Pistachio Butter Thumbprints with Raspberry-Chia Filling
Plus, a guide to making (almost) any cookie better
Hello, everyone. It’s been a busy week here at BHK. After announcing the Scholarship program and the Buy One, Give One offer, my inbox was flooded with so many of you generously gifting subscriptions. I am still working my way through the emails, so if you haven’t heard from me yet, you will soon. All the generosity flowing around this community fills me up and makes me so proud to be a part of it.
Cookie season is upon us! I love baking cookies and I especially love the challenge of making traditional cookies better for you with brain-healthy ingredient swaps. If I am going to eat a cookie, though, I still want it to feel like a special treat. That’s why I am excited to share with you an ingenious recipe for these Pistachio Butter Thumbprints with Raspberry-Chia Filling from Lindsay Maitland Hunt.
I introduced you to Lindsay a few months ago; she and I worked together on the Brain Health Kitchen book and she has been the editor of this newsletter since its inception. The Pistachio Butter Thumbprints come from her book Help Yourself: A Guide to Gut Health for People Who Love Delicious Food. Lindsay has created hundreds of fabulous and healthy recipes (she also wrote the book Healthyish) but now focuses on work as a book coach, editor, and graduate student.
I gave these better-for-you Thumbprints a spin in my own kitchen and fell hard for their buttery texture (thanks to pistachios ground into “butter”), lemon and cardamom flavors, and the cheery chia seed jam that gets baked right into the cookie. These cookies are low in sugar and rich in brain-healthy foods like flaxseed and oats. Plus they are really easy to make. The dough comes together in a food processor then all you need to do is roll it into balls, divot the center, fill with jam and bake. Plus—newsflash!—the best way to shape thumbprint cookies is not by using your thumb. Find the recipe below.
More Tips for Brain-Healthy Cookies and Treats
If you are tinkering with your traditional recipes to make them better for you, be sure to check out this article I just wrote for Soul Food Salon: Make (Almost) Any Cookie Or Treat Brain-Healthy With These Tips. You’ll find a brain-healthy ingredient swap for almost every cookie situation. Let me know if you try some of these at home!
Do you have a favorite holiday cookie that could use a brain-healthy upgrade?
Maybe I can help!
Introducing: Roon Dementia
I’m so excited to share with you a project I’ve been working on: Roon, a free website and app that curates answers to hundreds of common dementia questions. Roon was created to help people navigate dementia through short-form Q&A videos from dementia experts and caregivers (including me!). You’ll hear from neurologists, social workers, patients, caregivers, and other dementia experts. I am answering questions about brain health nutrition, and soon I’ll share recipes there, too. Here is a sample of some of the questions I’ve answered. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Come Say Hello in December
Monday, December 11, 2023 at 5 pm MST: Founding Members Kitchen Chat
I’ll be zooming to you from my kitchen for our fourth Kitchen Chat and Cooking Class. Founding Members are welcome to submit questions for discussion and invite friends and family. We’ll be making Fig & Almond Snack Bars plus another surprise recipe. I can’t wait to see everyone! To join, upgrade to Founding Member by Sunday, December 10 at 12 pm MST and I’ll send you the zoom link and recipes.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 12 pm MST: Wellness Wednesday Nutrition Q & A
Join me in conversation with Sally Duplantier of Zing Life for an open forum about brain health nutrition. Submit questions ahead of time or type them into the chat. Free and recorded. Register here.
Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 10 am MST: Instagram Live with Author Lisa Genova
Lisa a neuroscientist and one of the world’s most beloved authors, most recently of Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting, which just came out in paperback. We’ll talk about how we remember, why we forget, and how to optimize your brain health throughout life. And, we’ll definitely talk about sleep, exercise, stress, and food! Join us on Instagram here: @AuthorLisaGenova.
Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 12 pm MST: Instagram Live with NeuroReserve
Come meet Dr. Ed Park, founder of NeuroReserve brain health nutrition company. We’ll be talking about what’s in store for the Brain Health Kitchen newsletter this year.
The Cognition Dietician Conversation Replay
In case you missed yesterday’s discussion with Barbie Boules, a dietician focused on midlife women’s brain health, you can watch the full replay here: The Cognition Dietician. This is an information-packed hour-plus interview in which Barbie asked me about the latest advances in women’s brain health, including the pros and cons of menopausal hormone therapy. We also go into bone health, heart health, dietary strategies for mitigating weight gain during perimenopause, and why dementia prevention starts at menopause.
RECIPE: Pistachio Butter Thumbprints with Raspberry-Chia Filling
Recipe excerpted from Help Yourself: A Guide to Gut Health for People Who Love Delicious Food by Lindsay Maitland Hunt, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020. Used with permission (thanks Lindsay!).