health nut cookies

Flour

In my quest to bake with unique flours -- as well as to understand them & how they work -- I found the following conversion chart by Alicia King. You can read the whole article (titled "Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Baking: Flour Conversions and Binding Agents Simplify Recipes") here.

(ALSO: That absolutely lovely sugar and flour shaker image comes from Flickr user *jenny b allsorts)

1 cup of wheat flour equals:

• Amaranth - 1 cup
• Bean Flour - 1 cup
• Corn Flour- 1 cup
• Cornmeal - ¾ cup
• Millet Flour - 1 cup
• Nuts (finely ground- almond, hazel nut)- ½ cup
• Oat Flour - 1 1/3 cup
• Potato Flour - 5/8 cup
• Potato Starch - ¾ cup
• Quinoa Flour - 1 cup
• Rice Flour (White/Brown)- 7/8 cup
• Sorghum Flour - 1 cup
• Soy Flour - ¾ cup
• Sweet Rice Flour - 7/8 cup
• Tapioca Flour/Starch - 1 cup
• Teff Flour - 7/8 cup

This is great info . . . but I still am left wondering how I can best substitute my favorite flour (COCONUT!) in my baking adventures. Does anyone have any tips on this? Lately I've been doing the whole 1-to-1 thing, and I'm not certain it's working out.

Though, through some experimentation, I made these cookies.

health nut cookies

I think they are quite good; my husband, however, claims they're chalky? He retracted this comment yesterday evening -- saying that they do have a certain charm to them. Below are the instructions for making a half batch, if you'd just like to try them out, but not totally commit.

HEALTH NUT COOKIES
(note: I used egg in this recipe because I felt it needed a strong binding agent, but feel free to use your favorite substitute.)

What you'll need . . .

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (or just chopped)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or Earth Balance, just don't add the salt later on)
• 3/4 cup organic Tazo chai mix (or any liquid chai mix)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, processed to be a fine powder
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Method . . .

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Put 4 ounces of the chocolate & the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until melty. Stir until smooth.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat chocolate with liquid chai mix on medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes).
4. Add egg. Mix until completely combined.
5. Add the flour, processed hazelnuts, oats, and salt, and beat until just incorporated. You may need to add more coconut flour (mixture should be wet, but not soggy). I added about an 1/8 cup.
6. Stir in the rest of the chocolate (best if you are using chips) and cranberries.
7. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a nonstick or well greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes (mine finished in 10), rotating the baking sheet halfway through.

health nut cookies

Cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 4 days.