Pomegranate, Rosehip & Hibiscus Thumbprint Cookies
Cookies & lore?
Yes please!
The Herb Bar has been hosting a lecture series on Fruit Trees in Myth & Mystic Traditions with Figbeard, Austin’s very own fruit tree mechanic & all-around fascinating dude. The community he has built is deeply cool & inspiring. This past weekend was the third installment of these lectures, focusing on the pomegranate—a fruit I absolutely love. Its beauty and complexity, with arils like little gems, never fail to enchant me. Inspired by this magical fruit and the wonderful people eager to deepen their appreciation of it, I headed to the kitchen to whip up something special. The goal was to create a simple, sweet & healthy treat that showcased the pomegranate while being easy enough to make for a large crowd. I think I may have come up with the holiday cookie of 2024! That is to say - they were a win & many people asked for the recipe. So, without further ado...
Pomegranate, Rosehip & Hibiscus Thumbprint Cookies
Vegan / GF
35 - 40 min total
13-14 cookies
1 ½ cups almond flourPack into measuring cup like you would when measuring brown sugar.
⅓ cup tapioca flour - Or GF flour blend
¼ coconut sugar - or your preferred type of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons toasted & ground mulling spices*
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoons maple syrup
approx. ¼ cup jam - recipe below
Whisk all of your dry ingredients together in one bowl, and your wet ingredients together in another (excluding the jam for now). They mix the two together. The dough should be pretty moist & firm. If it is crumbly try working the dough a little more or adding another table spoon of water. Too wet? Another table spoon of almond flour. Grab your cookie scoop or tablespoon drop your cookies onto a tray covered in parchment paper. Once they are laid our, press your thumb into the center to make a little well and fill it with your jam. Now, bake at 350 for 16 minutes. The bottoms should be lightly toasted.. Which reminds me - toasting your mulling is not necessary BUT it will add depth to your cookie & heavenly aromatics.
Now for the jam:
1 cup fresh or frozen pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup dried Rosehip
1/4 cup dehydrated hibiscus flowers / dried hybiscus works as well
1 Tbsp maple syrup
Juice of half an orange
Add all of the ingredients to a sauce pan & simmer over low to medium-low heat until the berries have burst and the liquid has thickened. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes total. Transfer the jam to a food processor and blend to your desired consistency. Note: I was concerned that blending the jam would make it bitter due to the pomegranate seeds but I went for it anyway and luckily - it was simply sweet & a touch tart with no bitterness.. which is how I personally aim to be.
Store leftover jam in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
These cookies were delicious but they were also a chance to work with a lot of highly nutritious ingredients. Ultimately - they are a high dose of Vitamin C & polyphenols but let’s take a closer look at why I like them for those of us in recovery.
Pomegranates are as nutrient-dense as they are lovely. Packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, & antioxidants, they are a joy to eat. Just one pomegranate can provide 32% of your daily Vitamin C and 27% of your daily Folate (B9), both of which are essential for your body’s production of new cells & DNA. These are both water-soluble vitamins & can become depleted, especially after drinking alcohol, making them vital part of our diet in recovery. To add to that pomegranates contain compounds that help protect our brains from cognitive decline AND have prebiotic effects that help support a healthy gut.
Rose hips are the fruit found under the flower & they I find them to look a tiny bit like a small pomegranates- which is one reason I thought to include them in the recipe. They are also rich in Vitamin C which why they are commonly found in beauty products. This vitamin helps the body synthesize collagen & boost our immune system. To boot - rose hips may help lower blood pressure & cholesterol levels. Some people have also found that rose hips can serve as a natural pain reliever for osteoarthritis.
Hibiscus has many similar antioxidant properties as pomegranate & rose hips but it has a few more magical powers (if you will).. Some studies have found that it can increase levels of Vitamin B12 in the blood stream and that it may reduce damage from fatty liver disease. To that I say - more flowers please!
I hope you try this recipe & if you do I would love to know what you thought. Personally I am thinking of trying this again in the future with an orange & rosemary marmalade… thoughts?