Christmas is the one time of the year where it is seen universally acceptable to indulge. We take a day off from the calorie counting apps and strict diet regimes and stuff ourselves senseless - desperately trying to make up for all the not so healthy treats we've deprived ourselves from in the past 12 months. For those of you who don't want to miss out on the fun, but still want to keep your dress size - then these tasty festive biscuits may just be for you. I love all the spices associated with this time of year. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger are all great circulatory stimulators, as well as giving depth and a warming flavour to many sweet and savoury dishes. For this recipe I've also used almond flour (ground almonds) and coconut oil, making these cookies gluten AND dairy free - winner! These make for a great afternoon accompaniment to a mug of hot chai tea or a raw cacao hot chocolate.
Ingredients: Makes 10-12 star shaped cookies - 250g ground almonds - 1 tsp ground cinnamon - 1 tsp all spice - 3 tsp ground ginger - 100g of raw honey - 1 large orange - 50g coconut oil - 1 tsp vanilla bean extract - 1 egg white
Directions: - Pre heat the oven to 130/150 degrees. - Place your almonds into a food processor (if not already ground) and grind into a flour. - On a low heat, place the honey and spices into a pan and warm until melted. Add in the zest of the orange and 2 tbsp of the juice. Then turn off the heat and allow to cool. - Add the coconut oil and egg white to almond flour and blend until mixed well. - Slowly add in the honey spiced mixture into the food processor until a dough is formed. (You may have to add more almond flour/orange juice if mixture is either too dry or wet). - Form the dough into a ball and place in cling film. Pop into the freezer for 15 minutes. - Roll out the dough onto some baking paper and cut into star shapes (or any small cookie cutter you have). - Put the cookies onto a tray lined with baking paper, and bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the heat of your oven (they should be golden, not dark). Voila! Bang out a batch of these tomorrow just in time for Christmas day. Pop in a mason jar and give as a gift to someone special :) Enjoy everyone, A xx
