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| Cassava Plant with tubers |
Cassava is a root vegetable that is used extensively in Africa, Indonesia and throughout the Caribbean. It grows in temperatures in excess of 80 degrees and thrives in the poorest soil on the planet. Cassava is comparable to a potato except it contains twice the fiber and loads of potassium. Process the starch of a Cassava root and you, my friend, just made tapioca! Impressive, no?
This crazy looking tuber also produces a gluten-free, fiber-rich flour that can be used for baking. Whole wheat flour contains 9 grams of fiber per serving plus a load of gluten. The same serving of Cassava flour yields 12 grams of fiber and no gluten. Winner.
A word of warning: Tapioca Flour is more common in the States than Cassava Flour but they are not the same. Due to extensive processing of the starch only, Tapioca flour is void of most of the nutrients found in Cassava Flour.
On to the cookies...
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8 oz butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs*
2 cups cassava flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi sweet choc.chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
How To
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence. Add eggs using hand held mixer. Combine cassava flour, baking powder, salt, gradually add to creamed mixture. Add choc. chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 10mins or until lightly brown.
*Rachel is going to try to eliminate the egg yolks in the next batch and I've ordered in some chia seeds so that she can make a 'chia egg' to eliminate eggs altogether. I'll let you know how it goes!
Full Disclosure: I ate FOUR of these cookies in under 15 minutes last night and didn't feel bloated or gross at all. I mean, I felt bad about wolfing so many cookies (certainly didn't get me any closer to Resolution #3!) but I appreciated NOT having a chocolate chip gluten brick land in my stomach. Thanks Rachel!
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| Rachel & Me - kickin' it with wine and cookies by the pool! |
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