Chewy & Crispy Oat Cookies (and they are oil-free!)
A few days ago I really fancied a flapjack but the classic recipes typically have a lot of oil and sugar, and the recipes without oil are more like healthy soft granola bars (still great but just not what I craved!)
So I decided to put the aquafaba I had sitting in the fridge to the test!
It was such a success… crispy when fresh out the oven during the first day then gorgeously chewy for the following few days (not that they lasted very long!)
I seems I have acquired a bit of an aquafaba (aka chickpea water) obsession!
If you’ve seen my granola and chocolate cake recipes… you’ll know ;-)
I think it’s such a wonderful ingredient for two big reasons:
It’s the brine from a can of chickpeas (or other white beans) and a staple ingredient we all have in our cupboards and one that usually gets drained down the plughole. (So in effect is zero cost too!)
It whips up all white and frothy and can create a beautiful light moist cake crumb and even better can replace most or all of the oil in a recipe whilst still giving a crispy and chewy texture the way oil typically would.
A few days ago I really fancied a flapjack but the classic recipes typically have a lot of oil and sugar, and the recipes without oil are more like healthy soft granola bars (still great but just not what I craved!)
So I decided to put the aquafaba I had sitting in the fridge to the test!
Instead of bars I dolloped the mix into cookies instead as I wanted more crispy ‘edge’ texture, but a regular flapjack slab baked and sliced should totally work too.
It was such a success, crispy when fresh out the oven during the first day then gorgeously chewy for the following few days (not that they lasted very long!)
Such a versatile recipe too… I have noted some swaps below.
I used Boost Your Bowl Toppers but if you don’t have any of your own- swap with chopped dried fruit and some chopped coconut chips (coconut is optional but I find gives extra chewiness).
If you make these, please tag @eatboostyourbowl on Instagram, I always love to see your creations!
Recipe: Chewy & Crispy Oat Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup whipped up aquafaba (aka chickpea water)
1/4 cup peanut butter (or any nut butter) - this is optional
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups porridge oats
1/2 cup flour of choice (or ground up oats - just to help bind the mix so it doens’t fall apart)
1 cup chopped nuts/seeds of choice
1/2 cup Boost Your Bowl Toppers of your choice (or chopped dried fruit)
1/3 cup coconut sugar (or any sugar)
large handful of dark chocolate chunks for extra indulgence - optional but highly recommended!
1/2 heaped tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
Method:
Whip up the aqua faba until it’s nice and frothy then add the nut butter and vanilla extract and blend into the aquafaba.
In a separate large bowl, mix all the remaining dry ingredients together. Pour in the aquafaba mix and stir well to coat the mix well.
I kind of used my hands and a spoon to place semi-compacted dollops of the mix on to a lined baking sheet.
Bake at 180ºC for approx 15 mins until golden. Cool fully and store ina airtight container for 3-4 days (possibly longer but mine all got eaten by day 3!) I haven’t yet tried freezing them.
Easiest sugar-free date and ginger cookies
I try not to talk too much about Wholeplus on here (otherwise this blog becomes a sales pitch which is exactly the opposite of what I want it to be!), but it's sometimes hard because it's such a huge part of my life and I am passionate about my little flourishing business! I am always experimenting with ways to use my Toppers in recipes (other than porridge sprinkles) and so now I share them over on my new Wholeplus Instagram account... yay! Feel free to follow!
HOWEVER... you don't need my goodies to make these treats... you can make a similar version yourself by blitzing up some dates in a food processor with some spices or cocoa and a healthy sweet sprinkle topping is all yours. It's best to use the softer medjool dates unless you have a super high powered food processor (i've learnt from experience it's very easy to burn out the motors using hard dates!)
I recently designed myself some flyers with lots of recipe ideas for inspiration and I want to show them off here, so I will... here's the reverse :-)
The general philosophy behind my Toppers range is a flavoursome sweet sprinkle to substitute refined sugar in recipes... such as desserts, porridge, crumbles and cookies.
