February is very much Vata / Kapha season in terms of Ayurveda, which basically means many of us are likely to waver between feeling cold and fragile, with dry skin and unpredictable energy levels, or heavy and lethargic, with digestive issues and low mood levels. (To find out what Ayurveda is, read this post, or listen to this podcast with me for a discussion on holistic and Ayurvedic living. To bring Ayurveda into your life and teaching, take the Ayurveda & Holistic Health course with me, starting this November!)
Whilst these aren’t miracle biscuits, they can make a difference in terms of boosting digestion (known as Agni or the ‘digestive fire’ in Ayurveda) reducing feelings of heaviness and bloating, whilst imparting warming spices and brain-boosting walnuts too. Make a batch of these and you’ll have an abundance of seasonally-balancing biscuits on hand all week!
INGREDIENTS
(makes roughly 25 biscuits)
- 1 cup wholegrain spelt flour
- 2 tsp ginger (feel free to add more if you like the taste, or if you enjoy spicy flavours)
- 1/3 cup ground almonds (optional, substitute with flax or more flour if you don’t have ground almonds)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar, agave or stevia
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 handful walnuts (crushed)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Roughly 1/3 cup milk of choice
- Optional: a sprinkling of dark brown raw sugar to top
METHOD
In a large bowl, add the flour, sweetener, ginger, bicarb and ground almonds if using, mix to combine- Crack the egg into the bowl
- Melt the coconut oil and pour it into the bowl, mixing everything well
- Use enough milk to create a soft (but not overly wet) dough that you’re able to knead briefly. If it’s too wet, add more flour, if too dry add a tiny splash of milk
- Knead the dough for a few seconds (don’t over-do it), just to form a ball
- Place in the fridge for about 20 minutes (or overnight). It’s far easier to work with biscuit dough after it has been cooled
- After 20 minutes, pre-heat the oven to 180C
- Roll out the dough to just less than half a cm thick
- Scatter over the walnuts and gently roll them into the dough, if using the dark sugar, scatter it over at this point too for extra sweetness
- Use a cutter (I used a shot glass) to form the biscuit shapes
- Place the biscuits on a lined baking tray and bake for roughly 12-15 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the biscuits are fragrant, browned and firm
- Take the biscuits out of the oven and leave to cool (preferably on a wire rack)
Enjoy!
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