3C spelt cookies

This one time, I thought it might be the best idea ever to quit my desk job and become a baker.

Imagine how exciting my life would become! My days would start at 2:30 AM (I’m not a morning person, but was sure I’d get over that. Besides, doesn’t 2:30 AM still count as the middle of the night?). Then I would spend the next eight to ten hours measuring, kneading, humming songs, and baking stunning bread that made customers swoon.

OH ye, I told myself. This was totally for me. And I’ll probably be amazing at it too. They’ll probably have me skip training all together once they see what a natural I am.

So the manager of my favorite local bakery let me come in for a trial shift. I come to find out a trial shift is just like any other shift. Except you don’t get paid.

When I go there, I was handed an apron and a recipe. Luckily, I was given great instructions.

“Make this dough, then start on the next one.”

Good. Good good good.

Okay, first ingredient… Flour. I know flour! Oh dear lord there are twelve different types of flour and no labels. Okay, starter. You know what starter is! You get a gold star for that one. Wait… There are TWO starters?! Which one’s which??

I was close to tears and completely terrified the entire time. Everyone had way more tattoos than me, and they were way more intense than my pine tree and Bible verse… Every roll I made was wrong, no loaf was up to par, I always used too little flour or too much. At once point, I threw away an empty carton of eggs and apparently opened the gates of hell.

Some guy pulled the empty carton out of the trash can and stared into my soul. “Did you put this in here?”

I nodded. His nostrils flared.

“These egg cartons are NOT garbage. These are for the Amish.  That’s how they bring us their eggs. Also, this is compost. Not garbage. Try paying attention.”

Luckily, another employee was sympathetic to my absolutely pathetic state and brought me back from the brink of a total meltdown.

So ten hours since I started, I was allowed to leave. The manager looked up at the clock. “Pretty short day. You lucked out with an easy day for your trail shift.”

I think I would’ve been shocked, but I didn’t have the energy. I had been too afraid to eat, drink, or ask where the bathroom was the entire time. I only realized this after I had somehow made it home and taken a three-hour nap.

Moral of the story: respect your local bakers. They work their butts off. Seriously, they were on their feet, working nonstop for ten hours. Some of them even had plans after work, how exactly were they planning on functioning through said plans?! They work so hard because they take such pride in that final product. And they should, it’s absolutely amazing.

Also, I was introduced to spelt flour while I was there and instantly fell in love. I loved it so much that I ended paying them upwards of $30 for a few loaves of their spelt-iest bread. So worth it.

So I found me some spelt flour and made these tasty, chewy, healthy, delicious cookies in the safety of my own kitchen. I even gave them a clever name: 3C spelt cookies. The three Cs being cherries, chocolate, and chia seeds. I know, so clever! I may not have what it takes to be a baker, but I can make the occasional successful batch of cookies. Not one person yelled at me. Not once did I feel like I was in danger of getting beat up. Plus, I got to eat all the cookies myself.

Also, don’t let this keep you from trying these cookies, but I never was offered that job.

Print

3C spelt cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups spelt flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (solid state)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup full-fat greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
• 1/4 cup chia seeds

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking soda.

2. In a standing mixer, cream together coconut oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, egg, and greek yogurt. Slowly add flour mixture. 

3. Once fully incorporated, reduce the speed and add in cherries, chocolate, and chia seeds. Let dough chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes (or refrigerate for at least an hour)*

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scoop out a heaping spoonful of dough and roll into a ball. Place on baking sheet and flatten slightly. Repeat until all dough is used, leaving about 1/2 inch of space between each cookie.

5. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool. Store extras in an airtight container. 

Recipe Notes

*Make sure not to skip the chilling step! If you ignore my sage wisdom, your cookies will spread flat as pancakes while baking. I'm pretty sure an ancient philosopher said that.