I made these cookies a few weeks ago for a mini retreat that I hosted with Sally Page and they went down a treat. Several of you asked for the recipe, so here it is!
They contain no flour (so are gluten free), can be free of refined sugar (if you use chocolate with 100% cocoa) and can be adapted to be vegan or nut free. They’re so simple and deceptively healthy as you can add any seeds of choice (for peri-to-post menopausal women, its an easy way to include some extra flax seeds in your diet.)
Here’s how to make them:
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds, or both!)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 large tablespoon honey or maple syrup (to taste, depending on how sweet your tooth is)
- 1 egg (or flax egg)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- sea salt
- dark chocolate (use 100% for no sugar)
Notes
You can also add chia seeds or dried fruit (to give them the air of a Florentine), or substitute the almonds with other nuts if you prefer. Or replace the nuts altogether with other seeds if you want these cookies to be nut-free. It really is a versatile recipe so don’t get all precious about the ingredients and just use whatever you want or have in your store cupboard.
It’s best to use raw nuts and seeds as they roast while baking in the oven.
If you can’t have eggs, flax will work: mix 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit until it forms a gel.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175ºC.
- Mix the coconut flakes, nuts and seeds of choice with the honey (or maple syrup), egg (or flax), vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. The mixture should not be too wet.
- Press small portions into muffin cases in a baking tray.
- Bake until golden; around 12-15 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate and then pour over the cooling cookies. If you feel decadent then cover them completely, but they also look lovely with a little chocolate drizzle.
- Sprinkle a little sea salt on each one for that umami hit and some chopped pistachios to finish them off.
Allow the chocolate to cool and enjoy!
Apparently these cookies can keep for up to a week in an airtight container but they’ve never hung around long enough in my household to be able to test that out.
