These grain-free and vegan cookies, inspired by turtle chocolates, feature a nutty pecan cookie base, a creamy date caramel center, a rich coating of dark chocolate, toasted pecans, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. They’re sweetened with just dates and a touch of maple syrup, but they provide maximum pleasure.
Hello my dears!
Few foods remind me of Christmas more than chocolate turtles, which, if you’re not familiar, are puddles of caramel that are dotted with pecans and coated in chocolate. There was always a Fannie May box of turtles tucked inside my stocking when I was growing up (my mom still gets a box for my Dad), and my grandma would occasionally arrange a little tray of turtles on her living room coffee table on Christmas day, which felt like the greatest of luxuries (turtles for the taking!!).
These cookies get their inspiration from the candies, but they’re made with date caramel (using just dates, coconut milk and vanilla), with a crisp, grain-free pecan cookie base and a swirl of dark chocolate on top. The recipe took a bit of tinkering to get right (more on that below), but they instantly became a family favorite. I’ve already whipped up half a dozen batches, even though, as I mentioned in Tuesday’s buttercrunch post, I usually don’t get my joy from making cookies. They’re that good.
Slowing down (for pleasure)
My in-laws were in town last week, and I served the cookies on Tuesday night (after a dinner of this Slow Cooker Massaman-Inspired Vegetable Curry). My father-in-law, Mike, took his first bite, settling back in his chair with a sigh of satisfaction, and asked if I’d ever written about eating slowly in this newsletter (he’s an avid newsletter reader and podcast listener, which melts my heart).
Mike eats famously slowly. Legend has it that he chews thirty times a bite, and he’s always the last one to finish any meal. He’s the kind of eater that enjoys food with his whole being, settling into the experience fully, lingering long after all the other plates are cleared. The rest of the family was already finishing up their last few crumbs as Mike took his second bite.
“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve written about eating slowly,” I answered, licking my fingers.
“I slow down to savor,” he replied. “That way I get to maximize my time enjoying food.”
Mike is a very wise man.
We all know that eating slowly has major benefits for digestion. When we eat slowly and deliberately we calm our nervous systems, helping us enter a “rest and digest” state. Chewing food longer breaks down food more, making it easier to digest, and alerts the brain to signal the stomach, triggering digestion. When we eat slowly we can also better tune into our bodies, sensing when we’re satisfied or full.
For Mike, however, eating slowly is about pleasure. He slows down to maximize his enjoyment. The slower he eats, the longer he gets to savor the joy of the experience. The benefits to digestion are just the icing on the cake.
While we all must eat to supply our bodies with the nutrients they need to survive, food is also meant to give us pleasure. As dietician (who I also interviewed on my podcast) said in her newsletter, “Since everyone loves an analogy I will say that believing we only eat for nutritional value is like saying that sex is only for procreation.”
Slowing down at the table helps us tap into the inherent pleasure that comes with feeding ourselves. As we settle in, eating with intention, we connect to our bodies and to the sensations of our senses. Flavors become more nuanced, smells are heightened, and textures are more pronounced. The burst of ripe pear juice on our tongue can become an epiphany, the umami hit of soy sauce tastes richer, the crunch of salted pecans feels twice as satisfying. While I don’t remember to do it all the time, I’ve found that when I set an intention to slow down when eating, my satisfaction skyrockets.
This satisfaction is hard-wired into our bodies but most of the time we forget to look for it. (*That being said, there will be periods in all of our lives where it will be harder to gain pleasure from eating, whether it’s due to sickness, grief, trauma or other disorders, and that’s okay. Even if you can’t feel it now, the potential of pleasure is there, and it will be waiting for you on the other side).
My invitation for you this week is to slow down. Bask in the joy of eating, no matter what’s on your plate. Connect to the flavors, smells, and textures of the foods in front of you. Savor the sensations of your senses. Linger at the table. Slow down for no other reason than to simply enjoy.
Let’s move like turtles this week, my loves, slowing down to maximize the pleasure of the season.
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Date Caramel Pecan “Turtle” Cookies
A few months ago a friend mentioned that she had eaten a couple of turtles at a workshop and ended up in a sugar crash, foggy for the rest of the afternoon. As she was telling me the story the idea for this recipe instantly downloaded inside my brain (I love it when that happens). What if I swapped out regular caramel for the date caramel in this Chocolate Pecan Pie?
Since date caramel doesn’t harden up like regular caramel, I ended up creating a cookie base using ground pecans and almond flour.
The slightly salty cookies (they contain just 3 tablespoons of maple syrup) create a base for the caramel, which gets enrobed in dark chocolate and garnished with toasted pecans and sea salt.
The contrast of the crisp base, creamy center and crackly chocolate finish is my idea of nirvana, best savored slowly to maximize the joy.
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