As I sat in my kitchen one morning with my visiting nine-year old niece, her father pushed a bottle of Sambucus Elderberry syrup to her requesting she take her daily spoonful. My obedient niece grimaced, poured the syrup onto a tablespoon, sucked it down and shivered saying yuck. I asked her about it. She said she takes it everyday and hates it because it tastes awful. She told me to try it and see. I did. The syrupy berry flavor masked with a medicine aftertaste was not that appealing, I agreed. Her father laughed a bit and reminded her that it prevented the sniffles.
There is no doubt the reasoning behind taking this commercial illness prevention product for better immunity is based on traditional use of elderberry as well as research. It made me sad to think my niece will associate elderberry with disgust. Herein lies one of the herbal bake shoppe ambitions, pleasant tasting herbalism. To truly bring herbalism back into every kitchen, even the most discerning tasters must believe in tolerable fusion.
Homemade elderberry syrup while a bit more time consuming than buying, is easy. Having it on hand opens possibilities for pleasant medicine taking. Elderberry wine is much more of a process to make but purchasing is still a delicious addition to a kitchen apothecary. While there may not be a medicinal dose of elderberry in each of these cookies, it is there nonetheless and more palatable perhaps than a mediciney syrup.
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| Servings | Prep Time |
| 30cookies | 25minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 8-10minutes |
|
|
- 1 1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder (Dagoba)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 stick organic unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup organic brown sugar
- 1 organic egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup elderberry wine
- 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, cream butter and both sugars with wooden spoon until well blended and smooth. Add egg, vanilla extract, and elderberry wine. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients gradually in three to four additions, mixing well after each addition. Fold in chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
- Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets approximately 2 inches apart. Batter will be slightly sticky so you may have to push it off the spoon with another spoon.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are just starting to turn brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
*I purchased Elderberry Wine online from a distributor. This is a sweet wine and would be delightful mixed as a spritzer.
** Using organic ingredients whenever possible will make your baked goods all the more nourishing. For these cookies, use organic butter, eggs, sugar, and flour if available.
I just barreled up my latest batch of homemade Elderberry Wine (Grandpa’s recipe) and was looking for a use other than medicinal for the remaining gallon or so when i found your recipe.
I did a little tinkering and changed it up a bit with your forgiveness.
I used a 1/4 C each butter and shortening, 1/2 C granulated and 1 C brown sugar and 2 egg yolks. And just because I am a fan, I used dark chocolate chips.
I changed the cook time to 12 min. @ 325°F.
The cookies came out soft and moist.
Gary, sounds great! I love that you make your Grandpa’s wine. I bet it’s delicious. Thank you so much for your feedback on my recipe.