This holiday season a couple of my friends had the idea to get together and make sugar cookies to give as gifts. Well actually
one wanted to bake, and the other designated herself “quality control”. In preparation of the event, I combed through a myriad of resources on just how to construct a gluten-free sugar cookie. This ended with me testing quarter-sized batches (the last thing I needed was 40 disaster cookies!) of three recipes – one from Bette Hagman’s GF cookbook, one vegan recipe from my Almond Flour Book, and one “normal” recipe from Real Simple magazine that I adapted to be gluten-free with some guesswork. I baked them before everyone arrived, and then solicited critiques for samples of each.
Well, for some reason the seemingly benign 4-ingredient almond flour cookies were actually quite awful, the ones from the GF book were grainy and chalky from so much cornstarch. GF Flour blends that you see written usually overdo the starch, which is why I tried a simple adaptation of a regular recipe – but I must have calculated wrong for the scaled down version because I couldn’t even roll them out they were so sticky. AND to add insult to injury, the kitchen was a complete disaster.
The kitchen got cleaned, Tricia made her traditional (wheat flour) sugar cookies, Kim sampled, the kitchen exploded and was cleaned again, and we all drank champagne – tomorrow is another day. Besides, aren’t sugar cookies just a vehicle for frosting?
Well, the next day every imaginable surface was once again cluttered with every sort of baking ingredient and accoutrement, and another batch was produced. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t very good either. JJ declared them decidedly not good if you could have the real thing instead. I snapped. Call it holiday-induced stress, call it frustration, or call it fed up with having to modify everything to the nth degree to bend to all the food restrictions in this house, but I lost it and had a full on sugar cookie melt down.
When the storm clouds subsided and the blue air began to clear, I realized that I don’t even like sugar cookies! I didn’t eat them even when I could! They were not one of my cherished holiday baking memories, nor were they particularly in line with my food philosophy. In fact – they are composed entirely of ingredients that I don’t even keep in my house and are quite diametrically opposed to. But somehow I drank the Christmas kool-aid and decided I just had to make sugar cookies – and make it work for non-GF folk on top of that.
After having my sugar cookie melt down, I went back through my collection of recipes for something that was naturally VGF and had some redeeming nutritional value – when I came across mendiants. A mendiant (mon-‘dee-on) is a time-honored French confection composed of a chocolate disk studded with nuts and dried fruits. These represented the four mendicant or monastic orders of the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans and Carmelites – traditionally symbolized by raisins, hazelnuts, figs, and almonds respectively.
While hazelnuts are very local (99% of all hazelnuts produced in the U.S. are from Oregon) I didn’t have any on hand at the time… and thus my mind, and creativity, got to wandering. Looking at the accoutrements that I had purchased already for the ill-fated pastries, I started to formulate some options that would take one’s palate on a global journey. Most are based on classic flavor pairings, using the mendiants as a not-so-classic vehicle for their delivery. And of course I got on a roll and came up with six varieties that I just had to make. I encourage you to let your pantry transport you to far-off places and devise some combinations of your own. Just be true to yourself - that's the lesson here.
North Pole
{ walnut | dried cherry | white chocolate chip | cherry candy cane }
St. Nick
{ pecan | almond | dried cranberry | crystallized ginger }
Big Island
{ macadamia nut | toasted coconut | candied hibiscus | ‘alaea sea salt }
Persia
{ pistachio | Turkish apricot | green cardamom & rose petal sugar }
Umbria
{ pine nut | espresso bean | home-candied lemon peel | coarse cane sugar }
Yucatan
{ dried mango | popped amaranth | cacao nibs | chipotle & cinnamon dust }
All the flavors below rest in a base of 72% cacao pure dark couverture chocolate. If you see couverture on the package, it means that the chocolate is high in cacao butter, which makes the molten chocolate creamier and easier to work with. If you were a painter you would call it more “open time”. Don’t fret if you can’t find/don’t have couverture chocolate, you may just have to work with fewer chocolate dollops at a time to keep them from solidifying before you get the goodies on. Try six at a time either way, and go from there once you get the hang of it. If they do harden prematurely, either use a little more melted chocolate to help the bits stick, or carefully remove the unadorned chocolate and place back in the bowl to melt again.
