Chia Cookies

Instructions

• 1
  Weigh the chia seeds into a small bowl, pour in the measured amount of water, stir, and let them swell and form a gel for at least an hour at room temperature. Then stir again.
• 2
  Cream the butter (it absolutely must be at room temperature, otherwise it will be too stiff to cream) together with the sugar in a food processor or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. The butter must visibly lighten in color and increase in volume, which means at least 10 minutes of work with a food processor and a paddle attachment, or 30 minutes by hand with a wooden spoon.
• 3
  Mix the flour, soda, salt, and thyme together with a whisk, then add the oat flakes and mix briefly again. Combine the soaked seeds with lemon juice and fold into the butter mixture, spoonful by spoonful. Then gently fold in the dry ingredient mixture with a wooden spoon.
• 4
  Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Mentally divide the dough into 12 portions. Scoop out one portion with a spoon, it will be about the size of a ping-pong ball, and gently roll it into a ball with your hands. Don't press too hard and don't worry about unevenness; the dough is soft, but this step can be done with a little goodwill. Place the balls on the baking sheet, spaced 10 x 10 cm apart; six should fit on each sheet. Using the back of a spoon, lightly dipped in water, gently flatten each ball in the center to a height of about 1-1.5 cm. Bake each sheet separately in the preheated oven for 13-14 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden on the surface and no finger impression remains when touched. At this point, the cookies may seem too soft and underbaked, but they will firm up considerably after cooling. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack with a wide spatula so that air can circulate from below and they don't become soggy.
• 5
  Eat the cookies on the same day, or store them in an airtight container after cooling to maintain their crispness.