I drank a lot of Faygo as a kid, and Red Pop and Grape were my favorite flavors by far. Back then, I had no real reference for what the “red” in the Red Pop really meant, flavor-wise. I just liked it. And the grape tasted nothing like the kind of grapes my mom bought – so I thought it just a delicious fakey-flavor made in the Faygo labs somewhere.
A decade later I tried a concord grape for the first time and it brought me right back to my grape soda days. I couldn’t believe how sweet and grapey that little purple guy was. Isn’t it so strange how some artificial flavors are pretty darn close to the real thing, while others aren’t even close? Strawberry, I’m looking at you.
After buying a big fat bunch of concords at the market last week, I figured they’d make a great jam. I started researching ways to make it, and all of the recipes I found called for 1 to 3 cups of sugar, which seemed nuts to me. These grapes are pretty sweet as they are, and I thought that adding so much of the white stuff would just mask the flavor I wanted. But I also knew that sugar might help thicken the jam. So I did what any plant-lover would do in this situation…I reached for the chia.
The cookie part of these sandwiches managed to taste like graham crackers without using any graham all. This wasn’t something I planned, but it was an awesome surprise. Just like real graham crackers, they taste good with pretty much anything on top of them. So if you can’t find concord grapes at your market or aren’t down with sifting through the seeds, don’t shy away from making these cookies – just fill the middle with chocolate, almond butter, or some fresh berries. And don’t forget to tell me about any good flavor combos you whip up!
{ Almond Graham Sandwich Cookies With Concord Grape Jam }
For the cookies:
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup almond butter (I used crunchy)
2 tablespoon of flax meal mixed with 6 tablespoons of water
1/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together flax meal and water. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes while you make the rest of your cookies.
Mix together your brown rice flour, almond meal, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, mix together maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla, almond butter, and thickened flax meal. Pour your wet ingredients into your flour mixture and fold everything together.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a tablespoon, scoop batter onto the sheet. Do your best to make them the same size, because they’ll eventually be sandwiched together. Bake for 12-14 minutes until slightly brown on top. Let cool. Scoop your filling and spread it on the bottom of a cookie. Take another cookie and press them together. Enjoy!
{ Grape Chia Jam }
3 cups concord grapes
1/4 cup maple syrup
5 tablespoons chia
Separate the grape skin and pulp by gently squeezing them until the pulp pops out. Place the skins in a medium-sized bowl and the pulp in a medium sauce pan. Cook the pulp on low to medium heat for about ten minutes until it liquifies (the seeds should be separated at this point).
Pour the heated mixture onto the skins and with the back of a spoon press any remaining pulp into the skins. Separate the seeds with a sieve or by hand. Place mixture back into the saucepan and add maple syrup. Cook down for about 10 minutes at medium heat.
Pour into a small bowl or jar and add chia. Mix throughly until chia is combined. Let thicken in the fridge for a couple of hours before using to top cookies.