Let's Talk, Episode One: The Avocado Cookie!
Let's Talk is a little section of my blog that I'm introducing with this post! With Let's Talk, I'm going to cover topics, places, things, etc that I like or am trying out!
I had recently heard about substituting avocado for fats in cooking and baking. I wasn't sure how successful that would be, so I did a bit of research. The internet, of course, yielded tons and tons of answers that pointed to YES, this does work! So I turned to Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean. TLGB is a blog that I've followed for a couple years now, and on more than one occasion have I made one of her recipes. I went to her recipe page and type avocado in the search box. Boom! I saw a recipe for an avocado cookie made with peanut butter pop up. I'm a HUGE fan of peanut butter, so I knew I had to check this recipe out.
Because I'm always careful about everything and don't want to overstep boundaries, I opted to not repost the original text of Lindsay's recipe. You may find it HERE.
I have a tiny little efficiency stove in my apartment, and I have two cookie sheets - a big one, and a small one. I remembered to use the small one this time, because the big one doesn't actually let the door on the oven close, whoops! I don't mind so much when I'm cooking or baking chicken, but baking-baking can be so temperamental I knew that I had to use the small sheet so that the door could close all the way.
While the cookies were doing their thang, I heard some bubbling noises. I peeked into the oven and saw that each cookie had a pretty intense ring of bubbling oil around them. I assumed it was something to do with the avocado, and since nothing seemed seriously awry, I ignored it. I tried to google bubbling while baking with avocado, but the only results I found were all about avocado bubble tea, which sounds amazing to me.
When I pulled my cookies out, they came off the pan quite easily. Because I did not have any chocolate chips to add this time, I opted to sprinkle powdered sugar on top. I think they look pretty!
I had recently heard about substituting avocado for fats in cooking and baking. I wasn't sure how successful that would be, so I did a bit of research. The internet, of course, yielded tons and tons of answers that pointed to YES, this does work! So I turned to Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean. TLGB is a blog that I've followed for a couple years now, and on more than one occasion have I made one of her recipes. I went to her recipe page and type avocado in the search box. Boom! I saw a recipe for an avocado cookie made with peanut butter pop up. I'm a HUGE fan of peanut butter, so I knew I had to check this recipe out.
Because I'm always careful about everything and don't want to overstep boundaries, I opted to not repost the original text of Lindsay's recipe. You may find it HERE.
During this, my first attempt, I did not have agave nectar or honey. I still don't know why I don't own any honey. I love honey, too. I suppose I just always forget to buy it when I'm out! At any rate, I substituted a bit of olive oil for the nectar/honey, and threw in a bit of water. I also didn't have any chocolate chips. At this point, I probably should have said, "Well, this won't work," but I gave it a shot anyway.
Okay, the first few steps looked less than appetizing, I will admit. I was thinking, "Man, it looks like I'm about to eat some Shrek for dessert," but that was before I added in the peanut butter and it turned a bit more brown.
I have a tiny little efficiency stove in my apartment, and I have two cookie sheets - a big one, and a small one. I remembered to use the small one this time, because the big one doesn't actually let the door on the oven close, whoops! I don't mind so much when I'm cooking or baking chicken, but baking-baking can be so temperamental I knew that I had to use the small sheet so that the door could close all the way.
While the cookies were doing their thang, I heard some bubbling noises. I peeked into the oven and saw that each cookie had a pretty intense ring of bubbling oil around them. I assumed it was something to do with the avocado, and since nothing seemed seriously awry, I ignored it. I tried to google bubbling while baking with avocado, but the only results I found were all about avocado bubble tea, which sounds amazing to me.
When I pulled my cookies out, they came off the pan quite easily. Because I did not have any chocolate chips to add this time, I opted to sprinkle powdered sugar on top. I think they look pretty!
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| I LOVE the fork impression in peanut butter cookies, don't you? |
My verdict:
A success! I plan to make these again soon with the chocolate chips. I definitely need that bit of sweetness added. However, I found them quite tasty just as is. They reminded me of all-natural energy bars that I've had before, probably because of the oats. There was a very, very mild avocado taste left in the cookies, but I could barely notice it. I can also say that I really liked them for their ability to fill me up. One day after baking this batch, I overslept my alarm and was in a big hurry to get to work. I threw some milk in my travel mug, stuffed six of these babies in a plastic baggie, and shoved them in my face while driving to open up the store. That means I was eating them about 9:15am. I didn't start to feel truly hungry until about 1, I think! That's really impressive to me. If you know me in the real world, you've probably heard me joke about how I'm a "grazer." I like to snack, and I for some reason always think I'm hungry. Besides drinking water like usual, I didn't want to snack on anything after eating six little cookies.
I'm thinking I might give these another shot tomorrow, this time with chocolate chips! That is, depending if I get out of bed on time... The next recipe I think I might like to try for when I'm feeling extra fancy (most of my home-made meals are really simple because I'm lazy) will be from Jenny of Rainy Day Gal. She's an adorable food and lifestyle blogger that really makes me giggle. Her joke about voting a certain type of apple off the apple island made me laugh, as I wholly concur. The recipe of hers that I am eye-balling is her Apple-Cranberry Pot Roast. Those flavor combinations sound delicious to me!
Thanks for reading, lovelies! I'll post an update if I make the second batch tomorrow!