Nourish the Budding Lotus

Peanut Butter Cookies – Gluten Free

This week I visited Chimayo, NM for the first time. It is a short ride from Santa Fe and is a famous pilgrimage site in the area. I have been wanting to visit it for quite a while as I have heard wonderful things about it, but usually my drives north are to visit Ojo Caliente, and the idea of stopping anywhere else on the way just loses out to the lure of the natural hot springs. Finally though, we decided to make a special trip to visit this pilgrimage site known for its holy dirt, and it was truly a beautiful day.

The complex of the Santuario de Chimayo has been recently expanded to accommodate the large number of pilgrims that arrive around the Easter holidays. The church still holds its historic charm though with adobe walls, stone floors and wood ceilings.  The decorations are traditional to New Mexico and the church has a beautiful simplicity.  And right down the street is the Santo Nino Chapel which was a magical little adventure for me.

This church has also been recently redone with a new facade and fantastic interior.  I wish I could have taken photos inside because it is the sweetest church I have been in…carvings hang from the ceiling with the words Faith, Peace, Love etc above the pews and there are wooden carved trees with leaves, flowers and birds throughout the transcept of the church.  The church, originally dedicate to the Holy Child attached to an ancient legend of a child who cared for prisoners in Atocha, Spain is now dedicated in honor of children and has the feeling of welcoming all ages.

We took our time exploring this small town and were charmed by the Medina family, a group of talented artist, all with their own flair and style.  Carlitos drew us in to their Gallery first offering us tastes of the local Chimayo chile powders which are quite well known.  He had at least 6 different variations of green, red, powder and coarse ground, and even had his own exciting suggestions of how best to use them in the kitchen.  After being charmed by his demonstration I bought Number 1 which is a coarse ground red chile with dried onions and garlic…I am looking forward to sharing some fun recipes featuring the Chimayo Chile.

I left Chimayo charmed by the people, the town and the beautiful churches.  I know it will not be my last visit to Chimayo, but am grateful for the sweet day off to explore a little more of New Mexico.  Returning home I sat back on the couch to relax and enjoy a few peanut butter cookies I had whipped up earlier in the week. They are pretty easy to make and require very few ingredients…so when I knew that I wanted to make some homemade cookies and didn’t want to have too much fuss this was a sure-bet.

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Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup agave
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg

Preaheat oven to 350 F.

Stir together the peanut butter, agave and egg in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the almond flour and baking soda, removing any lumps.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients mixing until the batter is uniform.

Scoop dough into small balls with a spoon or cookie scoop and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Use a fork to flatten the balls into a cookie form.

Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes.  The cookies will still be soft but remove when they are golden brown on the bottom.

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