salty [cornmeal cookies & roasted chickpeas!]

Oh, the joys of Urban Dictionary. I think I heard the term “salty” as meaning upset once about a month ago and had to investigate… Because otherwise I definitely just thought it referred to food.

Remember last month when I got to try some delicious mustard as part of the Foodzie Tasting Panel? This month I had a delightfully local treat: salt. Lemongrass & Basil Salt by Woody’s Gourmet, to be exact!

It was really cool to see that this product came from Campbell. As in, less than 20 minutes away from me. And while I’m definitely a sweet-toothed girl, I do love salty stuff too. This salt was amazing! It’s a Lemongrass & Basil flavor, though they sent me a couple smaller samples too that I forgot to photograph.

I wound up basically adding this to everything. On top of veggies. On my salads. On tofu. With nooch. With everything. I had about a million ideas of things to make (like socca crackers, perhaps?) with it and ran out of time to make some of them, but still wound up with two “recipes”. One sweet, one savory. ;)

Roasted Chickpeas for One

1/2 cup chickpeas
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
~1/4 teaspoon Woody’s Salt (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a cookie sheet (or you can use aluminum foil!). Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat. Spread evenly on sheet and sprinkle with extra salt if desired. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove, stir, and bake again until crispy.

Enjoy as a simple, healthful, flavorful snack!

And now the sweet… I couldn’t quite resist attempting to make some kind of cookie. These are certainly unconventional, but they’re not overly sweet and play on the sweet-and-salty taste. I rather enjoyed them! The edges were slightly crispy and the middles were nice and soft. Also, if you don’t have access to coconut oil, I’m pretty sure butter will work.

Salted Cornmeal-Cookies
Makes about 10 cookies, easily doubled! 

1/2 tablespoon ground flax, microwaved for a minute with 2 tablespoons water and whisked until gummy
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons oil
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup cornmeal
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon Woody’s Sea Salt, plus more to sprinkle

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Microwave and whisk flax egg in a mug or small bowl, then let sit for a few minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together oils and sugar. Add in flax egg and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients until well combined; if it seems way too dry, add water by the tablespoon.

Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheet and flatten with fingers, or the bottom of a cup. Sprinkle with extra salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Enjoy the cornbreaddy taste and the subtle hint of herbs!

What’s the weirdest flavored cookie you’ve ever eaten? These were kind of a stretch, but I liked them…