Fenugreek cookies? What the? How the? I guess I could call them curry cookies but that is just weird. These cookies are an experiment and unique creation by me because I received a very large shipment of fenugreek from India and have no idea how I will ever use all of it.
So this is the fenugreek I received in the mail a month after I made my Thanksgiving Tandoori Turkey. When I ordered it online I had no idea I was ordering direct from India – which of course explains the long wait – but the quantity was a whole other matter. Apparently, I have a small issue translating grams into volume. Spacial relations aside, I have two of these lovely pouches filled with ground fenugreek. What to do? What to do?
What is fenugreek anyway you might ask? Fenugreek's primary location of cultivation is India and is found in many different types of curry powders. The plant's leaves can be eaten like spinach (also very popular in India) and are made into tea for various health treatments. Eating fenugreek is also proven to increase breast milk production – so nursing mothers out there who need it you can just swallow the seeds whole – no need to increase your curry eating habit or find wacky ways to use it.
After reading about fenugreek's flavor profile in a lovely do-it-yourself bitters book I have on hand and literally dipping my finger in and tasting a pinch I decided that a batch of oatmeal spice cookies had to be attempted – if for nothing else to cross into the frontier of novel ways to use fenugreek.
I started with a basic gluten free oatmeal cookie recipe and then went a litte crazy with the spices.
Here is the fenugreek hanging out with its friends cinnamon, nutmeg and a wee bit of clove. Aren't they photogenic? Next I blended the whole group together with the sugar and butter to make this lovely looking batter. Then mixed in the oatmeal and dried cranberries.
The cookies were baked per the mother recipe and then served to all of my friends and family, my partner's friends and family and our roommates friends and family. I made a lot of cookies.
As all experiments go I have a little ways to progress to perfect this recipe. It turns out that fenugreek in large quantities as I used in this large batch of cookies can tend to have a mild bitter aftertaste – shocking. So in a way the cookies were a bit like wine in that they had a different flavor on the front then the finish. The front was a nice slightly sweet cinnamon rounded out by the flavor of fenugreek -which is licorice without the bite of anise. The finish was almost like licking yellow curry powder without the tumeric. Which may sound unpleasant to you – but I promise it just made these cookies taste and be healthy.
Here the batter is smiling at you.
If you would like to experiment with these cookies at home here is the tweaked recipe with less fenugreek which reduces the curry licking effect I described.
Curry Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Warning: Recipe makes 4 dozen!!
3/4 cup butter (room temperature or softened)
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
2 tbsp fenugreek powder
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1 3/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour mix
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries
Step 1: Beat butter with an electric mixer.
Step 2: Add sugar, baking soda, baking powder and spices to the whipped butter. Blend with mixer until everything is combined then add eggs and vanilla and blend again.
Step 3: Still in oatmeal and dried cranberries.
Step 4: Use a spoon to create rounded teaspoon size dollaps of dough and place them at least an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Step 5: Bake at 375 degress for about 10 minutes or until edges brown slightly. Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack or newspaper.
Share with friends and enjoy!