Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Seaweed Cookies (Nereocystis luetkeana)


This morning I made one of my favorite treats - Seaweed Cookies. This is something that I have made regularly for years and have had a great time trying different variations. Seaweed is one of the most nutritious foods available, and I love incorporating it into my diet whenever possible. 

This summer, for our first year anniversary, my husband and I will be traveling to the San Juan Islands to harvest a bunch of kelp, dulse, and bladderwrack. I am especially looking forward to making some bull whip kelp pickles!

What you'll need is:
3 cups ground nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc) (or whole toasted sesame seeds)

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/8 cup (possibly less) granulated kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana)

Oats (optional)

Dried fruit (optional)

Coconut oil (optional)

13" glass casserole pan or cookie sheet

Preheat the oven to 350. I like to put a little coconut oil in my glass casserole pan and let it warm up in the oven. The coconut oil helps the cookies not to stick, tastes great, and is also a very healthy oil to include in the diet. If you don't have any on hand, butter would work as well.

To make this I first mix the nuts and seaweed together. I've definitely overdone it on the seaweed before, so I just add little by little until I see green specks throughout the mixture. 

I then add maple syrup little by little mixing in between additions. If using dried fruit you can throw it in at this point as well. You want a mixture that will hold together well, but is not overly doughy.

I put the mixture in the glass pan and using wet hands I press down the dough until it is even and covering the whole bottom of the pan. I then sprinkle oats over the top. I bake it for about 17 minutes or until the edges are brown. After it cools slightly I slice into bars with a pizza cutter and enjoy.

Although we really try to limit our sweets, I really like this treat as it is a healthy dosing of protein along with the syrup. This is a great treat for those with gluten intolerance - just omit the oats. If you're allergic to nuts, try whole toasted sesame seeds in place of the nuts.


4 comments:

Wakerens said...

Rosalee;
This sounds very yummy. I noticed that the recipe is a bit differen't than one you gave at Herb Mentor. If I wanted to add the additional stuff (Oats, Dried Friut, and Coconut oil) do I have to add any fluids or more Syrup...?
Gabby

Rosalee de la Foret said...

Hi Gabby,

Oh, I am so terrible at measuring. Basically I just keep adding the maple syrup little by little until the batter is thoroughly moist, but not necessarily wet. I hope that clears it up... :)

Wakerens said...

Oh yes very understandable TY! I wonder if you mind sharing you Sea Zest recipe with me? Im trying to figure out ways to get Kelp/sea weeds into my diet because I have tumors (breast & thyroid) and I hope this will help either keep them under control or disappear as a whole.
Thank you for every thing! I love your Site and all you do at Herb Mentor.
Gabby

Karen Vaughan said...

When you bring home the bull kelp may I suggest that you skip the Irish kelp grape jelly I tried one year. This sounds much better!

Twitter