on a parchment or silicone baking sheet-lined backing tray.
- Roast for 8-10 minutes. Watch for the nuts to become fragrant - that's when they're done.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Once cool, place in blender and process to yield one cup pecan butter.
- Place the cup pecan butter in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour), baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together. Whisk them together to combine well - the spices should be mixed throughout.
- Add the dry ingredients to the pecan butter and mix well to combine.
- Add eggs and melted (and cooled) coconut oil to the dough, mixing until completely incorporated.
- Lower oven temperature to 375°F.
- Then, roll dough into balls.
- Flatten balls into circles and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely before enjoying.
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