One of my favourite cookie recipes yet is so simple and I wanted to share it here for you. For this recipe you don't even have to blitz the dates prior... just add all the ingredients in to the processor together! You can bake the cookies but the mixture is also delicious raw so you could simply serve raw cookies or balls and keep them in the fridge.
I simply called these 'ginger cookies' as I used my Gingerbread Topper but just use what ever spices or extracts you prefer for alternative flavours!
Unbaked cookie dough (photo is from my phone as I didn't plan to present these as a blog post originally)
Recipe: Easiest date and ginger cookies
Ingredients:
- 170g tub gingerbread toppers (or substitute 100g whole soft dates plus flavours of choice)
- 170g ground oats or ground almonds (both work well)
- Up to 1/4 cup water (probably not necessary if using stickier medjool dates)
Method:
Add everything to a food processor and blitz well until fine. Add a little water if needed until the mix is sticky. Roll the mixture into a fat log (cookie diameter) then chill until firm.
Slice into 10mm thick rounds and bake for about 10 minutes at 180C or simply roll into balls and eat them raw.
Easy peasy!!
Here are some other 'Toppers' inspirations from my Instagram account... for if you do buy some or make your own version.
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Day to day you can always find me hanging out in these places:
Almond choc-chunk cookies (plus introducing my keto experiment!)
For the last few weeks I have been in experimental mode when it comes to changing up my eating habits. Let's get things straight... I don't believe in 'diets' in the traditional understanding of the word BUT I do believe in being as informed as possible when it comes to knowing what is optimal for your body. My method for this is experimentation.
We are all unique and there is no one size fits all approach to dietary habits. Obviously I write a vegan food blog, but many (most) of my health coaching clients are not vegan or even vegetarian, that's absolutely fine by me since my coaching method is to empower you to find what is right for your heath and your life. Of course there are some factors I feel hold true for everyone and I encourage in our sessions... pack in as many veggies as you can and get rid of as many refined foods as possible.
Even following a vegan diet there is plenty of room for experimentation and its something i've been playing with for the best part of year now, tweaking things to see how my body feels. I've mentioned before I often suffer from digestive issues such as gas and bloating so by eliminating certain foods or eating in a certain way I hope to determine the root causes and find the balance that best suits me. Digestive issues also have emotional connections so this is something I'm learning to heal also.
I have documented a few of my nutritional experiments in previous posts, maybe I'll document them more formally on the blog. So far i've tried... a candida diet, grain free diet, intermittent fasting and now a ketogenic diet.
Nutritional ketosis is where the body is fuelled by fat instead of carbs... you literally switch the source of energy.
This in effect means a high fat and low carb approach to eating. Low carb in this context means super looooow carbs- under 50g net carbs (once fibre has been accounted for). I decided to do a months experiment (I still have a week or so to go) and then review things.
I initially bought Leanne's book having been a long time reader of her blog, and would highly recommend it as a great introduction and guide to this style of eating. I will talk about it all in a bit more detail at the end of the experiment!
Before I started 'properly', I spend a couple of weeks or so gearing up with a selection of recipes in my arsenal, as well as reducing my carbs in the lead up (to be honest I was already fairly low carb to begin with). The cookie recipe I'm sharing today is a fab low carb recipe and one of my transitional recipes, but not strictly keto. It's pack with protein and good fats to sustain you and contains minimal sweeteners (you could add a touch more if you need to when you've tasted the dough).
I gave my mum a cookie and she loved them, so these are definitely family friendly too! They have a great crisp an crumbly cookie texture even without granulated sugar due to the higher fat content.
Recipe: Almond choc-chunk cookies (low carb)
Makes approx 12 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal
¼ cup white hemp powder
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp vanilla powder
1/3 cup cacoa liquor chunks (or dark chocolate if preferred)
¼ cup coconut oil- softened
1 tbs syrup of choice* plus ¼ tsp pure stevia
2 tbs water (to bind)
Method:
Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, in a small bowl mix the coconut oil and stevia and mix until very soft and lump free. Mix into cookie batter using hands if needed. Add a drizzle of water so the mixture holds together nicely.
