I can’t stop eating Ani Phyo’s Halva Chia Thumbprint Cookies

I just picked up two awesome raw-food “cookbooks” by Ani Phyo: Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen and Ani’s Raw Food Desserts. My sweet tooth being what it is, of course the first recipe I tried was from the desserts book: Halva Chia Thumbprint Cookies. And now I can’t stop eating them…

I made them pretty much according to the recipe, but next time I think I’d use honey instead of agave (I agree with Ani that agave syrup is overrated) – you’d have to cut down on the quantity, though, and I even found this amount of agave too sweet – and I might leave out the dates, or chop them before adding.

What makes these local? Well, I used my handpicked, handmade blackcurrant jam instead of her suggested (and actually raw) raspberry sauce. I have a thing for jam-making, and I think that one day, when I die, they’ll come into my house and find cupboards full of years of jam. So there’s no need to add to the stash.

Also, she says this makes 9 but I got 12 decent-sized cookies, and you could make them even smaller.

Halva Chia Thumbprint Cookies
from Ani’s Raw Food Desserts

3/4 cup sprouted chia seed powder
1/2 cup tahini
3/4 cup almond meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/3 cup pitted semi-soft Medjool dates
jam or fresh fruit sauce for filling

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the agave syrup and mix well. Add the dates and mix with your hands or a spoon.

Roll the dough into 9 balls (about 2 tablespoons each) and place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Use your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon to make an indentation into the centre of each cookie. Fill each with a generous 1/2 teaspoon sauce or jam.

To serve, chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or more to firm up.

Will keep for several days in the fridge or many weeks when stored separately from jam.

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Pumpkin cookies with lemon icing

I don’t know that these count as local in my kitchen, unless you count a can of pumpkin that’s been sitting around since last fall as local, but they’re certainly seasonal, and there’s no reason you couldn’t make them with puree from fresh pumpkins or even butternut squash. It’s a recipe I got from my mother, I’m not sure where she got it from. Don’t skip the icing, it’s an essential component.

The original recipe calls for walnuts, but I’m allergic so usually use pecans, but today I didn’t have enough pecans so I used half peanuts (local, from the market). The verdict: different, but not at all bad. I also didn’t have enough raisins so used half dried cranberries, which almost works better in my opinion. Whole wheat flour works fine, and I tend to add way more spices than any recipe ever calls for, but do it to taste.

Pumpkin cookies

1/2 cup/125 mL butter
1 cup/250 mL sugar
2 eggs
1 cup/250 mL pumpkin puree
2 cups/500 mL flour
2 tsp/10 mL baking powder
1 tsp/5 mL salt
3 tsp/15 mL cinnamon
1 tsp/5 mL nutmeg
1 tsp/5 mL ginger
1 cup/250 mL raisins
1 cup/250 mL nuts

Cream together butter and sugar; add eggs and pumpkin and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts. Bake at 350F on greased pan for 15 mins. Cool and ice.

Lemon icing

Combine 2 cups/500 mL icing sugar and 1 tsp/5 mL lemon juice; add milk as necessary. (Well, that’s what the recipe says – I just use lemon juice.)

Read Full Post »