November has proved to be a trying month, not only for me, but for many. Aside from feeling a need for more rest and more emotional release via movement, I’ve felt the call to do more things to help uplift the spirit of others. I stayed up a little late Friday night (that’s close to 10 p.m. for the record) making molasses cookies so that my Saturday yoga kula could have some post-class treats. It was nice to take some time after class to drink some chai, sit, and talk. And the cookies were delicious! I pulled the recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Oh She Glows Every Day by Angela Liddon. From the request of some of you, here it is along with Ayurvedic notes on some of the ingredients.
Chewy Molasses Spelt Cookies
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ground flax with 2 Tbs (to make flax egg)
- 1/4 cup vegan butter or virgin coconut oil, softened
- 1/4 cup cane sugar + 2 Tbs cane sugar for rolling
- 2 Tbs pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbs blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 and 1/14 cup white spelt flour or whole grain spelt flour
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flax and water in a mug and stir. I used a “Neat Egg” instead which is a mixture of chia and garbanzo. Using electric beaters, or some elbow grease and a spoon like I did, beat together butter, sugar, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla and flax mixture. Then add ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and flour until combined. Shape the dough into small 1 inch balls and roll in the sugar (by using a bowl). Place the balls 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes for a soft cookie or 10-12 for crispier cookies. Cook on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack. I made smaller cookies to get more from the batch and baked for 10 minutes.
Maple syrup Categorized as sweet, cool and moist, it is good for reducing pitta and vata dosha. It is a good sweetener for fall but not the best for the spring or kapha dosha.
Molasses Sweet, cool and heavy, this is best for the winter and spring. It’s a good tonic for the blood, heart and muscles as it is high in iron. Best for vata and pitta.
Cinnamon This is hot, so pittas beware. The dry and light qualities make cinnamon good for colds, digestion and circulation.
Clove Pacifying for all three doshas because of its unique pungent and bitter qualities that can digest cool. Great when used externally for pain and headaches and internally for congestion, sluggish digestion and low libido.
Ginger Though heating and drying by quality, this is best for vata and kapha. Great for colds, clearing mucus, decreasing inflammation in arthritis and many ailments associated with the digestive tract.
I used white flour. It was all I had at my home and I didn't want to make an extra trip to the store. It was leftover from a kolache baking frenzy I went through in an attempt to make a kolache that would make my grandmother proud. Kolaches: the pastry of my people.