Makes about 24 cookies / Ingredient tip: The secret ingredient in these soft, moist cookies is the garnet yam. Yams are easy to find in the store, consistently sweet, and easy to cook. Though garnet yams are preferred in this recipe for their deep color and sweet flavor, jewel yams would also work—but not starchy sweet potatoes, which are a lighter color than yams. Prep tips: If you’re not gluten free, you can substitute 1 3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour for the gluten-free flour mix. To cook the yam, prick with a fork and microwave for about 10 minutes, until tender.

1 cup natural cane sugar

½ cup virgin coconut oil (warm to liquefy, then measure)

1 medium-large garnet yam, cooked, enough to make 1 cup packed pulp

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups Gluten-Free Flour Mix (see below)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

2 cups brown rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

2 teaspoons guar gum or 1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum

1. Mix all Gluten-Free Flour Mix ingredients together. (Makes 3 cups.)

2. Preheat oven to 375°. Cream together sugar, coconut oil, sweet potato, and vanilla, beating until mixture is lightened and well combined. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add flour mixture to sweet potato mixture and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Moisten hands with water and form dough into desired shape for cookies, placing on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes (dough will rise a bit while baking but will not spread). Remove from sheet with spatula and cool on wire rack.

PER SERVING (1): 167 cal, 42% fat cal, 8g fat, 6g sat fat, 0mg chol, 1g protein, 24g carb, 1g fiber, 145mg sodium