Lately, I’ve been all about a good on-the-go portable snack that fuels my body, boosts my energy, and tastes absolutely delicious while running between classes, yoga, blog work, homework, and all the other aspects of my oh-so crazy life. In the past few weeks, it’s been all about these delicious cookies as my perfect go-to snack and sweet bite. Yes, they are technically cookies, but they’re also quite nutrient dense, nourishing, and shaped into a perfect sized package – cookie or not!

Of course, what’s inside these cookies is the truly special part. You won’t find any dairy, refined sugar, or gluten – just some love, goodness, and caveman loving tiger nut flour. Wait, what? That’s right, the newest gluten-free flour craze has arrived and it hails from a tiger nut. Tiger nuts aren’t actually nuts; they’re small tubers that are usually found wild, as a weed, or as a crop in Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. These small root vegetables have been cultivated for thousands of years and it has been suggested that our Paleolithic ancestors subsided on tiger nuts around 2 million years ago.

Whether they fed our caveman ancestors or not, tiger nuts do pack a nutritious punch and will be making a modern comeback thanks to their high nutritional content and versatility in the diet. These little tubers are quite nutrient dense and pack in iron, potassium, phosphorus, Vitamins C & E, and about 40% the daily recommended fiber in one ounce. They’re also composed of a fiber-like quality called resistant starch. Resistant starch is quite literally what it sounds like: a starch resistant to digestive enzymes in your stomach. This means that resistant starch acts as a prebiotic and heads to the large intestine where it acts as fuel for our gut bacteria. Our healthy little intestinal bacteria ferment resistant starch, produce short chain fatty acids, and create a beneficial environment in our gut for an optimally functioning immune system and body. Resistant starch is thought to be incredibly beneficial for diabetics as it can lower blood glucose levels, support colon health, and decrease inflammation in the gut.

All that and cookies too! Other nourishing ingredients in these tiger nut cookies include creamy peanut butter, coconut oil for a dose of healthy fats, coconut sugar, spices, and ripe banana for the perfect binder for these soft, cake-like cookies.

Giveaway:

Organic Gemini, an awesome Brooklyn-based company and the only USDA certified organic tiger nut company in the US, and I are giving away a bag of tiger nut flour and a bag of tiger nuts for you to experiment with! Organic Gemini’s tiger nut flour is gluten free, organic, paleo, Non-GMO certified, kosher, raw, vegan, and a totally transformative kitchen ingredient. All you need to do is follow Vegukate on Instagram and comment below saying what your favorite kind of cookies is. One winner will be chosen randomly and notified by email. Giveaway closes August 21st.

Supremely healthy tiger nut flour + creamy nut butter + sweet mashed banana + body loving coconut oil + nutrient rich coconut sugar = caveman cookies for the modern busy-bee!

Tiger Nut Peanut Butter Cookies Cookies

Makes 9 cookies

1 cup tiger nut flour
3 tablespoons peanut butter*
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 ripe banana, mashed
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
½ tablespoon vanilla extract

Optional add in’s: cacao nibs, dark chocolate chips, or chopped up nuts.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan on the stove add coconut oil and peanut butter and gently melt on low heat until combined, about 5 minutes. Stir often to make sure mixture does not burn!

In a large bowl add in mashed banana, tiger nut flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, sea salt, vanilla extract, and melted peanut butter and coconut oil. Gently mix to thoroughly combine. Feel free to add in nuts or chocolate chips if desired.

Scoop a heaped tablespoon onto lined cookie tray until all batter is used. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned.

Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy!

*Feel free to swap with another nut or seed butter for allergies and sensitivities.

Tiger Nut Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Turn these cookies into an ice-cream sandwich by making some banana ice cream. Note: make sure your cookies are completely cooled before adding in nice cream. These get messy, but are absolutely delicious!

Simply scoop a heaping tablespoon of nice cream onto cookie and sandwich with another cookie. Devour immediately! You can also use other ice cream or non-dairy ice cream smooched between these cookies as well.