When I first started to teach myself to cook, baking was my world. I loved the golden brown pastries, the artistically arranged fruits, jars filled with cookies, and elaborated iced cakes. Looking back it seems much more likely that I just loved that sneaky sugar. But I still find a lot of satisfaction in baking. It's one of the lost arts; the home baker who sends time lovingly creating the snacks and sweets that bring so much happiness. The gaudily wrapped “treats” (is it really a treat when it’s so damaging to your health?) are produced only to create wealth for big companies, with no care about the consumer past the point of sale.
I come from a traditional farming family, growing up on meat, three veg, and shortbread. Granny always had a stocked biscuit tin or a cake hidden away in the bread bin. Or scones lying around the kitchen to be had with whatever homemade jam was the freshest. We could turn up unannounced and there would always be something sweet and homemade lying around to have with our tea. My only problem is that, unlike Granny, I don’t have a continuous stream of shepherds, children, friends, and grandchildren bustling through the house eating all these delights. That task falls on just the two of us. Luckily these wee cookies are made from entirely wholesome ingredients. I actually ate some of the spare cookie dough with a little almond milk for breakfast the next day. It was delicious, like a thick, chewy bircher.
I come from a traditional farming family, growing up on meat, three veg, and shortbread. Granny always had a stocked biscuit tin or a cake hidden away in the bread bin. Or scones lying around the kitchen to be had with whatever homemade jam was the freshest. We could turn up unannounced and there would always be something sweet and homemade lying around to have with our tea. My only problem is that, unlike Granny, I don’t have a continuous stream of shepherds, children, friends, and grandchildren bustling through the house eating all these delights. That task falls on just the two of us. Luckily these wee cookies are made from entirely wholesome ingredients. I actually ate some of the spare cookie dough with a little almond milk for breakfast the next day. It was delicious, like a thick, chewy bircher.
These cookies are sweet and spicy, with a little heat in the background from the fresh ginger, which works wonders on your digestion and circulation. Almonds provide vitamin E, which is great for your skin, hair and nails. The good fats and protein in the nuts makes these cookies the perfect sweet snack to keep you satisfied without an intense sugar rollercoaster or the heavy dairy and refined flour. Veganising traditional baked goods is as simple as cracking the code the replacing the key components with plant-based ingredients. Bonus, they generally add a lot more nutritional value that the refined basics in the supermarket baking aisle. The holy trinity of baked goods is sugar, fat, and starch. Traditionally this is white sugar, butter, and white flour.
The sweetener can easily be replaced with honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar or black strap molasses. Taste these products before you use them in your baking because each on adds a different type of sweetness. I’ve used honey in this recipe because its mellow and light, plus I love the raw honey that we have been getting lately. I know that honey isn’t considered vegan, but I started writing about the reasons I choose to eat honey and it got a little out of hand. That will have to be it’s own story.
Tahini acts as the fat to make these cookies golden and crisp. It is an amazing source of magnesium, iron and calcium, and is 20% protein, making it a much more powerful addition to your treats than traditional butter. Because it is a paste of the whole sesame seeds it has the fibre that you do not get in refined oil. If in doubt always use the whole seed, nut, grain, legume, fruit or vegetable, they are balanced in a particular way for a particular reason. We can mess with the form, texture, and look, but as soon as you mess with the composition, it’s an unknown quantity for your body.
I have used whole oats as the starch to bring all of the ingredients together. This is what creates the density and, along with the tahini, the crispy edges and soft centers. You could also use any of the weird and wide array of whole grain flours available, but the rough cut oats add a very satisfying chunkiness
Tahini acts as the fat to make these cookies golden and crisp. It is an amazing source of magnesium, iron and calcium, and is 20% protein, making it a much more powerful addition to your treats than traditional butter. Because it is a paste of the whole sesame seeds it has the fibre that you do not get in refined oil. If in doubt always use the whole seed, nut, grain, legume, fruit or vegetable, they are balanced in a particular way for a particular reason. We can mess with the form, texture, and look, but as soon as you mess with the composition, it’s an unknown quantity for your body.
I have used whole oats as the starch to bring all of the ingredients together. This is what creates the density and, along with the tahini, the crispy edges and soft centers. You could also use any of the weird and wide array of whole grain flours available, but the rough cut oats add a very satisfying chunkiness
One cup of almonds, blitzed roughly
One cup of whole rolled oats
Two tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
Quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and ground cloves
Quarter of a teaspoon of salt
Two tablespoons of raw honey
Three tablespoons hulled tahini
Half a teaspoon of vanilla
Blitz the almonds in a food processor quickly to a rough crumble.
Mix the almonds, oats, ginger, dry spices, and salt.
Add in the honey, tahini, and vanilla. Mix together with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
It will feel slightly crumbly but it will come together in your hands as you shape the dough into small round cookies.
Bake in a 180 degree oven for 10 minutes or until the cookies are golden.
These will last a week in the cookie jar, but only if it's slightly hidden. They are incredibly moreish.
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