Last week I published a recipe for a Valentine’s Day treat of scrumptious Peanut Butter Cups, but I realize some of you can’t have cacao or peanut butter so I want to share my all time favorite SIBO-friendly cookie with you! You deserve a treat too!
This recipe comes straight out of a cookbook I found recently that I am in love with: Sweet Laurel: Recipes for Whole Food, Grain-free Desserts by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas.
Sweet Laurel is a beautiful light pink cookbook with recipes for grain-free desserts that are mostly SIBO friendly. This is an awesome cookbook and is hands down my favorite SIBO-related cookbook. If this cookbook was available when I was first diagnosed with SIBO, I would have died with delight… and by that I mean this book is filled with SIBO-friendly recipes made with almond flour and coconut cream completely avoiding wheat and dairy. YAY!
While I made a few tweaks to the recipe it wasn’t a major overhaul and shows a good representation to the other recipes in the book. I traded honey for maple syrup and omitted black pepper (as my body still hates black pepper). I also opted not to make the recommended frosting, simply for the purpose of time. These cookies are by far the best SIBO-friendly cookie I have had in all of my years eating SIBO-friendly foods.
These shortbread cookies have a bright flavor of sweet orange with a crunchy outside and a chewy moist inside. The almond flour produces a surprisedly simple texture in this recipe that coupled with the coconut oil creates a rich buttery decadence. While the spices denote a sophisticating pleasure that makes you forget you are on a special diet. This shortbread would be ultra easy to create into heart shape cookies for Valentine’s Day with the use of a cookie cutter. If you find the dough gets too soft while rolling it out between parchment paper you can always pull it back into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap then place it in the refrigerator until it is chilled and firm.
If you decide you want to be inspired for more awesome SIBO-friendly treats this book is a must. Just be aware that most of the recipes in Sweet Laurel are made with almond flour and are often sweetened with maple syrup. I have never had a problem substituting honey for maple syrup but remember that almond flour is not always easily substituted with other nut flours.
Orange Chai Shortbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground fennel
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tsp grated orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and spices. In a medium, whisk the coconut oil, honey, orange zest, and vanilla. A little at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until a dough forms.
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Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it about 1/8 inch thick. Remove the top piece of paper and, using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles and place on the prepared baking sheet. bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until the edges begin turning golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.
Hi, how many cookies does this recipe make?
Hi Erin!
It makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Elena
I made these and stored them all together in a container and they turned super soft the next day, almost mushy. The flavor was amazing though.