Whiteley Creek Homestead

It belongs to the umbelliferae family as do carrots, chervil, parsley, fennel, and celeriac. A hard frost develops its sweetness, so it is well suited for planting in Minnesota's climate. It provides vitamin C, fiber, folate, and potassium. It makes a tasty cookie. It's a parsnip.

To prep the parsnips, remove the peel. (A young parsnip's tender peel can be left intact.) Roughly chop into chunks… enough to make 1 cup cooked, pureéd parsnips. "How many chunks is that?" I queried. I guessed, weighed, cooked, pureéd. Perfect. 11 ounces raw parsnips = 1 cup cooked, pureéd parsnips.     

Pureéd carrots and parsnips are added to the liquid ingredients then combined with the dry. Raisins provide sweetness while raw sunnies and hazelnuts add crunch. Finely chopped Brazil nuts sprinkled atop each cookie looks like a dusting of freshly fallen snow.

Parsnip Carrot Cookies

Source:  The Antioxidant Save-Your-Life Cookbook, Jane and Daniel Kinderlehrer p. 164 “Brazil Nut Cookies”

Yield: 3 doz using level tbsp (or 2 doz using heaping tbsp)

1 egg

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil (I used coconut oil.)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup cooked parsnips*, put thru a sieve (I pureéd using a food processor.)

1 cooked carrot, put thru sieve (I pureéd using a food processor.)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, less 3 tbsp

3 tbsp soy flour

½ cup wheat germ (I subbed ¼ cup oat bran + ¼ cup ground flaxseed.)

2 1 tsp baking powder

½ cup raisins

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds (my addition)

¼ cup chopped hazelnuts (my addition)

4 Brazil nuts, grated (I chopped very finely instead.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine egg, honey, oil, vanilla, and pureéd parsnips and carrot. In another bowl, whisk flour, wheat germ (or oat bran and flaxseed), and baking powder. Add to parsnip-carrot mixture and blend. Stir in raisins, sunnies, and hazelnuts. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle Brazil nuts on top of each cookie. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly brown. (Don’t underbake or centers won’t be cooked through. May require add’l time.) *11 ounces raw parsnips = 1 cup cooked, pureéd parsnips