Ditch the grain with these incredible gluten and grain-free Strawberry Almond Butter Pinwheel Cookies made with cassava flour. You'll never miss the grain! They're the perfect to accompany your afternoon coffee or tea, brunch item, or dessert. They're sweetened with only a touch of maple syrup and strawberry jam. Who says unprocessed, "real" food can't be a scrumptious treat???
In a large bowl, blend cassava flour, xantham gum, salt, and baking soda.
In a small bowl, whisk egg. Add maple syrup and water and fully combine.
Combine the wet and dry ingredient bowl contents and add Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening. Blend into a dough, first by mixing with a spoon and then using hands to fully incorporate ingredients. If dough is too dry, add additional water - 1 Tbsp at a time. If dough is too wet, add additional cassava flour - 1 Tbsp at a time.
Split dough into 2 equal sized balls.
Place dough balls, one at a time, on a piece of parchment paper.
Roll out each of the 2 dough balls between 2 pieces of parchment paper until they're about 1/4 inch thick.
Remove top piece of parchment paper and place each rolled-out dough, with bottom parchment, onto a baking sheet.
Spread half of the almond butter (1/4 cup) onto each of the 2 pieces of rolled-out dough, leaving a 1/2 inch plain edge along one side. (This will prevent filling from overflowing at the top of the pastry when rolled up.)
Spread half of the strawberry jam (1/4 cup) to fully cover almond butter. (Any preferred jam flavor can be used such as raspberry, apricot, peach, blueberry, mixed berry, etc.)
Sprinkle 1/2 tsp cinnamon evenly over each of the 2 rolled-out pastries.
Sprinkle half of the chopped pecans (1/4 cup) over each of the 2 rolled-out pastries.
Starting with the end where the almond butter and jam were spread right to the edge, roll dough into a tight jelly roll. (I find it helpful to lift parchment to help guide the dough. See picture in body of post.)
Wrap each of the 2 individual Pinwheel Cookie logs tightly in either parchment or plastic wrap and place in freezer for one hour. (Placing logs in freezer is needed to firm up ingredients so they hold their shape during slicing - allowing for the pinwheel design.) The log is ready for slicing when a sharp knife easily slices through log without the dough losing its shape or crumbling. If crumbling occurs, the log froze excessively. Simply leave log out on counter for a few minutes before slicing.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place individual Strawberry Almond Butter Pinwheel Cookie slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (The same parchment can be used.)
In a small bowl, crack and whisk an egg.
Brush the top of each cookie with egg wash.
Sprinkle a touch of cinnamon on top of each cookie.
Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of each cookie.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!!
Chocolate Variation: Substitute 1/2 cup melted chocolate for the strawberry jam in the recipe above. Melt and then spread chocolate directly over the almond butter on the rolled-out dough. Be sure to roll up the pinwheels immediately after spreading chocolate. Once chocolate cools it will harden and hamper rolling. All other instruction steps are the same for both variations. Use dark chocolate for a dairy-free, less sweet version or dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate for a sweeter cookie. I use Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips, as they are gluten, dairy, nut and soy-free as well as non-GMO verified.
*These freeze perfectly.