JAM THUMBPRINT COOKIES

I love trying out new healthy cookie recipes, especially when they comprise of a few simple ingredients that I have lying around and know I can whip them up in under 30mins just in time for tea. Well this recipe fits that bill to a tee or should I say tea? - Yes it's true I'm British and I love tea, the stereotype is true.

By the way did you notice my cute little Moomin cup? I'm obsessed with all things Scandinavian and especially love Moomin memorabilia. This  mug came all the way from my trip to Sweden, so far I've collected 4 mugs, a spoon, a teddy and a pyjama set!



With this recipe I found another use for my beloved raw strawberry chia seed jam. You could also try using other flavours or any kind of 'sauce' you like. I also learnt about oat flour making this recipe, how amazing is it that you can just whizz up oats in a blender and they turn to flour! I'm planning on making some pancakes with it next.

Ingredients: 

- 2 cups oats (gluten free)
- 3 large bananas
- 3 tbsp flaxseed
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp water (if needed for mixing)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- A few grinds of pink Himalayan salt
- Raw strawberry jam



Method:

1.) Preheat fan assisted oven to 180c and line a large tray with baking paper.

2.) Place oats in a food processor and blend until they become oat flour.

3.) Mash the bananas in a large bowl then mix in all the other ingredients. 

4.) Round dough into cookie shapes (they don't have to be perfect) and press thumb into the middle. Make sure they're not too thick as the middle won't cook very well.

5.) Fill the thumbprint with raw jam.

6.) Bake for 22-25 mins, until slightly golden and the middle is cooked through.

I find these cookies are best served warm, straight out of the oven. You can of course leave them to cool and store them in the fridge/freezer for a later date. Due to the fresh banana and jam they will only keep for a few days in the fridge but not to worry I'm sure they'll be gone by then anyway!

Let me know in the comments below if you try out a different filling in these cookies as I'd love to know how they turn out!

HEALTHY COOKIES

The words cookie and healthy are not usually synonymous with each other but this little number is about to change all that. These cookies taste so sweet and full of flavour you'll never guess they're flour free, oil free, dairy free, gluten free aand refined sugar free! 

They're the easiest, quickest things to bake and can be made with ingredients your bound to have in stock, they don't even require any baking powder. So what's in these magic cookies I hear you ask?

Ingredients (Makes 12):

- 2 cups gluten free oats

- 2 ripe bananas 

- 2 tbsp almond butter

- 2 tbsp shredded coconut 

- 1/2 cup of cacao nibs 

- 1 tbsp agave syrup

Instructions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 170c. 

2.) Mash the bananas then mix in the other ingredients. 

3.) Line a baking tray with parchment, scoop out the mixture a bit at a time and round off into cookie shapes with your hands, spread the mixture evenly between 12 cookies. 

4.) Bake for 15-20mins or until golden brown.

Here I've served mine with some homemade almond milk, made using my Omega juicer. They also make a delicious dessert served with banana nice cream. 

COOKIE CAKES

I'm calling these cookie cakes as they're a bit of a spongey/crispy hybrid, perfect for when you can't decide whether you fancy a cookie or a cake, well now you can have both!

The recipe for these can be found here, I used a muffin tin to bake them so it would give me a deep cakey cookie but you can just use a flat baking tray if you'd prefer. Otherwise I kept the recipe pretty much the same, the only addition I made was a 1/2 cup of walnuts (having found these are rich in Omega-3 I'm trying to amp up my intake!) I also opted for soya margarine rather than oil and added an extra 3/4 cup of almond milk to give them a spongey cake texture rather than a crisp cookie one. 

I love that the recipe is measured in cups, it's so simple to follow and means you can't really get it wrong, which means the quicker it's ready and in my belly!

Using a spatula for this part really helps get it all in as the mixture is quite sticky!

They will never come out brown so take them out when they are lightly golden, you don't want to burn them! I cooked my cookies in a preheated oven for 14mins at 180C.

I couldn't wait to tuck in, the perfect partner in crime for a cuppa tea!