All right here’s the truth: I binge on sweets.

Let’s say there is a warm batch of homemade cookies on the kitchen counter. Friends think I’m exaggerating when they say to me, “Oh damn it. I just ate three of those cookies!” and I say calmly back, “Well who cares about three, I just ate ten.” Ha-ha, they think. Ha-ha nothing, I think right back. I am telling you, I honestly can sit down (or stand for that matter) and eat ten cookies in a row without one moment of stopping. I don’t get full. I don’t feel sick. I just sit and eat those cookies like they were a bowl of olives.

Now here’s another truth (although not nearly as scandalous): I love to bake. It’s what I do when I’m mad, sad, glad. It’s what I do to relax. It’s what I do when I really need to think something through. I just break out a recipe, make a fast mess and bake something sweet. Baking is a very lovely part of my life.

And one last fact you need to know: about a year ago I found out that I really shouldn’t be eating sugar. In other words, sugar makes me crazy. Yes, it’s more complicated than that but I’ll spare you the somewhat medical details. Bottom line: I just can’t have a lot of sugar in one sitting or I turn into a tired and cranky gal for days.

So… I think you can see where this is going.

In the last year I have had to hunt down and work on a few recipes that I can still binge on (and I do) but that don’t make me feel completely low-energy. Here is one of those recipes. It all started when I read an ingredients list on Yu-I’s blog and then spent the last several months adding things and developing it into something that I really do love dearly. It is somewhere between a biscuit, muffin and cookie. It’s not for everyone as it does taste somewhat healthy but if you’re looking for something not-as-sweet to add to your regular cookie recipes you might give these little babies a try.

Just Sweet Enough Sesame Biscuits
makes about 2-1/2 dozen

2 cups white whole wheat flour (I imagine you can sub all-purpose flour if you want.)
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup milk
54 grams chocolate or carob (Adjust quantity per your sweet tooth.)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350º F and butter/parchment paper a cookie sheet. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a very large bowl mixing. Add oats, whisk well. Add coconut, whisk well. Add sesame seeds, whisk well. In a medium-sized bowl with a pouring spout (if you have something like this), mix all wet ingredients and whisk up very well. Slowly pour the wet into the dry while using a fork to gently mix it all together. Once you’re out of the wet but not quite completely mixed in full, add the cinnamon and chocolate and give it a good gentle stir until it’s incorporated.

Using a teaspoon drop the dough one scoop at a time onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for around 15 minutes or until the tops start to brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Let them cool for at least 8 minutes (the longer you wait the better; it’s so they get crispier on the edges) and then, if you’re like me, binge away! Or if you’re a more calm and well-adjusted friend to sugar, just have a few and save the rest for friends, neighbors and loved ones.

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Some hints: These are best within the first few hours after they are made so have a brood over and eat them all up right away. If you must store them I would say just leave them out on a plate on the counter. If you put them in an airtight container of any kind they lose their outer crunch and I think are not quite as special. Also, regarding chocolate, I usually use unsweetened carob chips or grain sweetened chocolate chips. For this recipe I prefer a more jagged chopped up chocolate so whatever you use, even chips, try chopping them up a bit. I made this recipe a few weeks ago with the Fine & Raw chocolate/agave bar chopped up and it was the best I’ve ever had it. Their chocolate is perfection! And lastly, a note on cinnamon: Recently I started using saigon cassia and it is incredible. It’s much richer and flavorful than basic cinnamon. See if you can find it if you’re a cinnamon fan. Oh and I stir the cinnamon in at the end because I think you taste it more that way.

Play and enjoy!

—MAV