Carrot And Oat Molasses Cookies

I remember my dad, who was born in 1935 tell me that growing up as a kid, he ate his morning oatmeal with molasses, not necessarily by choice, but that was the sweetener that was available to him in those days. It wouldn’t be my sweetener of choice, until I learned that is has so many amazing health benefits. I love molasses in gingerbread, ginger cookies, and baked beans but recent research will be elevating it far beyond the characteristic flavor found in fall and Christmas baked goods.

It turns our that one tablespoon molasses, taken with breakfast or lunch, reduces the glucose impact on blood sugar, slows the transport and breakdown of starchy carbs, an increases the healthy release of insulin by the bata cells. All of these mechanisms reduce the strain on insulin. Molasses is a concentrated form, of all the minerals and nutrients left behind from white sugar processing. Brown sugar, is just white sugar, with molasses added back in.

The darker the brown sugar and the darker the molasses, the more nutrients. Black strap molasses has the most nutrients, followed by cooking molasses. The research studies used a dark molasses such as black strap or cooking molasses, and not the light and sweeter fancy molasses version. The optimal dose was a half to one tablespoon per breakfast and lunch, (not supper) and it showed the most help for the people that were the most insulin resistant. One tablespoon of molasses equals three of these cookies. Molasses is also show to be an antioxidant, and a good natural plant source of iron. The antioxidants in blackstrap molasses have been shown to be anti-mutagenetic, and protective of our DNA. Nutrients also found in dark molasses are copper, B1, B3, B5, B6, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron and selenium.

This recipe contains carrots, and the form of vitamin A in carrots, beta carotene, helps to release the iron to be more bioavailable. I hope you enjoy these nutrient packed fall and winter cookies.

Carrot and Oat Molasses

Breakfast Cookies

3 cups organic oats, quick cooking

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup molasses, cooking

2 eggs

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup dark brown sugar,

or white sugar

1/4 cup soft butter

2 cups grated carrot

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients and mix. Tip, pour the tablespoon of molasses, into your measuring cup for the molasses, before you put the molasses in, and swirl it around. When you measure the molasses, it will pour cleanly out of your measuring cup. Drop onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 13 minutes. Makes 24 cookies. Because of the low sugar content, store in the refrigerator.