Savory Avocado Coconut Cookies.

I glared at my monitor incredulously. It sounded like the sort of thing you would make on a dare. I had wandered into this recipe while searching for something gluten-free to bake. If I had a lick of common sense, I would have stuck with something a little more traditional for a dessert. My eyes darted down to the ingredients and baking steps. The recipe only required three ingredients: a large avocado, coconut flour, and some salt. All I had to do was mash up the avocado, mix it into the coconut flour and salt, toss the concoction onto a tray, and leave in the oven for a bit.

Savory Avocado Coconut Cookies. Three ingredients. Seven steps. What could go wrong?

I scrambled over to Whole Foods and picked up the necessary ingredients. Once I got home, I pre-heated the oven and got to work. The avocado peel came off easily and I attacked the fruit with all the precision of Norman Bates. Some of the resulting mess ended up on the floor where the cat sniffed it curiously and then retreated. I tried not to think of it as a bad omen and dumped the appropriate amount of coconut flour into the avocado’s bowl.

After the salt was added, I grabbed a big spoon and started to mix. It felt like I was pushing sand. The flour and avocado were adhering to one another, but the product was crumbling and barely clumping. It took a good long while to bunch the mixture into what can only be described as The World’s Saddest Cookies. Despite their less-than-perfect appearance, the bright green of the “cookies” brought me some level of optimism. I pursed my lips and guided the cookie tray into the oven. Surely, the baking process would instill some flavor into these little green lumps.

All signs should have pointed to me lowering my expectations for the cookies. I caught a sniff of the coconut flour and began thinking about sharing these cookies with my family. I would now have a signature dessert that I could bring to my in-laws when we ate at their residence. Their fears of the bizarre-looking cookies would dissipate with a single taste. I would be the new gluten-free baker on the block. The thought was as savory as I hoped the cookies would be.

Beep!

I vaulted off the couch and grabbed the tray with a gloved hand. The little green lumps that I had sent in were now…little green lumps with a tan. I could still smell a hint of coconut, so my hope for a good, savory flavor remained intact. After giving the lumps time to cool, I brought my fiancé into the kitchen to take a taste test with me. She was surprised by the appearance of the cookies, but tentatively took a bite with me.

I didn’t even have time to ask her if she liked them before she placed what was left of the lump in my hand and ran to get a drink of water.

Dejected, I got in touch with my stepmother-in-law. My fiance’s father and sister were diagnosed with celiac disease over ten years ago and it largely fell to her to figure out how to cook and bake without gluten. Surely, she would give me some guidance as to what went wrong with the recipe or my cooking method. My stepmother-in-law listened to my story and shrugged. She had recently spent a Saturday making cookies of her own. She made the cookies multiple times with different ratios of ingredients to get the right level of consistency and texture, but the end result was the same. This woman, who had been cooking and baking gluten-free for so long, still struggled to perfect a recipe.

I was stunned. Having eaten with my in-laws on numerous occasions, I knew her cooking was top-notch. My stepmother-in-law noted my surprise and told me that cooking and baking is a constant learning process. You rarely ever get the recipe right the first time. The issue is compounded in gluten-free baking. It is important to not be discouraged when a recipe does not go as planned. Instead, take stock of what you have learned and incorporate it into your next try. The reward of having a go-to baking recipe is worth the effort.

My discussion with my stepmother-in-law soothed my bruised ego. She had spent an entire day on a cookie recipe that went nowhere and I was upset over one simple recipe gone awry. I went back over the avocado coconut cookie recipe and checked some similar, more complex recipes. It turns out that I need to add some additional binding agents to the recipe to bulk up those green lumps. It would also help to add chocolate to enhance the flavor. My lesson has been learned. I don’t feel embarrassed about the experience anymore. I feel empowered.

Savory Avocado Coconut Cookies. I’ll give you another try…someday.

– Josh