Spent Grain Cookies with Pecans and Coconut

SO much grain! I had requested a pail of spent grain from a local brewery after their next brew day. My husband came home with a Rahr grain bag nearly half full. Sadly, there is only so much I can do with limited time and oven rack space. Some has been frozen for future wet grain recipes. Some was been dried to be ground into spent grain flour. The immediate use of wet grain called for dog biscuits. And cookies for us.

These cookies are reminiscent of classic oatmeal cookies. They have a pleasant amount of spice, a lot of tooth from the grain and a soft and chewy center.

adapted from Brooklyn Brew Shop

yields abut 2 1/2 dozen cookies

The Ingredients:
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups wet spent grain
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flaked coconut

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 350

Lightly grease 2-3 baking sheets and set aside.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda and spices.

On low speed and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing only until a little flour remains. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the spent grain, pecans and coconut.

Spoon the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.

Bake 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until the outside edges are just set and light golden brown, and the middles are puffed.

Gently transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool

Spent Grain Falafel with Tzatziki

In my wanderings to perfect a spent grain dog biscuit recipe, I stumbled across a new website. The Brooklyn Brew Shop. The site itself is for a home brew supply shop, but one section is solely devoted to cooking with spent grain. Home brewing can generate a fair amount of leftovers once the wort has been siphoned off.  When we've brewed a 5-gallon batch of beer in the past, there was typically too much grain leftover for us to use. Most of it would be destined for the compost. However, with this new discovery comes much, much more inspiration and motivation.

So when should I brew my next beer to ensure another insurgence of spent grain? And, oh, which recipes to try first?

adapted from The Brooklyn Brew Shop

serves 4

The Ingredients:
for the tzatziki 
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 mint leaves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar

for the falafel
2 -14 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup spent grain, wet
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
juice of 1/2 lemon

The Process:
for the tzatziki
Place the cucumber in a clean towel or several layers of cheesecloth. Squeeze as much of the liquid from the cucumber as you can.

Combine the cucumber, yogurt, garlic, mint, salt, oil, and vinegar in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

for the falafel
Preheat the oven to 375

Lightly grease two baking sheets and set aside.

Pulse the garbanzo beans in a food processor until a coarse paste forms.

Transfer to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Roll mixture into 1" balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown, flip halfway through.

Serve with tzatziki.