Peanut Butter Wheat Cracker Cookies

It’s one week before the Rochester Marathon.  Taper, taper, taper. Tapering is just as tough as hard core training, at least mentally.  We’ll hope for cool, clear weather on the 22nd.  Ted will run another half marathon in preparation for Chicago and I’ll run the full 26.2.  It might be a good run, it might be a bad run. We won’t know until our feet hit the pavement in Rochester.  Either way, the bottom line is FUN!

Speaking of fun, making cookie-crackers with healthy coconut oil is fun in my book!

I love to use coconut oil in most every instance where I would have used olive oil.  You don’t use much so the flavor doesn’t influence the recipe.  It can be chilled and used to cut into pastry or room temperature where it’s softer and easy to work with.

Benefits of coconut oil:

…cholesterol level maintenance, weight loss, boosted immune system, proper digestion and regulated metabolism. It also provides relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV, and cancer, while helping to improve dental quality and bone strength. These benefits of oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and their respective properties, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-fungal, antibacterial and soothing qualities.  Source: http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

Peanut Butter Wheat Cracker Cookies – Makes 24 or more crackers depending on the size.

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 TBS sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or less – according to taste)
• 3 TBS natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup Coconut Oil – room temperature
• 2 TBS hazelnut syrup or you can use honey or another liquid sweetener.
• 1 TBS molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cold water.

Blend the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon.  Add the peanut butter and coconut oil and blend to form a tight crumb.  

Make a well in the middle and add the syrup, molasses, vanilla, and cold water.  Work it into the dry mix to form a dry dough. Do not add any more water.

Pack into a ball and flatten. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or more.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove 1/2 the dough from the refrigerator and roll out to about 1/8” thick.  Cut out with a cookie cutter.  Place onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  You may place these very close together since they won’t spread.

Bake for 15 minutes. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar to finish.

A doggy.

An initial

Simply round.

Just like a graham cracker cookie but better. It’s homemade.

Do you use coconut oil?

What’s your favorite recipe using coconut oil?