Being small and uncomplicated, choose the best ingredients that are available/you can afford and choose a chocolate that is at least 70% cacao solids; unless you and your recipients are
real crazy chocolate fans, don’t go over 85% cacao solids as this can be pretty bitter. These treats are naturally vegan, gluten-free as long as you check the ingredients in the chocolate – the good quality stuff shouldn’t have any milk solids in it, and the first ingredient should
definitely not be sugar. Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and full of heart-healthy flavenoids that help prevent the buildup of plaque in arteries, with immune boosting and cancer-fighting qualities
[i] ta boot! So you can feel good about indulging in a few pieces.
The nuts should be fresh – bulk bins can be good for this if they have a high turnover (and you can sample for quality assurance). I roasted all the nuts to enhance the flavor, except for the pistachios, which seemed to take on a strange flavor once roasted so I left them alone. The dried fruit that I found were all unsulphured, which means that the apricots weren’t that vibrant orange that you might be used to, but did mean that people with a sulphite sensitivity, like my mom, could enjoy them too.
Making Mendiants
Start by prepping any of the dried fruits/nuts/ingredients that you want to use for your mendiants. Ingredients for each variety are listed below, but the process is the same regardless of which you make.
I put parchment paper on sheet pans and my cutting boards to receive the chocolate. This worked well and really, any portable flat surface will do. You want to be able to move them somewhere cool to help them firm up, while also clearing up work space in the kitchen to make more mendiants. I put them down in the basement and they only took an hour or so to firm up to the point where they could be removed from the parchment – which I then reused. Give them a solid 12 to 24 hours if you can before packaging them to be sure.
Fill the bottom of a
double boiler with water, taking care that the water is not touching the bottom of the pan above. Or you can fashion your own out of a sauce pan and a glass or metal bowl, as long as the bottom of the bowl is sufficiently suspended that it does not touch the water when it is boiling. The reason that you don’t want the water touching the bottom in either case is so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
Place the bottom pan with the water in it over high heat until it reaches a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Into the top pan/bowl goes the chocolate. If your chocolate is in a solid bar, break it up into coarse pieces with your hands or a knife. The smaller the pieces, the more contact with the bowl, the faster they will melt. I like to buy E. Guittard chocolate because it comes in small disks that melt nicely without needing this step. Put the chocolate into the top pan/bowl, stirring it occasionally to help it all melt.
Ta-da! Now you can remove the pan/bowl with the chocolate from the heat – I like to put it on a kitchen town to catch any condensation and keep it from dripping on everything else. If the chocolate tightens up, just put the pan/bowl back over the simmering water to get it soft again.
Now take a small
spoon and place dollops of chocolate on the parchment paper, swirling them out a little with the back of the spoon if you like – when you add the nuts and such they will spread a little, so leave about a ½ inch between the chocolate on all sides. Depending on how much chocolate you use, you can get anywhere from 80 - 120 pieces from 1 lb (500 g) of chocolate. If you make six varieties, that means about 13 - 20 pieces of each. You can easily scale this up or down depending on your needs.
Add the nuts, dried fruit, and any other tidbits to the disks, then make more chocolate disks until it is all used up! Easy as that. It’s hard to estimate the quantity that you will need, but you can always throw the extras together for some holiday trail mix. I’ve included estimations for you for the ingredients in each variety.
North Pole
{ walnut | dried cherry | white chocolate chip | cherry candy cane }
Prep work:
- Toast walnuts in a single layer in a heavy bottom pan, or on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees F until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Break into smaller pieces as needed to fit the disks (quarters work well). 1 quarter each.
- Ready dried cherries and white chocolate chips (regular or vegan). 1 each of both.
- Choose a candy cane made with all natural ingredients if possible – cherry is used here, but other flavors could work too. Crush the candy can in its own packaging or bag with a rolling pan, heavy pan or meat mallet into bite sized pieces. 1 each.
St. Nick
{ pecan | almond | dried cranberry | crystallized ginger }
Prep work:
- Toast almonds in a single layer in a heavy bottom pan, or on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees F until golden and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Repeat with the pecans. 1 almond and 1 quarter pecan on each.
- Ready the dried cranberries. 1 each.
- Chop the crystallized ginger into manageable pieces if they are large. 1 chunk ea.
Big Island
{ macadamia nut | toasted coconut | candied hibiscus | ‘alaea sea salt }
Prep work:
- Toast macadamia nuts in a single layer in a heavy bottom pan, or on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees F until golden and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Repeat with the coconut flakes for 1 min. 1 mac nut and 3 flakes on each.
