A Recipe Worth a Laugh...gluten free, healthy breakfast cookies

Breakfast cookies, gluten free, chickpea flour, oats

“Mom, why don’t you laugh very much anymore? You used to laugh so hard you said you needed to pee.”

Okay, okay it’s true. I’ve been known to let laughter buckle my knees….and sometimes send me to the lady’s room. But seriously, listening to the sound of those words about my laughter (or lack of lately) makes me want to cry a little. The truth in her nine-year-old reminiscent, out-of-the-blue statement crushes my heart to know it’s noticeable.

I recall when I’d say or see something silly and cross my legs from uncontrolled laughter! I remember giggles bubbling from my mouth because just about any moment contained the potential for ‘happy’ to overflow. Sure, I’ve walked through dark times when even smiles were dimmed to a slowly diminishing occurrence on my sunken face. But maybe that’s why I’m so aware of the contrast…and how I know I’m headed in the wrong direction.

The strange thing about her observation is I don’t know exactly what’s different. It’s not like ‘happy’ doesn’t happen in my house anymore. It’s just that I think maybe I’ve misplaced what’s underneath the ‘happy’ so it doesn’t ever find its way out.

Maybe I’ve lost my way to joy in the ordinary.

Is this happening to you? Are you just getting by in your grind wondering how an uncontrollable giggle might feel? If you pause to put your finger on what’s really wrong, suddenly you realize something has stolen your joy. Or maybe your joy’s just a little lost between laundry and unending lists….maybe it lingers between exhaustion and subtle, strangulating sense of ingratitude. (OUCH…yeah, one hurts..)

Well, that’s why we’ve embarked on this adventure. We’re searching for a clearing, a place for joy to bubble over in our quest for *JOY*.

You see, when my sweet girl sent her innocent dagger into my heart, it pierced me with the painful affirmation of everything I’ve been blogging about.

Resolutions in Reverse—jump on! It’s still January.
A Quest for Joy: Do Radically Different This Year
JOY: Fake it ‘Til You Make it…yeah, this one’s still deep in my heart and coming out of my hands!

I plan to pick apart, pray all over and put back together this concept of Jesus-joy all year long. Maybe my daughter reminding me I’d lost my laughter helped me realize I'm guilty of letting God down by not grasping His joy in the midst of all the junk. Yeah, I confess I get strapped down by stress, succumbing to ordinary struggles all adding up until I slowly sink into a pattern of routine complacency.

That kind of ~soul-sabotage~ suffocates joy!

So, let's oxygenate our joy instead! Begin by breathing CONTENTMENT, surrendering TRUST, expressing GRATITUDE and living out His LOVE. Because alongside LOVE lived out, we naturally arrive at real Jesus-*JOY*!

And in all of that, lives laughter!

So, pick a place and start: contentment, trust, gratitude, LOVE. Me? I’m starting right here in His Word, in a passage I can’t read without a genuinely joyful smile spreading across my mouth!

LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16: 5-11

And there you have it right there in His living Word. If you believe the Bible is real, you’ll read those words until your heart feels the joy they reveal. In His presence we are FILLED with JOY…and what’s not to bubble over in joy-laughter about that today!?

And once we’ve begun by breathing JOY into your soul and bubbling over in joy, we’re ready to really live well in our inside-out way! Just try it, let’s laugh all the way to real wellness.

And, it’s about time we fuel ourselves on this journey. There’s no better place to begin that than a healthy breakfast cookie. After all, it might sound funny to eat cookies when you wake up…until you realize the nourishment in them.

Ingredients

2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup hazelnut flour (or you can use all chickpea flour to avoid purchasing two kinds)
2 tsp baking soda
½ teaspoons salt (ideally Celtic sea salt or Pink Himalayan)
⅔ cup honey
2 eggs, preferably pastured
½ cup coconut oil
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup nut butter (I most often use sunbutter for these but peanut or almond work also)
1 cup old fashioned oats*
¾ to 1 cup of mix-ins**

Recipe Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine flours, baking soda and salt. Whisk to aerate.
In another bowl, mix honey, eggs, coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla and nut butter. Whisk well or beat with an electric mixer.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well with wooden spoon.
Stir in oats and mix-ins until evenly distributed.
Use spoon or medium cookie scoop to place on cookie sheet two inches apart. Gently, slightly flatten each dough ball.
Bake for approximately 12 minutes. Cool for a couple minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.
Enjoy! Freeze what won't be eaten within two days.