• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Dr Ricki - Your prescription for a best-selling book

Ricki Heller

A healthy lifestyle can be sweet!

  • Home
  • WORK WITH ME
    • GET STARTED
    • KEEP WRITING
    • POLISH YOUR MANUSCRIPT
  • About
  • Press
  • Blog

Pumpkinseed Shortbread Buttons

by Ricki Heller 4 Comments

I had promised to post recipes on Friday and diet musings on Saturdays during Holidailies, but I’ve been so frazzled by all this marking that I skipped straight to the weekend in yesterday’s post.  I figured I’d better rectify the situation, and what better way than with cookies?

This is a recipe I originally created for my cooking classes, and one we baked a couple of weeks ago at that last class in my house.

I’d been given a jar of organic pumpkinseed butter about a year ago, and found I wasn’t crazy about the flavor on its own.  I knew that pumpkinseeds are uber-healthy (they contain not only monounsaturated fats, the same type in olive oil, but also an abundance of zinc, shown to help prevent prostate cancer and the one mineral involved in more metabolic functions than any other in the body), so I was particularly chagrined that I didn’t like the taste.  How to make amends for this terrible affront?  Why, convert the p-butter into cookies, of course.

These are quick and easy,  with the traditional shortbread texture when baked the full 12 minutes.  For a slightly chewy cookie, bake a bit less.

I brought these to a Christmas party at a friend’s last weekend* and they disappeared fairly quickly, even though they were nestled between cherry pie and a multi-layered, cream-covered chocolate concoction.  Not bad for a little vegan, gluten-free treat.

pumpkinseedcookie.jpg

 

Pumpkinseed Shortbread Buttons

These rich tasting cookies combine a subtle flavor with the traditional sandy texture of butter-laden shortbread.  Use other seed butters as a substitute, such as sunflower or sesame (tahini) or a combination, if you prefer. 

1/2 cup organic pumpkin seed butter

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/8 tsp. sea salt 

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.  

In a medium bowl, combine the seed butter, flax seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix until creamy and evenly blended.  Add the flour and salt and mix well until you have a fairly stiff dough. 

Using a teaspoon or small scoop, measure and drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the paper.  Flatten slightly with the back of a glass or a moistened palm. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes, turning halfway, until cookies are light golden.  Allow to cool before removing from sheets.   Store in an airtight container.  Makes about one dozen. 

*Festive Variation:  Pulse about 1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips in a food processor until crumbled.  Stir the crumbled chocolate into the batter along with the flour and salt.

[This recipe will also appear in my upcoming cookbook, Sweet Freedom, along with more than 100 others, most of which are not featured on this blog.  For more information, check the “Cookbook” button at right, or visit the cookbook blog.]

Never miss a recipe–or a comment from The Girls! Click here to subscribe to RickiHeller.com via email. You’ll get recipes as soon as they’re posted, plus cookbook updates and news about upcoming events! (“We love subscribers, Mum. . . almost as much as we love treats!”

[Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links. If you buy using these links, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission from the sale.]

Share

Filed Under: baking, cookies, dessert, gluten free, recipes, vegan Tagged: baking, cookies, dairy free, dessert, egg free, gluten free, pumpkinseed butter, recipe, vegan, wheat-free

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sally Parrott Ashbrook says

    December 17, 2007 at 4:28 pm

    That’s funny. I love various nutbutters, but there’s something about sunflower seed butter that tastes . . . dusty or something, and I don’t like it as much. I wonder if it’s a similar issue.

    Reply
  2. Ricki says

    December 18, 2007 at 9:33 pm

    Sally,

    I feel exactly the same way about sunflower seed butter (AND pumpkinseed butter). I find them a bit bitter on their own (same with tahini). I think that’s why I ended up making the cookies with it, to temper the taste a bit. Somehow, once baked and mixed with everything else, I don’t mind it a bit.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Simple Delicious Gluten-Free & Vegan Cookies « Until We Eat Again says:
    July 6, 2010 at 5:04 pm

    […] vegan. What you see above is a batch of Sunflower Shortbread Button Cookies, made with the help of this recipe from Diet, Dessert and Dogs. As you may notice, the original recipe is for Pumpkinseed Shortbread Cookies, but as Whole Foods […]

    Reply
  2. Recipe for Gluten Free, Sugar Free Baked Blueberry Breakfast Oatmeal Pudding says:
    May 7, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    […] got asked to the prom, fussing over what to wear. Should it be the flirty, chocolate-speckled Pumpkinseed Shortbread Buttons? The more conservative but comfortable Pumpkin-Apple Crumble Bars? Or maybe this frilly beige […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great!

[read more about Ricki...]

As seen on…

Categories

Become a Patron!

Ricki Heller

Footer

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Dr Ricki Cooks
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy

Copyright © 2023 · RICKIHELLER.COM