I'm so sorry to hear of your friends breast cancer. She'll be in my prayers.

I know & understand about dry mouth. I've got Sjogren's. It really changes how/what you can eat or what you want to eat. I discovered this recipe and have been using it for several months. It works for me.

PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES

1 Cup canned pumpkin
1/2 Cup olive oil
3/4 Maple syrup
2 Eggs
2 Cups white whole wheat flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon baking soda
2 Teaspoons pumpkin or apple pie spice mix

Mix all of the ingredients together and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Drop onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes @ 350 degrees.

I top with a maple syrup glaze but don't believe that would ship well?

/tricia

Tricia,

Thank you. I am sorry you are dealing with Sjogren's.

Would the maple syrup glaze travel okay in a container? She could glaze the cookies herself. My friend would be very at home on the CF. She loves to cook and is very good at it.

Judy

Sorry about your friend...BC is such a devastating disease!
I suspect her mouth is also, or soon will be, sore from the chemo....so anything spice won't cut it....even cinnamon is too bitey.
I would make her some bars....maybe raspberry jam bars or lemon bars...
They will travel, satisfy her sweet craving and not hurt the sore mouth.
Linda C

I have found that adding coconut to many cookie recipes helps them retain moisture. Depending on the texture I want, I sometimes mince the bagged, sweetened shreds. When I haven't wanted to add extra sugar, I've used frozen, grated fresh coconut (drained) or soaked dessicated coconut in fruit juice or liqueur to plump. The frozen you can get in many Asian stores and the dessicated in Indian. I'm sure it would be easy to find on-line sources.

Tell your friend that your CF friends send her healing thoughts!

Judy, I think it depends on where you're shipping. If the weather is warm the glaze might get funky in transit.

One of the characteristics of Sjogren's is mouth sores. Quite nasty, actually. I've found that the olive oil does a good job of coating the spices & I'm able to eat these cookies very well without any burning, stinging, or increased bleeding. Obviously, everybody's health & tolerances are different. They are very moist with good keeping qualities which is why I suggested them.

With a dry mouth, it's also hard to swallow so I would avoid cookies that might cause a choking issue; stuff like nuts, raisins, hard cookies with sharp edges, etc. Saliva starts the digestion process. Without saliva, chewing just doesn't get the job done & one has to learn to swallow without foods softening hence the choking issue.

Cream cheese in cookies can also be a good moistener. I've got an Amish sugar cookie recipe that uses cream cheese. DH made them for me over the holidays. If you're interested let me know & I'll post the recipe. They are big, fluffy, white, soft & moist cookies...yummy.

/tricia

Oh dear, Judy, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, she'll be in my prayers.

I agree, something like fruit bars would be nice and moist, or maybe one of those old fashioned date or raisin filled cookies or even brownies.

I love Diane's (craftyrn) fig cookies, and they're pretty moist because of the fig filling. The recipe is long, but it's not as involved or time consuming as it appears and they keep very well. I don't know about the orange juice and cinnamon/pepper, if her mouth is sore, but here's the recipe anyway:

Cuccidati Recipe ================
Crust:
3/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
rind of 1 orange
4 teaspoons orange juice
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling:
1 string of figs (2 cups dried or 1 eight oz. Package dried)
8 ounces raisins
8 ounces brown sugar
1 pound walnuts
1 pound dates
1 orange
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 ounces whiskey
1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1
1-1/2 cups water
Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
4 ounces butter
orange juice . .
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Crust: In large bowl, cream together first 3 ingredients. Add orange juice and orange rind. In separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture along with vanilla.

Filling: Prepare several days ahead of time. In a food grinder, grind figs and raisins. In large saucepan, simmer raisins and figs with brown sugar and water for 15 minutes. Grind walnuts, dates, and orange. Stir into hot mixture along with cinnamon, black pepper, and whiskey. Remove from stove, mix well, cover, and let mellow for 3 days. Note: This recipe makes enough filling for 2 batches of crust and can be divided and frozen for up to six months.

Roll dough into 3" wide strips on pastry cloth. Lay filling down the center and wrap dough to form a long "sausage-like" cookie. Roll back and forth until crust seems very thin. Cut in diagonal about every 1 1/2 inches. Place on cookie sheet close together and bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies should be barely brown. Cool and store in tins 5 days, then frost.

Frosting: In medium bowl, mix together margarine and powdered sugar until well blended. Add enough juice to make a thick glaze. Top cookies with a thin coat. Let frosting dry a couple of hours then store in tins as follows.

To Store: Line tins with foil, place a layer of cookies, then a layer of wax paper (NOT plastic wrap). Keep repeating, ending with foil and then the lid.

Could she have something that she could dunk, like biscotti dunked in coffee, or something dunked in milk?

Annie

Judy,

A friend took me to a cookie seminar with t a food scientist. One of the interesting things I learned is that the difference between chewy, moist cookies, and crunchy dry cookies is a spoon of water. It's amazing what a big difference such a small amount of water makes, but it does!

It's also why my friend, who is famous for his Toll House cookies, uses the old recipe with the spoon of water in it.

Thank you for the suggestions and recipes. My friend loves pumpkin, coconut, fruit and cream cheese!

Tricia, I didn't think about sores in her mouth. My DIL has canker sores frequently that are painful and bleed. You poor thing, ouch.

Annie, the fig bar recipe looks good too. If she can dunk something I am sure it would be in coffee.

Plllog, thanks for the tip on water.

Rachelellen, thank you. I will tell her. She lives online when she can. Maybe she would like to haunt the CF while she is recovering!

Linda, bars would travel well, and if they weren't cut, they may stay more moist.

Judy