I used to be a sunset kind of girl. I was born at night and have always been a night owl. It’s been on my goal list all my life to be more productive and energized in the morning, but that has not come easily. The only activity that can get me out of bed at 3 am with only a few hours of sleep is hiking mountains. I wake up excited and eager to push myself physically. If I could harness the energy that mountains provide into my daily life that would be a game changer! These breakfast cookies are filled with the sweet, tangy taste of summer. The crust is light and buttery with a magical filling blended with strawberry, pineapple, peaches and mango. I summited Mount Morrison at 5:30 am to get the lovely shot of these cookies to be enjoyed by the glow of the sunrise kissing the Denver metro.
My mom recalls when I was 3 years old. She woke up to find me in the kitchen making eggs (with shells) and toast. That about sums up my love for making magic in the kitchen. When I was in high school I taught myself to bake all sorts of pastries and cakes. I had so much surplus I ended up getting to know my neighbors by passing it out. I considered enrolling in culinary school when I was 18, but I wanted to keep it as a hobby. I continue to push myself to improve. I am always my harshest critic in everything I do. Insert annoying perfectionism trait. I dived into the Paleo lifestyle and loved how well it fit into my dairy, grain, and excess sugar sensitives. I have realized that you must be careful with the Paleo diet because it can trigger a nut sensitivity. This is due to the prevalence of almond flour in most recipes. Once you get the chemistry and magic of baking Paleo you’ll be hooked on its capabilities! I enjoy some aspects of Keto. I mainly appreciate the low carbs and sugars. However, the dominant dairy in most recipes does not substitute dairy-free products effectively, in my experience.
There are so many amazing people that have inspired many hours in the kitchen each day. These sunrise cookies were adapted from fig newtons by A Clean Bake.
Recipe for Sunrise Trail Cookies
Ingredients for the filling
- 1 cup organic frozen mix of strawberry, pineapple, peaches and mango. Feel free to use fresh or frozen fruit of your choosing just keep in mind you may need add water to prevent burning the fruit.
- 1/2 tablespoon of coconut sugar (Lakanto or similar for keto)
- 1 tablespoon of arrowroot starch
Instructions for the filling
-
- In a small saucepan add your frozen fruit and cook on low heat.
- Keep an eye on it and it will easily bubble over and burn. Stir often until the fruit has started to break down, about 5-10 minutes.
- Once the fruit is very soft use a masher to break it down into small bits.
- If your mixture has frozen pineapple remove pieces of core. You’ll notice them when they won’t mash down.
- Add the sweetener and starch, cook for 3 more minutes.
- The paste will be very thick. Let it cool to room temp or put it in the fridge to cool completely before using.
Ingredients for the dough
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons organic maple syrup
- 1/4 cup cold dairy free butter, cut into small cubes
- The best dairy-free butter I can find at the grocery store is Country Crock Avocado oil butter although it’s not paleo. I’d like to develop my own avocado butter that would offer the right flakiness like this one does without the no-no ingredients.
- Certainly a good idea to stick to ghee or coconut oil for a cleaner paleo cookie. If you are using either of those I’d follow A Clean Bake‘s steps on the dough.
- You can use regular butter if you’re making this keto. I’d recommend substituting the maple syrup with Lakanto syrup.
Instructions for the dough
-
- In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients.
- Using a pastry blender cut the butter into your dry ingredients. You are welcome to use a food processor for this step. I prefer the lightness that comes with cutting the butter into the dough.
- Whisk the egg and maple syrup in a separate bowl.
- Mix the wet mixture into the dry until a wet dough forms.
- Refrigerate the dough for 5 minutes and prepare your workspace.
- You’ll need a rolling pin, parchment paper, a scale if you have one, and a sharp knife. Use parchment paper when rolling and folding the dough as it’s fragile.
- Divide into two even balls. I used a scale to divide 317g.
- Using parchment paper on top and bottom of your dough roll out into a rectangle. Fold the thin sides and roll until uniform.
- Slice your dough into 4 lengthwise pieces and spread your filling.
- Lift the bottom parchment paper to carefully fold in half.
- Gently cut your filled dough in half to yield 8 cookies.
- Place on prepared pan, repeat steps 7-11 with remaining dough.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Mine took 23 minutes.
- If filling oozes out a bit after baking, not to worry. Use a knife to smooth out the edges and no one will notice!
- Yields 16 cookies. Store room temp in closed container for 3-4 days.
Give these cookies a shot and let me know what you think in the comments. Happy fueling!
We Heal Wild 
Leave a reply to tianaexplores Cancel reply