Form walnut sized balls and flatten onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for approx 15 mins on a fairly low heat approx 160C until golden at the edges. Allow to cool fully before eating/storing as these cookies are quite delicate and a little ore crumbly than regular.
* I used yacon syrup which is a really thick low carb syrup, but any syrup would work here, you could also increase to 2-3 tbs if strict carb control is not necessary.
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Day to day you can always find me hanging out in these places:
Lavender cookies
A few days ago I visited the Hitchin Lavendar farm just down the road from me... it's a beautiful place. A huge field of lavender in different varieties. You are given a paper bag and a pair of scissors when you go through the gate and can then pick as much as you like to fill your bag for the £4 it cost to enter. Amazing!
Of course I then wanted to make all things Lavender. I have tied little bunches of lavender and have them hanging in the garage drying out so that I can make lots of body products and room fragrances.
The lavender isn't suitable for culinary purposes BUT I have a happy ending there because I have recently be trying out a few new ingredients from Steenbergs including culinary lavender! I really love their stuff (especially their beautiful packaging in little glass jars) and have been buying their spices for years but hadn't branched out into the more unusual ingredients.
A few week ago a sent them an email and asked if I could test out and review some of their products, they were really keen to get involved and have offered a giveaway too! Yay... I'm excited because I know you'll love their stuff too! I'll launch the giveaway in a week or so, but but in the meantime I have some recipes... first up lavender cookies.
These are lightly sweetened (add a litre extra sugar if needed) and flavoured with the subtle floral lavender fragrance. I also added a touch of rosewater to compliment the lavender, but you could omit this if you don't have it to hand. Fun cookies for summer time! Both Steenbergs ingredients are beautiful, high quality and organic, as it the entire range. Go check them out here if you haven't heard if them before and are based in the UK.
I've used spelt flour in these cookies, which I appreciate is not gluten free. I have not yet tried a version with gluten free flours, though my first instinct would be to try oat flour for a rustic touch or a blend of buckwheat and brown rice flours. If you do try your own gluten-free version me know how it works out for you!
Tell me, have you ever used lavender in you baking before?
Recipe: Lavender cookies
Makes approx 8-10 cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour (or white)
- 1 tbs flax mixed with 3tbs warm water
- ¼ cup coconut sugar or other unrefined sugar (plus 1 tsp to for top)
- 1 tsp rosewater extract (I used Steenbergs)
- 1 tbs lavender (I used Steenbergs)
Method
Mix the spelt, almonds and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Using your fingers rub the coconut oil into the mixture until you have coarse crumbs. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix through, using you hands to form a soft ball of dough. If it doesn’t hold together easily add a few extra drops of water.
Roll out on a lined baking sheet. Score into squares or use a cookie cutter to make shapes. Bake for approx 15 minutes at 180C until golden.
Note: I was sent some of Steenbergs products to test and review but I am also a long time lover of the brand and all opinions are my own.
I'd love you to join me in other places too!
Why not sign up for my newsletter in my sidebar where I feature roundups and special offers plus me FREE ebook. If you are new round here check out my 'About' and 'Getting Started' tabs up top. To buy nibbles you can also find me over at Wholeplus. Day to day you can always find me in these places:
Easter hot cross cookies
Yep, I promised you another Easter recipe... this one is a much easier and actually turned out a lot more 'bun like' than i'd anticipated- winner! (check out the photo at the end to see the crumb)
The inspiration for this recipe actually came from a kitchen homeware company! Let me explain...
I had an exciting commission a week or so ago to develop and shoot and Easter recipe to showcase their new baking range. The recipe had to be really simple made with regular supermarket bought ingredients and showcase their cookie tray. The recipe I created was indeed really simple but not necessary as healthy as I'd like since I appreciate this was not aimed at a specifically health conscious crowd. However I loved the concept of the recipe so much I modified it and whipped up another batch this time a more healthified version! I only made a small batch but you could easily double this recipe.
This recipe uses spelt flour but you could try substituting that for a 3:2 mix of GF flour and ground almonds, I usually find that ratio works well and creates a good balanced texture.
p.s on a final note I am off on holiday for a week later today so I have a couple of posts scheduled for next week and then I will be back on the Easter weekend fully refreshed with lots of photos no doubt. I'm taking my iPad (but not laptop) as I have so many books I want to get stuck into that I have simply had no time to read. I'm sure i'll also be popping up on Facebook and Instagram too...so you can always find me there!
