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Bake Healthy Cookies

It’s that time again, the Christmas season is just around the corner. And with it the time of cookies, stollen, and gingerbread. The main ingredients of these traditional treats are flour, sugar, and fat – baked at high temperatures. Cookies are not healthy, and everyone knows that. That’s why you don’t weigh yourself during Advent and already plan the detoxification cure in January in the back of your mind. But how about some really healthy cookies for a change? We will tell you delicious and at the same time healthy cookie recipes from the vital food kitchen.

Healthy cookies are delicious

The Advent season is approaching and cookies want to be baked. But does it always have to be the same cookies made from the same ingredients? Does it have to be cookies made from white flour, starch, and sugar? Cookies that provide nothing but calories?

Does it have to be cookies that mess up blood sugar levels and skyrocket blood lipid levels, stress the liver, and cause heartburn and a sluggish bowel?

Of course, it would have to be cookies like this IF there were no other options. But this is exactly what has been around for a long time: Delicious and healthy cookies made from high-quality ingredients rich in vital substances.

Cookies that not only taste delicious but also provide vital and mineral nutrients. Cookies with fiber, plenty of valuable fatty acids, trace elements, and the best antioxidants.

Such cookies are real all-inclusive packages of enjoyment AND health.

Healthy cookies made from nuts, almonds, and coconut

Important ingredients for healthy cookies are nuts, almonds, and coconut products. Nuts and almonds contain many unsaturated fatty acids that have a positive impact on our health.

Nuts and almonds contain a lot of vitamin E, calcium, and magnesium. Magnesium is the ultimate relaxation mineral and vitamin E is a great antioxidant. Together, this is a great combination for countering the pre-Christmas stress in a very casual way.

Coconut flakes, coconut flour, and coconut oil are other wonderful ingredients without which healthy cookies are unthinkable.

Healthy cookies without flour

When cookies are baked, flour usually needs to be added to the cookie dough. If there is no flour, then eggs must be brought in so that everything holds together nicely.

If cookies are not baked but eaten fresh or dried in a dehydrator, then neither flour nor eggs are needed.

Ground nuts, ground almonds, and coconut flakes, together with dried fruit, are now the focus of a healthy square recipe.

Would you still like to use a conventional cookie recipe? Then at least reach for wholemeal flour. Freshly ground whole grain flour is the best choice here, ideally made from spelled. But remain cautious here and think about the possible effects of gluten from time to time.

Healthy cookies with more protein

You can also replace part of the amount of flour specified in the recipe with healthier ingredients, e.g. B. with the basic lupine protein or the hemp protein. In this way, you increase the protein and vital substance content of your cookies and at the same time, you can easily reduce your personal carbohydrate consumption.

Healthy cookies with more fiber

If you also add some coconut flour to your cookie dough, you will not only get a fine coconut aroma, but also a good portion of healthy fiber. However, make sure that coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid and you have to add more liquid parts to your dough accordingly, e.g. B. almond milk, rice milk or similar.

Healthy Cookies – Which Sugar is Best?

Of course, a certain sweetness is undoubtedly part of all Christmas cookies. But instead of refined sugar, you can also use healthier sweeteners.

Maple syrup, rice syrup or even honey, and many other alternative sweeteners can occasionally be used.

Agave syrup is also available in raw food quality but provides an above-average amount of fructose, which, if consumed in excess, can have a worse effect on health than glucose. The agave syrup can of course be used for vegan raw food recipes. After all, you don’t live exclusively on agave syrup 😉

Non-vegan raw food recipes can be sweetened with natural honey.

If only minimal amounts of sweetener are required, stevia products are suitable.

Xylitol is also only suitable for recipes that require little sweetness, as it would have a laxative effect in larger quantities.

However, along with honey and raw agave nectar, the healthiest and most natural sweeteners are the following two:

The homemade date puree (mix the dates with water or orange juice) and the coconut blossom sugar.

Coconut blossom sugar leaves the blood sugar level largely at peace, yet consists of very little fructose and is a little processed sweetener that is traditionally handcrafted in the homelands of the coconut palm.

Healthy cookies with delicious spices

Of course, healthy cookies in Advent also need aroma – but please do not use the so-called baking aromas or baking oils, which consist of artificial aromas.

Healthy cookies, on the other hand, consist of high-quality ingredients that alone have their own full flavor. In addition, you season with real flavors, such. B. cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, mace, allspice, and many other precious spices. Finely grated citrus peel, cocoa, or carob also give healthy biscuits a fine aroma.

