Is there such thing as a ‘healthy biscuit’? One that actually improves your mood on a hormonal level and aids digestion?
Yes, because this is it….
Ginger improves digestion (especially important in the season of Spring when digestion can become a little sluggish), and dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and mood-boosting properties!
Bake these at the beginning of the week and you’re safe in the knowledge that when you’re tempted by the biscuit tin, it’s full of wholesome, plant-based goodness. This recipe makes approximately 30 + small cookies (I think I made about 40 with this recipe, using the rim of a champagne glass to cut the shapes if you need a reference size, and a reason to use a champagne glass at 9am in the morning while baking…).
Someone always asks for a biscuit when they come round for a cup of tea, so now you can offer your friends, family, the neighbours, the builders and the gas man a healthy alternative to their tea & biscuit break.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ Gluten free flour blend
- ½ cup non dairy butter or margarine
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 4 pieces of crystallised ginger (chopped into small pieces)
- ¼ cup apple puree – this works as an egg replacer to bind the ingredients together and is slightly sweet. You could also use pumpkin puree which would give it a lovely warm taste
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp good quality salt
- ½ tbsp. cornstarch powder, arrowroot, or tapioca flour for natural thickening and binding
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a few tbsp. non dairy milk as required
- good quality dark chocolate, melted to top the biscuits
How To
- Cream the non-dairy butter and coconut sugar together with a wooden spoon
- Sieve the flour, baking soda, baking powder, corn starch / arrowroot / tapioca and salt into the bowl and mix everything together
- Add the apple puree and vanilla extract and mix again
- Add the non dairy milk to create a soft dough. Add more flour or milk as required depending on how dry or wet the mixture seems.
- Either cover and refrigerate overnight (or for at least an hour) or freeze for 15-20 minutes
- A few minutes before you want to start baking, preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Take the cold dough and gently roll it out until it’s about half a cm thick
- Use your favourite cutter to cut shapes in the dough (if you don’t have cookie cutters, you can easily use a clean, recycled jam jar or the rim of a glass. I used a champagne glass)
- Place the shapes onto the baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they turn slightly brown and you can smell them.
- Transfer onto a wire rack to cool and set completely
- When they’re completely cool, melt your dark chocolate and drizzle over the biscuits. Any left over melted chocolate can be mixed with nuts, seeds or dried fruit to create dark chocolate covered ingredients for trail mix.
- Leave the biscuits to set for a couple of hours (over night is best) or place in the fridge for about an hour for the chocolate to set if you’re in a hurry
- Share the biscuits and the recipe with others!
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