My partner Steve loves a cup of tea with a biscuit, and he has a lifelong habit of doing exactly that most mornings.
When we changed our lifestyle, shop bought biscuits were no longer on the menu, so I worked out how to make him biscuits that fitted with the whole food plant based ethos.
I based them on the flavours of carrot cake, as this used to be his go to treat at a cafe. The have a hint of naughty, in the form of dark choc drops. But they are a mile away from where he came from, so that works for us.
You can now find him in the kitchen making these most weeks.
Heat the oven to 180 degrees C (170 degrees C fan forced).
Measure the raisins/sultanas/apricots into a small bowl. Cover with boiling water. This allows the fruit to rehydrate, preventing them from drying out the cookie mixture during cooking.
Measure the dry mix ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
On a large plate, mash the bananas and mix with the vanilla extract. Add to the bowl.
Strain the raisins/sultanas/apricots. Add to the bowl.
Mix together until well combined. If the mix seems too dry, add more mashed banana.
Line 2x baking trays with baking paper or silicone baking mats.
Form cookies into balls and flatten onto trays. They do not change shape in the oven, so make them the size you want them to end up. Makes about 20-24 cookies
Bake until the cookies are starting to brown on the outside. About 20-25 minutes. Swap trays between top and bottom half way through the cook.
Once cooked, remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.
Store in air tight container in the fridge.
CARROT: Steve finds that he doesn't like the look of the carrot when it was grated into the cookies, as the pieces are visible. So, now, we blitz the carrot in our small food processor, and the pieces integrate more into the cookie dough. Either way is good, so find the way you prefer.
CHOCOLATE: For Steve, the chocolate drops are what make these cookies really tasty. For me, who is less of a sweet tooth, I enjoy cookies with cocoa nibs in them instead. They still give the chocolate flavour, but I can eat them in the knowledge that they don't contain any refined sugar.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the oven to 180 degrees C (170 degrees C fan forced).
Measure the raisins/sultanas/apricots into a small bowl. Cover with boiling water. This allows the fruit to rehydrate, preventing them from drying out the cookie mixture during cooking.
Measure the dry mix ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
On a large plate, mash the bananas and mix with the vanilla extract. Add to the bowl.
Strain the raisins/sultanas/apricots. Add to the bowl.
Mix together until well combined. If the mix seems too dry, add more mashed banana.
Line 2x baking trays with baking paper or silicone baking mats.
Form cookies into balls and flatten onto trays. They do not change shape in the oven, so make them the size you want them to end up. Makes about 20-24 cookies
Bake until the cookies are starting to brown on the outside. About 20-25 minutes. Swap trays between top and bottom half way through the cook.
Once cooked, remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.
Store in air tight container in the fridge.
CARROT: Steve finds that he doesn't like the look of the carrot when it was grated into the cookies, as the pieces are visible. So, now, we blitz the carrot in our small food processor, and the pieces integrate more into the cookie dough. Either way is good, so find the way you prefer.
CHOCOLATE: For Steve, the chocolate drops are what make these cookies really tasty. For me, who is less of a sweet tooth, I enjoy cookies with cocoa nibs in them instead. They still give the chocolate flavour, but I can eat them in the knowledge that they don't contain any refined sugar.
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