Help me make a "cookie" type treat

[beadmama]

I would love to make Dd a "cookie" but I am really bad at improvising and don't want to waste ingredients. I can use these items only for this treat. They can be cooked or dehydrated I don't care. Amounts would be great or at least an idea of what the texture should be like. Like I said I am not an experimental type of cook!

Evoo
Teff grain ( I can make flour)
Rice (I can make flour)
Sun Dried Figs
Water
Salt
Banana

Any ideas?

[lil_miss_understood]

Timeline?
I'm putting figs on my grocery list...

eta: do you or could you get sweet rice (aka glutinous rice)? I will be trying with pre-ground flours, most likely.

[beadmama]

The timeline is preferably before I eat all the figs! No rush just something I would like for her to have as a treat. She saw Dh eat some cookies the other day and I would like to have something for her as well.

I only have and can use Lundberg brown rice. Long grain if it matters.

Totally green question. Is Sweet Rice made glutenous by adding gluten or does it have a naturally glutenous nature? Dd is Celiac which is why I am asking.

[beadmama]

I forgot I can also use chia seeds!

[lil_miss_understood]

No problem. That's a perfectly natural question. It's called glutinous but it doesn't contain gluten in any form. It's also known as "sticky" rice, but is sold most commonly as sweet or glutinous rice.
I'm asking because it can be used in place of a starch, which gives the baking a more appealing consistency/texture. I haven't used teff much, but I know baking gluten-free is easier with a starch, particularly if you're also egg-free.
I don't have chia seeds but I do have flax, and to my knowledge they work basically the same, so that's good to know.
Do you have any safe leavening at all? Baking soda? A safe vinegar (rice vinegar)?

eta: Here's a nice little spiel on Lundberg's site regarding sweet/glutinous rice.

[beadmama]

Thanks for the explanation. I have chickpea flower does that count as something starchy? I have not tried any type of leavening and would rather try not to add anything new into the mix kwim? I really don't care if they puff like a cookie if that is all it is for. The only thing I have found while working with Teff is that it absorbs a lot of liquid.

Thanks for you help!

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by beadmama

Thanks for the explanation. I have chickpea flower does that count as something starchy? I have not tried any type of leavening and would rather try not to add anything new into the mix kwim? I really don't care if they puff like a cookie if that is all it is for. The only thing I have found while working with Teff is that it absorbs a lot of liquid.

Thanks for you help!

Sorry, I push the boundaries, I know. Just thinking things through in my head as I try to figure out how I'm going to do this.

eta: and I totally understand not wanting to introduce anything new.

[rhesp1212]

What about a chewy granola bar kind of cookie?? You could basically throw all of those ingredients into a food processor, puree them up into a nice thick dough and bake in a brownie pan. I make something similar to this for my son using raisins and oats, so I don't see why it wouldn't work with some other grain instead. I've also done it with raisins and quinoa and coconut. I usually add 1-2 tsp. baking soda, but I'm sure it will work just the same without it.

Maybe try these porportions to start off with:

1 cup dried figs
1/2-1 banana
1 TBS EVOO
1/2 tsp salt
Puree until smooth in food processor.
Add cooked teff, and either cooked rice or rice flour (probably a total of 2-3 cups). Pulse in food processor until mixed well . Mixture should be thick like a bread dough or thick cookie dough consistancy. If not, add more flour, Teff, or rice to thicken it up a bit.

Grease square brownie pan with EVOO, press mixture into pan. Bake at 325 degrees until edges are browned (10-15 minutes probably). Cut into squares and cool. Enjoy!! If you try it, let us know how they turn out!!

You could probably also drop these by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet and bake that way too.

[lil_miss_understood]

Well, my first (and so far only) attempt turned out more the consistency of banana bread, with about the same flavour (minus the spices). It needs more oil (and probably less water, but the only water I used was that in the bananas), but if I add more oil the dough will be even more like batter than it is presently and if I decrease the bananas to compensate, there won't be enough sugar as there's just BARELY enough as is to categorize it as "sweet".
You might try dehydrating the bananas then powdering them. If I had a dehydrator (I really need to get one...), I'd give it a shot that way.

Here's what I did:
4 bananas
1/4 c EVOO
2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup teff flour
1 teaspoon salt

Break bananas into bowl. Pour EVOO over top and blend with a egg beater/hand mixer. Add salt. Using a wooden spoon, slowly beat in flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheet and bake at 375F for 12 minutes.

If I were to do it again (with dehydrated bananas ), I would try 4 dehydrated, powdered bananas with 2 "normal" bananas and increase the oil to 1/2-3/4 cup. That should get the sugar level to something more resembling a cookie and also get it more crispy rather than cake-like. Of course, I could be horribly wrong and it could turn out atrocious.
So, that's my attempt for you. Chances are I won't have the chance for another attempt before your figs are gone.
And I won't even tell you about the fig experiment. Just trust me when I say you don't want to know.

[beadmama]

Thank you both for your ideas!

I will be putting bananas into the dehydrator asap and I will keep you posted on how it works. I never thought of dehydrating bananas in order to up the sugar content but it makes perfect sense.

There is a local gal who has agreed to give me some of the figs off of her tree and when I get them I will try the fig "brownies" as she says it produces a lot of figs.