Teff is an ancient, tiny grain that imparts warm, earthy, caramel notes to these chewy cookies. Teff Oatmeal Cookies with Whiskey Currants from Alternative Baker are quick to whip up and a dream to eat. This recipe is gluten-free.
New to teff?
So was I.
Now, I know what you might be thinking, but I’m not gluten-free. I get it and I was there too. Here’s the thing. These cookies are gluten-free, but for me, that’s not the point (although for many this IS the point!). The point is, these cookies are flavor and texture rich, complex (hello bourbon) and had me reaching for way more than I care to admit. They just happen to be made with gluten-free flour.
I’ll be making a double batch next time and freezing a stash for later.
I’ve been following Alanna’s blog for quite a while and am a big fan. When she announced a cookbook was coming, I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to get a copy of her work in my hands. Alternative Baker finally arrived after literally drooling over seeing what people were already making from it #Alternativebakerbook.
I was due to leave for a conference to Kansas City the day after it landed on my doorstep, so I took it with me, hauling it around with my carry-on and big bag of food (I got to take all my food, no one confiscated it).
Setting at the window seat with two passengers next to me, I took Alternative Baker out of my bag. My new friends whipped their heads around and proceeded to ooh and ahhh, leaning in to get a closer look, wanting more detail with every turn.
There was an instant drool-fest that helped us get through the turbulence from our intense focus (thank you Alanna!).
Each recipe is deliciously photographed by Alanna with inspiration at every turn. I had difficulty landing on just one recipe to share here, but the whiskey currents won me over. I’ve got my eye on her sweet potato bourbon cheesecake bites next!
There’s so much to love about Alternative Baker, including clearly written recipes, stories and headnotes, gorgeous photography for each recipe and variations in many recipes. But one feature I am particularly excited about is her carefully written profile of each type of alternative grain, flour and starch used in her recipes.
Most are new-to-me grains that will certainly add new adventures and flavors to my baking. Flours like teff, chestnut, mesquite, millet and amaranth; all new-to-me. But there are familiar ones too like oat, almond and hazelnut flours.
But it’s teff I have my eye on for now and am so excited to share this cookie recipe with y’all! My friend, Tessa at Salted Plains, made these cookies with chocolate chunks sans currants, if you’d prefer some chocolate with your teff. And Alanna has a fun trailer of her cookbook over at her Alternative Baker page!
If you’re new to teff, I hope you’ll give these a try.
Have you tried any new to you grains or flours lately? What have you discovered?
the recipe
Teff Oatmeal Cookies with Whiskey Currants
Ingredients
- 1/2 C Currants 75g
- 2 Tbs Bourbon or GF Whiskey
- 3/4 C Walnuts rough chopped, 90g
- 1/4 C + 2 Tbs Packed Light Brown Sugar 80g
- 1/4 C Organic Cane Sugar 50g
- 8 Tbs Unsalted Butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 C Teff Flour 100g
- 2 Tbs Corn Starch *see note
- 2 Tbs Arrowroot *see note
- 3/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Fresh Grated Nutmeg
- 1 C GF Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats 90g
Instructions
- Combine currants and bourbon and let set in a jar to marry flavors for at least three hours to up to several days. Or, if needed more quickly, bring bourbon to a simmer, turn off heat, add the currants, lid and set to steep for about an hour. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C) and set oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spread walnuts on a small sheet pan and toast for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside.
- Place the sugars in a large bowl and stir in the melted butter. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Place a sifter over the bowl and sift in the teff, corn starch, arrowroot (or tapioca) salt, baking soda and nutmeg. Stir vigorously to combine the ingredients. Stir in the oats, currants and walnuts. The dough can be chilled for several days at this point; bring back to room temperature before proceeding to the next step.
- Scoop the dough using a #20 large ice cream scoop (3 Tbs each) and place them on the prepared cookie sheets spacing them 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) apart. (see note for freezing tips). Bake for 15-17 minutes until cookies are golden and crisp around the edges. Cool on cookie sheet. They will firm up as they rest.
- Store in a covered container for up to four days.
Notes
*Disclosure: I received a complementary copy of Alternative Baker.
I skidded to a halt at teff and, whiskey.
Just need to veganise, replace butter and egg, and I’m there.(gf are vegans too)
Can you freeze cooked? I wanted to cook these and take a few to a friend who is ill. She needs to be able to freeze some of,the bits I share as she can’t eat them all,at once and it is so important to have some things there isn’t it?
Hello there! You can freeze these cookies prior to baking, but not after. If you freeze them before baking, simply thaw at room temperature, then bake. I hope this helps and that you enjoy the recipe!
I love Alanna’s work, and I’m not surprised to see that you have created a gorgeous rendition of her cookies, Traci! Beautiful work.
So beautiful, Traci! I haven’t had a chance yet to make those whiskey currants but you know I will as soon as I get the chance. ;) That airplane story is too funny – and I’m so glad that you made it here safely. Turbulence is the worst!! You perfectly summed up the one of the wonderful things about teff, it just happens to be gluten-free – hooray! xoxo
I’ve never used teff flour before and few others from Alanna’s gorgeous book as well but when I saw those photos I knew I’ll have to try them all! Can’t wait to bake something soon, her book is just amazing and all recipes are so yummy! :-) You captured these cookies so well, always love seeing what you post!
I 100% agree – it’s NOT the point that they’re gluten-free, the point is that they’re DELICIOUS not in spite of being gluten-free but BECAUSE they’re gluten-free. I feel like this airplane story would tickle Alanna because she doesn’t like flying one bit, so having something to distract her from turbulence is so her style:) You captured these cookies beautifully!!
