Carob chips are a nice change from chocolate in these yummy cookies.

　　

Ingredients

makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies

　　1 cup sprouted spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour

　　1/2 cup arrowroot powder

　　1 teaspoon baking powder

　　1/2 teaspoon sea salt

　　1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　6 tablespoons canola oil

　　1 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　1/2 teaspoon almond extract

　　Freshly grated zest of 1/2 orange

　　1/2 cup light agave nectar

　　1/2 cup almonds, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

　　1/2 cup juice-sweetened dried cherries

　　1/2 cup grain-sweetened carob chips or grain-sweetened chocolate chips

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

　　

Step 2

In a bowl, combine the flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together the canola oil, vanilla extract, almond extract, orange zest, and agave nectar. Combine the two mixtures until thoroughly incorporated. Fold in the almonds, cherries, and carob chips. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake about 12 minutes, or until lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks to cool completely.

　　Reprinted with permission from Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener by Ania Catalano. Copyright © 2008 by Ania Catalano; photography © 2008 by Lara Hata. Published by Celestial Arts, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.Ania Catalano is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet School of Cooking in New York and the owner of the Gourmet Whole Foods Catering and Cooking School in Milford, Connecticut.