Recipe: Hot cross cookies
Makes approx. 6-8 cookies
Ingredients:
¼ cup coconut oil
1 medium mashed banana
1 tbs flax mixed with 3 tbs hot water
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 cup whole meal spelt flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon and/or nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
large handful of dried fruit such or dark chocolate chips
Topping:
1 tbs sugar free marmalade- melted
¼ cup coconut butter- melted (note: coconut butter not oil for a white cross!)
Method:
In a large bowl beat the coconut oil, sugar, flax mix and banana together until soft, fluffy and well blended.
In a separate bowl mix the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and mix into the wet batter to create a soft thick dough adding the dried fruit/chocolate in the final strokes. Add a small splash of cold water only if needed to ensure a thick smooth batter.
Using your hands, roll golf ball sized dollops of batter into balls and press down on to a greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 180ºC.
Leave the cookies on the tray and allow to cool slightly before glazing the tops with the runny marmalade and piping crosses with the melted coconut butter.
Store in an airtight container. Best eaten within 3 days.
crazy bun like texture...yumm!!
I'd love you to join me in other places too!
Why not sign up for emails in my sidebar where I feature roundups and special offers. If you are new round here check out my 'About' and 'Getting Started' tabs up top. To buy nibbles you can also find me over at Wholeplus. Day to day you can also find me in these places:
Easiest ever... Chocolate overnight oats cookies
Hello again... hope you have had (and are still having) a fantabulous Christmas holiday!
Ok, so i couldn't keep away until New Year... ha ha oh well!!
But I did succeed in taking some downtime- for two whole days I hid my computer under my bed. Bliss. Ok, so I was still on my phone but it's a big step for me. I did actual real life RELAXING!
Today is just a quickie recipe. I guess many of you are a bit like me... in the 'in-betweeny' stage of Christmas and New Year, partly getting back on track with healthy meal times but still stuffing your face with all the sweets and leftovers in attempt to eat them all before New Year starting afresh.
Am I right? ;-)
Thought so. Maybe just a little.
So this is an in-betweeny kind of recipe. A spin off from this original recipe, so you could just make that one of you've had to much of a chocolate overload already. As ever throw in what you have to hand by way of mix-ins, you know my game by now.
These are soft breakfast cookies- basically oatmeal in a cookie form quite literally, perfect for on the run for those already back to work or for impromptu trips or visits to family. I find these freeze well too.
Recipe: Choc overnight oats cookies
Makes approx. 10 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup oats
2 tbs each: cocoa powder, chia seeds, ground almonds, chopped dried fruit, nuts/seeds, syrup of choice*
½ tsp vanilla or cinnamon to taste
1 cup water, juice or non-dairy milk
--------
1 banana- mashed
*or a few drops pure stevia to taste
Method:
Mix all the top ingredients together in a medium bowl or tub and pour over the liquid. Give a quick stir to ensure well covered and ensure no air pockets. Cover and allow to stand in the fridge for a few hours or over night to soak and thicken.
Mash a banana and mix with the thick oat mixture. Scoop the batter into small flattened dollops on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20 mins 180C, you may find you need to lightly cover with foil after 10 minutes to prevent the fruit nuts from browning too much.
I'd love you to join me in other places too!
Why not sign up for emails in my sidebar where I feature roundups and special offers. If you are new round here check out my 'About' and 'Getting Started' tabs up top. To buy nibbles you can also find me over at Wholeplus. Day to day you can also find me here:
Flourless Ferrero Rocher cookies!
I have one more Christmassy recipe planned for next week... it's a super simple 'gifting' recipe.
BUT these are cookies you wont want to give away! The easiest ever flour-less cookies in my opinion and they are based on the concept I came up with when creating these cranberry almond cookies for the Real Food Source (also available in their free Christmas e-book).
