Happy fall from the land of endless sunshine (unless it’s foggy) and relentless 75-degree weather!

This is that time of year when I’m jealous of all of you who don’t live where the weather is always awesome. Because “always awesome” means “always the same.” Even though the temperatures drop more at night and there’s a slight chill in the air, it’s still in the 70s most days. Here’s the nut: It’s not cold enough for hot chocolate. Send your pity and that blizzard breeze to me at 123 I Can’t Believe She’s Complaining, CA. Do not send it to my husband. He’s never been happier, meteorologically speaking.

This weekend I pretended it was cold by making molasses cookies and drinking tea while curled up under a woolen blanket. And actually, it was a little cold in our apartment this weekend because the windows were wide open.

Before I tell you why, can we agree to separate what you see in the picture above from what I’m about to tell you? Good.

They were open because a kind plumber named Cesar and our kind landlord were passing tools through the window while hard at work lifting our toilet off its setting in an attempt to resolve a long-standing plumbing problem. How bad a problem, you ask? Let’s just say we’ve become intimate with our neighbors in a way we never wanted nor dreamt possible.

There is no way to transition from that to these cookies, so let’s just dive right in.

Brad and I completed our one-month kidney cleanse and it was awesome. I usually suffer through cleanses kind of like I’m suffering through this warm fall. But this time I noticed a major difference in my energy levels, the consistency of my concentration, how alert I felt when I woke up, and my stress levels. Now we’re gradually re-introducing the foods we cut out to see how our bodies feel. So far eggs = awesome, oats = bloating, and salmon = thank God we’re eating meat again.

This weekend we introduced gluten again, but wanted to do it gently, so we chose einkorn flour. Our friends Tim and Shanna have posted a wealth of information about einkorn on their blog, and their cookbook, The Einkorn Cookbook, is coming out in December. Pre-order yours, folks, it’s gonna be good. Basically, einkorn is an ancient wheat form with less gluten than conventional wheat. We first made pancakes with it. (If you’re keeping track, pancakes = wonderful.) Then, I got excited to bake again and made these cookies. They’re soft and cakey, and an excuse to eat the molasses my doctor literally just prescribed, like on my care plan prescribed, me to eat more of.

einkorn molasses cookies
makes 2 dozen cookies
adapted from Deliciously Organic

I didn’t roll our cookies in sugar because we’re still limiting our sweets. But you’re welcome to do so before baking. 

2-1/2 cups einkorn flour
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir until completely mixed and the dough is stiff. Let sit for five minutes while you line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop up about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball with your hand, and place on the parchment. Repeat for all. Press with a fork or with your fingers (that’s what I did–those finger imprints just prove they’re homemade) to flatten slightly. Bake for 10 minutes.