Seaweed Recipes: Cookies of Bull Kelp

This morning I made one of my favorite seaweed recipes - Cookies of Bull Kelp. This is something that I have made regularly for years and have had a great time trying different variations. Seaweed benefits are incredible; seaweed is one of the most nutritious foods available, and I love incorporating it into my diet whenever possible.  One summer, for our first anniversary, my husband and I traveled to the San Juan Islands to harvest a bunch of sea kelp, dulse, and bladderwrack. We made tons of bull kelp pickles!

Ingredients for the Seaweed Recipe: Bull Kelp Cookies

• 3 cups ground nuts (almond meal, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc, or whole toasted sesame seeds)
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/8 cup (possibly less) granulated kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana)
• Oats (optional)
• Dried fruit (optional)
• Coconut oil (optional)
• Cookie sheet or glass casserole pan

Directions for the Seaweed Recipe: Bull Kelp Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350. I like to put a little coconut oil in my glass casserole pan and let it warm up in the oven. The coconut oil helps the sea weed cookies not to stick, tastes great, and is also a very healthy oil to include in your diet. If you don't have any on hand, butter would work as well.

Mix the nuts and bull kelp seaweed together. For those not accustomed to the taste of seaweed you may want to add less of the granulated bull kelp. 

Add the maple syrup and mix well. If using dried fruit you can throw it in at this point as well. You want a mixture that will hold together well, but is not overly doughy.

Place the mixture in a glass pan or cookie sheet and using wet hands press down the dough until it is even. I like it about a 1/4 inch thick. 

If desired, sprinkle oats over the top. I bake it for about 17 minutes or until the edges are brown. After it cools slightly, slice into bars with a pizza cutter and enjoy.

This is a great treat for those with gluten intolerance - just omit the oats (or try gluten free oats). If you're allergic to nuts, try whole toasted sesame seeds in place of the nuts.

Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Healand co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild and has taught thousands of students through her online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.