I also feel that instant drool fest every time I see your blog! These cookies are everything that a girl dreams of when she comes home after a long day of work. The whiskey currants – brilliant! <3
Awwwh, Beeta, thank you so much! You’d love these! And that Teff is sooo easy to bake with! :D
I love her book! I can’t wait to make something from it. I am a complete novice when it comes to gluten free baking, so most of the flours are so foreign to me. I did buy buckwheat flour and am excited to try it. I also ordered chestnut flour because that just sounds really nice. These cookies are on the top of my list now!
No doubt it’s a beauty! I love it too, Amanda! I think you’ll love baking with teff.. and buckwheat and chestnut will be fun to play with. I’ve not ordered chestnut yet, but it’s on the list! I can’t wait to see what you make! :D
Oh my!! these cookies..
I love Alana’s book. That girl can bake, no? :))
I, too, have never used teff and am not gluten-free, but these photos make me want to go get some teff flour. :)
I just ordered sweet rice flour and plan on baking more from the book in the upcoming days. So many good recipes..
Hope you are well. Cheers!
If for anything that teff will add a new flavor profile to your repertoire, Aysegul. Yaaas on sweet rice flour! I grabbed some of that too, along with tapioca starch. :D
I’ve never even heard of Teff, let alone cook with it, but it sounds like a wonderful grain!! And Alternative Baker sounds like an absolutely wonderful cookbook that I MUST get my hands on! These cookies look all sorts of amazing! I mean you had me at Whiskey! :) But the texture and flavors going on here have me drooling! I’m going to just make a double batch, because I have a strange feeling these are going to disappear in a flash! Cheers, Traci! xo
You’d love the book, Chey… it’s total inspiration, delicious recipes and there’s so much helpful insight Alanna has shared about baking with alternative grains. No doubt you’d love those whiskey currants! Make a double batch!
Alanna’s work is so beautiful and you certainly did her recipe justice! I like to bake gluten-free for the challenge but I have yet to dabble with teff flour. Based on the way these cookies look, I’m thinking that needs to change very soon, The texture looks PERFECT!!
These cookies look so good! I bought teff flour too after Alanna’s gorgeous book! I am thinking of which recipe to try next! There are sooo many good ones! :) You picked a good one Traci!! Love all the shots as always!! And chocolate chips are a must in all cookies!!
So excited for Alanna and her stunning cookbook :)
What is evaporated cane sugar? My supermarket does not have teff flour let alone evaporated sugar. Can I substitute regular sugar? I found teff flour on Amazon (not to be confused with teff grain) I really want to try this recipe…..they look yummy!!
Hi Cathy! Thank you for your note. Regular granulated sugar has a much finer grain than evaporated cane sugar, so the results could vary a bit, but I wouldn’t hesitate using it. They’ll still be fabulous! Here’s link to the sugar and teff. I don’t know why the teff is so high on Amazon. I’ll add the links to the recipe.
I’ve never used teff flour, but these sound amazing. I’m going to have to search it out and give these a try.
I haven’t tried Teff yet, Traci. I’ll look for it at my local market – I like trying new ingredients so will add this to my list. Alanna’s book looks beautiful – isn’t getting a new cookbook such a treat. These cookies look fantastic and whiskey currants – oh my! Have a great weekend, Traci!
You’re going to love Teff, Geraldine and those whiskey currants! I’m completely smitten with teff. I can’t wait to experiment more and bake from Alanna’s book with it! Indeed, getting a new cookbook is so fun, especially if it inspires like this one does. Have a great weekend too, Geraldine!
These look gorgeous Traci!!! I have yet to land on which recipe I want to make first — everything is so dang beautiful in this book. And while I”m not gluten-free, I love playing with different flours for texture and flavor. This book is heaven!!! xo
Ohhh, there’re so many I want to make.. do you see all the tags up there? That banana tart too.. oh my!! I’m not GF either, but I’ll be baking from this book time and time again! I just love it!! Can’t wait to see what you make! :D
Oh my, these cookies look good Traci! I haven’t tried teff yet, but I did see Tessa’s recipe also, so I’ve got it on my list! Alanna’s blog is absolutely beautiful, so I’m sure her book is just stunning! Since today is actually my big day, I’m thinking I’ll head to the bookstore to treat myself to a copy and then the market to grab some teff. A day experimenting in the kitchen sounds like the perfect day to me! Thanks for sharing! Happy weekend!
Happy Birthday Mary Ann! It sounds like your day will be lovely.. with a new book and some teff! I know you’ll appreciate the new-to-you flavor and texture. Have fun!
I love teff! I used to use it a lot, but kind of got out of the habit. Buy Alanna’s book is making me excited about it again. And the trailer is so adorable. I’ve watched it like 5 times. Lol. I made her pecan=cranberry tart yesterday and it was the bomb!
Oh that’s great to hear, Liz! I’m so happy to get to know teff… I had no idea what I was missing out on! That tart! Oh my! I can’t wait to see it! :D
These look insanely good! I’ve been loving everyone’s pictures of Alanna’s cookbook and recipe – definitely need to get my hands on a copy. I love how thick and chewy these cookies are, and I actually have a little bit of whisky in my baking cupboard at the moment…
Oh Claudia, I know you’d appreciate it being a baker yourself! These cookies are over the top and I’ll be making another batch this weekend!