- Rip the candied hibiscus into strips from petal tip to base, following the natural lines of the flowers. 1 petal, or about 1 sixth of a flower on each.
- Ready ‘alaea sea salt, or other coarse salt, such as pink Himalayan or kosher salt. 1 pinch each
Persia
{ pistachio| Turkish apricot | green cardamom & rose petal sugar }
Prep work:
- Shell the pistachios, if they aren’t already shelled. 1 each.
- Cut the apricots into quarters. I prefer Turkish ones, as they are unsulphured and have a deep, molassesy flavor, but use what you have. 1 quarter each.
- To make the green cardamom & rose petal sugar, place into a spice grinder/old coffee grinder
- ~ 8 whole green cardamom pods
- ~ 1 tsp of rose petals
- ~ 2 T of coarse cane sugar
- Pulse until incorporated. Taste and adjust quantities to your liking. Letting it sit for a half hour in a lidded jar will help the aromas to perfume the sugar thoroughly. 1 heavy pinch on each, or about 1/8 tsp. Place this on the chocolate before the other bits to help it stick.
Umbria
{ pine nut | espresso bean | home-candied lemon peel | coarse cane sugar }
Prep work:
- Toast pine nuts in a single layer in a heavy bottom pan, or on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees F until golden and fragrant, about 2minutes. 3-5 on each.
- Choose good quality espresso beans, or your favorite dark roast coffee bean. 1 each.
- Candy your own organic lemon peels (find the recipe here), or go with store bought. Chop into 1” or so sections if they are too long. 1 - 1” section, curled over, on each.
- Ready some coarse cane sugar or sanding sugar. I don’t buy a lot of sugar, so I went with organic. I pinch on each.
Yucatan
{ dried mango | popped amaranth | cacao nibs | chipotle & cinnamon dust }
Prep work:
- Cut dried mango into manageable pieces.
- Pop the amaranth in a heavy pan (find theinstructions here).
- Ready the cacao nibs.
- To make the chipotle and cinnamon dust, place into a spice grinder/old coffee grinder
- 1 whole dried chipotle chili, stem removed
- 1 large stick of Mexican cinnamon, broken to fit
- Blitz until incorporated. Let the dust settle first before opening! Don’t get your face in there right after lifting the lid like I did or you will get a big snort of chili powder – and ensuing coughing, sputtering and sneezing. 1 heavy pinch on each, or about 1/8 tsp. Place this on the chocolate before the other bits to help it stick.
Where to find it
Most of the fruits, nuts and other ingredients featured here can be found in any well-stocked grocery store. However you may need help with the following (in order of appearance):
- Candied dried hibiscus – these often come from Mexico, or other tropical locales where hibiscus grow; try Trader Joe’s, international food markets, Latin markets, or online such as through amazon.com
- ‘Alaea sea salt – this is synonymous with pink Hawai’ian salt; find it in the KTA on your next trip to the Islands, or try a high-end grocery store like Zupan’s, a delicatessen such as Foster & Dobbs, or a salt shop such as The Meadow.
- Rose petals – these are featured in many Mediterranean and Persian cuisines, especially in Tunisia and Iran; find them in large international or Mediterranean markets, or any place with a large bulk herb/spice section such as New Seasons or online through Mountain Rose Herbs
- Cacao nibs – these are pieces of the raw, unprocessed cacao nuts and are pleasantly bitter, crunchy, and loaded with antioxidants; find them in high-end grocery stores, delicatessens, or online through Mountain Rose Herbs - I lucked out and found Scheffenburger cacao nibs at Grocery Outlet, so keep your eyes peeled!
- Dried chipotle chilies – these are fantastic added to beans, chilli, or marinades, so buy a bag and experiment; find these in any large grocery store with a Hispanic food section, such as Freddy’s, or Latin food markets.
- Mexican cinnamon - this is softer/more crumbly than traditional cinnamon sticks which is part of why I prefer it, as well as having a somewhat sweeter taste; find it in any large grocery store with a Hispanic food section, such as Freddy’s, or Latin food markets. It is usually in with the dried chilies, so pick some up when you get your chipotles.
[i] Glassman, Keri, M.S., R.D., CDN. 2010. The O2 Diet. Rodale: New York, NY. 218 pp.