The 'original' almond-cranberry cookies
The chocolate hazelnut version is just as good- or better is you are a chocoholic like me! I had come across some hazlenut butter i'd forgotten I had so the idea for a variation on the cookies presented itself just like that. I added some cranberries but you could omit these for a purer 'ferrero' flavour- or add some kind of rice crisp or wafer element for a more genuine Ferrero Rocher style creation!
Make sure you keep the nuts nice and chunky (whole hazelnuts) for a thick and chewy texture and also mix them through the batter rather than pressing on top- the texture is just so much better for some reason! These rare not crispy cookies but soft and chewy cookies. They do have a high 'fat' content form all the nuts... but it's basically the same thing as eating a small handful or dried fruit and nut mix and that's healthy (in moderation) right?
One again this cookie format throw the door wide for your own interpretation- use the nut butter plus mix-ins of your choice, or why not try the original almond version. Go go go... create... eat... and be merry!
Recipe: Flourless Ferrero Rocher cookies!
Makes approx 8 cookies
Ingredients:
100g hazelnut butter
20g coconut sugar dissolved in 30g boiling water
40g cranberries/cherries
60g hazelnuts
2 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
Method:
Just mix it all together well adding the nuts and fruit last.
Dollop the mixture onto a lined baking sheet, it will spread a little whilst cooking.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 180C Make sure you catch them as they gone nicely golden but before the nuts brown too much.
These cookies store pretty well, they get chewier each day so it just depends on your preference how quickly you eat them! I haven't tried freezing them.
Dog biscuits… Because man's best friend deserves healthy treats too!
This was the first time I've ever made anything other than human treats, so it was a new exciting challenge for me!
A couple of weeks ago my trainer brought his new dog to the session, she was so cute and good as gold throughout. The moment I first saw her I instantly thought "I have to make dog biscuits" Yeah, I am a bit strange in that most girls would think automatically think "aw you're so cute i'm going to sit down and have a little cuddle with you". For me that thought comes second.
The minute I got home I started researching recipes. What are the healthiest Ingredients I could use? What ingredients were not suitable for dogs (i.e. quite a few nuts- which I didn't previously know, and also chocolate- obviously). I found a few recipes online particularly this one, and this one, that I decided to tweak to make my own versions. So here you have a carob cookie and peanut butter cookie, both using spelt flour. I had originally intended to make one batch a fully GF version but for my first attempt I decided to play it a bit safer (avoiding potential crumbling scenarios), plus spelt is typically known to be kind on the digestive system and for me that is the main thing.
I wanted to make dog biscuits that were the kind of thing I would also like to eat- if I were a dog… Saying that my mum did steal a couple off the cooling rack when fresh out of the oven to dunk in her cup of tea and I'm told they also got rave reviews on the receiving end, and by that I mean it wasn't only the dogs who enjoyed them…
For those of you with dogs in your life… Enjoy.
And to Scarlett for inspiring me... Thank you.
p.s I bought the bone shaped cookie cutter especially and it made me so happy cos they looked cute!
Recipe: Carob biscuits
Serves makes 1 full baking sheets worth
Ingredients:
- 1 cup spelt flour
- ½ cup carob powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbs crunchy peanut butter (optional- as it ]looks pretty)
- 1 tbs oil
- ½ cup water (may need to increase to 2/3 cup)
Method:
Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and pulse through in food processor or rub in with fingers to achieve a slightly sticky ‘breadcrumb’ consistency (add a tiny bit more water if needed).
Roll out to ¼ inch thick and cut into shapes or squares. I used a bone cutter!
Bake at 180C for approx 20 minutes until just turning golden.
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Recipe: Peanut
Butter biscuits
Makes 1 full baking sheets worth
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup WM spelt flour and ¾ cup white spelt flour
- ¼ heaped cup peanut butter
- 1 tbs oil
- ½ cup water
Method:
Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and pulse through in food processor or rub in with fingers to achieve a slightly sticky ‘breadcrumb’ consistency (add a tiny bit more water if needed).
Roll out to ¼ inch thick and cut into shapes or squares. I used a bone cutter!
Bake at 180C for approx 20 minutes until just turning golden.
