Cranberries are one of my favorite fruits, thanks to their high levels of antioxidant proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, and flavanols. They are a powerful food for inflammatory regulation, microbiome support, and reducing the risk of chronic disease, with a much lower glycemic impact than other fruits.
In this holiday recipe, I sandwiched a tart cranberry filling between crispy almond-pistachio cookies spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and orange zest. The cookies are great on their own if you need a quicker recipe, but the cranberry filling adds a nice contrast in texture and flavor.
Wishing you health and happiness,
Mark Hyman, MD
Ingredients:
Cookies
- 2 ½ cups fine almond flour
- ½ cup arrowroot flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- ¼ cup raw pistachios, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons water, plus more as needed
Cranberry Filling
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Method:
1. To make the cookies, add the almond flour, arrowroot, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, and pistachios to a bowl, stir to combine.
2. Then pour in the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and 1 ½ tablespoons water. Stir until well combined. The dough may appear dry; if needed, add extra water one teaspoon at a time to get dough to stick together. Continue stirring with a spatula until you can form the dough into a ball with your hands.
3. Divide the ball into two equal portions and roll each one into a 4-inch long log. Wrap the logs in parchment paper and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill for 30 minutes or overnight, the longer they chill the easier it will be to slice and shape into round cookies.
4. While the dough is chilling, prepare the cranberry filling. Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir every few minutes to avoid burning. Once ready, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
5. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the parchment paper wrappers. Slice each log into 12 rounds and place the rounds evenly spread out on the baking sheets.
6. Bake for 6 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets between the top and bottom racks and bake for another 6 minutes. After a total of 12 minutes in the oven, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before continuing.
7. Once the cookies have cooled, create the sandwiches by spreading 1 tablespoon of cranberry filling onto half of the cookies.
8. Top each cranberry half with one of the remaining cookies to complete the sandwich. Keep in an airtight container in a cool area or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Nutritional analysis (per sandwich, not including optional maple syrup in filling): Calories: 264, Total Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 255mg, Carbohydrates: 20g, Fiber: 4g, Sugars: 8g, Protein: 6g, Net Carbs: 16g