Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Baking with hemp: and no these aren't "magic" brownies

These cookies have a secret ingredient
They look good, don't they? Trust me: they are. And it all began with a trip to Milwaukie, Oregon. I still can't believe it took me this long to finally get out to Bob's Red Mill. What a cool place, and chock full of ingredients galore for all kinds of baking and cooking.

Inside Bob's Red Mill

I've been wanting to get my hands on some whole grains and some different sugar options (like sucanat: more on that in a future post) all as part of further reducing our processed foods intake and getting closer to the original source. Visiting Bob's can be a bit over stimulating, with so many products I don't know what to do with. I had a flash back to the hippy natural foods stores of my 70's childhood, but quickly snapped out of it. I grabbed a few recipes, their catalog, and picked a few to try. One of them was this recipe for delish Chocolate Deluxe Hemp Nuggets.

Yes, I said it: Chocolate Deluxe Hemp Nuggets. That either sounds intriguing to you, or disgusting. And let me just tell you before you pass judgment, they are really good. Chewy and rich, but made with whole wheat flour, evaporated cane sugar and hulled hemp seeds, to name a few ingredients, they're cookies made with better options than the processed stuff. And the hulled hemp seeds actually provide protein and they're high in Omega-3/Omega-6 essential fatty acids. Bonus? Hulled hemp is also high in iron.

Secret ingredient cookies

I changed the recipe a bit, but is pretty close to the one from Bob's. Next time I'm adding some cocoa nibs for added nutrition and flavor. All in all, I give it a thumbs up.

Chocolate Deluxe Hemp Nuggets
1 cup evaporated cane sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup non fat milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugar. Slowly stir in vanilla, milk until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Stir into the wet ingredients and mix. When half mixed, pour in the chocolate chips and blend until ingredients are just mixed. Drop by generous spoonful onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes two dozen.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have a guy in town who stands weekly on a corner downtown with a sign "Honk for Hemp." Think I should make him some of these brownies?

Neva said...

If only you weren't romantically involved with a cop (sigh).... :-) I bet you could make the best pot brownies ever!

Karolcooks said...

Lelo,
Hemp is one of my favorite ingredients and I put it in my smoothy every morning. Guess why I love it? G-U-E-S-S...FIBER!!!