As I've mentioned before, I fairly recently purchased Gwyneth Paltrow's, My Father's Daughter, a cookbook that I have come to be a little bit obsessed with. That's generally the case when I find something new (to me), but this particular book is unique in that the recipes are mostly very simple, nutritious, and Gwyneth doesn't simply leave you wondering why she's using agave nectar or spelt flour; she doesn't even leave you wondering what on earth they are. Beyond all this, her recipes come from her very own family kitchen, dating back to her grandparents', so you can tell that every page is filled with love. Her introduction about her father almost brought me to tears; her prose is beautiful and her love so clearly strong. It's becoming a go-to book for me because I know that the person who wrote it has done the research herself and is building her children's lives around nutritious, yet delicious meals surrounded by a framework of generous love and care from outside the kitchen all the way to the table.
I try to be fairly strict in my own framework. All meals should be nutritious, but there can be one indulgent snack in the late afternoon during that restless time between lunch and dinner, waiting for both parents to be home at the same time and the meal to finally be placed on the table. One sugary snack for a little burst of energy to carry one through to dinner without wanting to simply collapse and whine. I'll admit, I stole this idea from the French, but I think it's genius. I prefer no snacking, but if it's going to happen, it's going to be fruit, which is healthy and non-filling, so my child won't refuse to eat her next meal, yet won't be whiny in between. The special late-afternoon snack is different, though. It needs to fill and to satisfy! And, though, I don't mind giving G. a treat that's the absolute opposite of nutritious during this time (I adore her reactions to each new dessert we try), I'm always looking for healthy sweets that she can associate as treats, but that aren't actually very bad for her, if at all. I'm rather desperately trying to get this family on track with nutrition--to have nearly no shelf cookies or chips sitting in our pantry. If I can get in the habit of homemade, even if it's a junky, sugary mess, I prefer this to the overpriced, preservative-filled snacks on the shelf.
A few times a day, G. will try to get us to open the pantry so she can have one of Daddy's cookies, but obviously a nutritious one would be better to slip to her than a cream-filled Oreo. So, tonight I made a recipe by Gwyneth's mother, Blythe, whom her children refer to as "Lalo." There's, essentially, nothing truly "bad" in them and the process of making the dough is very simple. The base of nutrition is in the almonds and barley flour. The reason for the almonds is obvious, but barley flour is probably fairly unknown to many of us! It's derived, obviously, from barley, which has less gluten than wheat; it's a low-glycemic index grain, meaning it regulates your blood sugar better than white/wheat flour, not as easily spiking it. It also has far more fiber than white flour, even a bit more than wheat, and eight essential amino acids! Of course, I can't tell you how it might alter the flavor of a baked good, depending what you use it in, but since barley carries a nutty flavor, it's pairs perfectly with these particular cookies and, I bet, with others. So, while many people would credit flour as one ingredient contributing to the junkiness of cookies and other baked goods, this one cannot as easily be blamed for you or your child's sugar high and subsequent crash ;)
Beyond these two ingredients, there's your usual salt, oil, and a sweetener. Instead of sugar, though, "Lalo" uses pure maple syrup. And instead of maple syrup (because I hate the flavor and, thus, never buy it), I use agave nectar, which is also very low on the glycemic index, yet sweeter than sugar, and actually contains some vitamins!
If I haven't scared you away from these cookies by touting all this nutrition, great! And if I have...just give them a try! I cut the recipe in half so as not to waste my ingredients (and even more time from forming double the cookies) in the event that they ended up in the garbage, so you can feel free to do the same. And if these are for your children, remember this: we learn to love food. We love the food that we've grown up eating because that's what our taste buds and our bodies are used to. There's no innate preference for Chips Ahoy or Big Macs. So, while you may eat one of these cookies and think "Eh...it's tasty, but not something I'm going to really look forward to!" your child may have a completely different take. If you give your children nutritious foods from day one, then that's all they're going to know and all they're going to crave (I'm not saying never stray, but that isn't part of the point). My daughter has traded me a cookie for a smoothie or a mandarin orange. She acts like plain Greek yogurt is Reddi -Wip straight out of the can. Her favorite dinner is butternut squash risotto with no butter and no Parmesan cheese! Why? Because this is what I've fed her from the start.
G. is 18 months old (1.5 years to you non-parents who are shaking your fists at my continued use of months past the number 11, haha!). My 32-year-old husband acts like I'm trying to feed him dog poop if I ask him to try a spoonful of plain yogurt. He wouldn't go near one of these cookies if they were the only thing standing between him and a lifetime supply of free Oreos. I still cannot get him to touch a carrot without tricking him. Yet, growing up as probably one of the most pickiest eaters I've ever come to know (I believe he used to refuse to eat chicken. Chicken, of all things!), I have trained (yes, I'll say it, trained) this man to enjoy fish. One of his most hated vegetables, the tomato, is now part of his regular diet. Flavor preference is about training your taste buds. So...don't look at these cookies as inferior to a bag of orange Milano's...look at them as an opportunity to associate something healthy with something indulgent. Save the Milano's for your once-a-week treat and use these as your daily craving satisfier. That's how I went from the peanut butter sandwich and Swiss Cake Roll monster to the healthy woman eating almond and barley flour cookies!
Anyway...enough of my diatribe. I urge you to try these cookies, to look up this wonderful cookbook, and to make your way along a journey to bettering not only your children's health, but your entire family's :)
Lalo's Famous Cookies from Gwyneth Paltrow's, My Father's Daughter
- 4 cups barley flour
- 3 cups raw whole almonds crushed in a food processor (about ten 2-second pulses)
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup real Vermont maple syrup
- Your favorite jam (Gwyneth says blueberry, raspberry, and apricot are all very nice)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all the ingredients, except for the jam, together in a large bowl and mix until uniform. Form into balls about the size of a tablespoon and space evenly apart on a cookie sheet (they don't spread, so you don't need much space). Using your index finger, make an indent in each cookie and fill with a small spoonful of jam. Bake until cookies are evenly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool before eating.
*Note: As I said before, I substituted agave nectar for the maple syrup. Also, I used roasted almonds rather than raw, which I doubt really matters. Then I halved the cinnamon because I generally prefer a hint rather than the obvious flavor and left out the jam because I figured I could spread some on later if I wanted to go in that direction. As I always say, transform recipes to your own particular liking! You could use any nut for this recipe; it doesn't have to be almonds. Think about using peanuts and making some kind of nutritious peanut butter cookie! Consider grinding the nuts more finely if having little chunks of them isn't really your liking. Add some cocoa powder! The options are, virtually, endless ;)
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