The spices not only add flavor but also have a very specific effect: nutmeg, for example, is said to strengthen the digestive system on the one hand and calm the nerves on the other, thus contributing to relaxation.

But cinnamon also apparently has a positive effect on digestion and sugar metabolism and is even said to help against colds.

Clove is another great spice that can also be used in healthy cookies. Cloves are known to be high in antioxidants, can disinfect the digestive system, and strengthen the nerves.

Vanilla is – similar to cinnamon – a spice that should not be missing in healthy cookies. Vanilla has a stimulating and strengthening effect. It gives many Christmas cookies their unique aroma.

Now that you’ve had enough of all the theory, let’s get started and bake healthy cookies 🙂 Have fun!

Cashew croissants

  • 1 cup (250 ml) cashew nuts
  • 1 cup (250 ml) almonds
  • 60 ml agave syrup or honey
  • ½ tsp organic vanilla
  • 4 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 4 tbsp cocoa butter
  • 2 tbsp agave syrup or honey

The kernels and almonds are finely ground. Add the vanilla and mix vigorously with the agave syrup. The dough is kneaded by hand until it can be formed into rolls about 1 cm in diameter.

The rolls are cut into 4 cm long pieces and then formed into small croissants. These are now placed in the dehydrator, where they are dried overnight (approx. 8 – 10 hours) or to the desired consistency.

The next day, the cocoa butter is melted in a water bath and mixed with the cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of agave syrup.

The ends of the croissants are then dipped into the melted chocolate and placed on a wire rack to dry.

The croissants are best stored in a cookie jar.

Delicious sesame coconut biscuits:

  • 2 tablespoons grated coconut
  • 2 tablespoons agave syrup or honey
  • 1 tablespoon tahini, almond butter, or other nut butter
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • a pinch of rock salt

All the ingredients are mixed and kneaded one after the other until you get an even sticky mass. This mass is placed in small heaps on baking paper and baked in a preheated oven at 140 °C for about 10 minutes until golden brown. The biscuits are then allowed to cool and harden. They should now be easy to peel off the paper.

In the raw food kitchen, the heaps of dough are placed on the drying foil of the dehydrator and left to dry there at 40 to 42 degrees until they have the desired residual moisture content or are completely dry.

Polenta Marzipan Balls:

  • 250 ml rice, oat, or almond milk (or other plant-based milk)
  • 120 g vegan dark chocolate or homemade raw chocolate
  • 50 g organic marzipan raw mixture or homemade raw marzipan (recipe see vanilla marzipan balls below)
  • 50 grams of polenta
  • 30 g ground pistachios (unsalted)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut blossom sugar
  • ½ tsp organic bourbon vanilla powder
  • 1 drop of orange oil
  • about 25 small paper cups
  • Pistachio slivers for garnish

The milk is heated (not boiled) in a saucepan. Then the marzipan, the honey or agave syrup, and the vanilla are dissolved in it.

The polenta is then stirred in over a very low flame. Over the next 15 to 20 minutes, stir again and again until an even mass is formed. Then you take the pot off the stove and add the pistachios and the orange oil.

Small balls are formed from the mass, which is individually placed in small paper cups. The chocolate is then melted in a water bath and dripped over the balls. Garnish each ball with two slivers of pistachios and place in the fridge to prevent the chocolate from melting.

Fine chocolate rum balls:

  • 200 g vegan dark chocolate or raw chocolate (see above)
  • 125 g finely chopped almonds or ground almonds
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon coconut blossom sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of rum
  • Organic or raw cocoa powder or finely ground cocoa nibs or coconut flakes for decoration

The chocolate is broken into pieces and heated in a water bath. The oil, coconut blossom sugar, almonds, and rum are added to the liquid chocolate while stirring constantly – until an even mass has formed.

This mass is first allowed to cool to room temperature and then placed in the fridge for at least an hour.

Then form about 10 small balls from the mass, which you can roll in coconut flakes or cocoa powder for decoration.

Vanilla marzipan balls:

  • 150 g almonds blanched, peeled, and finely ground
  • 2 teaspoons organic bourbon vanilla powder
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 120 g honey or agave syrup
  • Cinnamon, coconut flakes or raw cocoa powder, or finely ground cocoa nibs for decoration

Mix the almonds with the spices. Then knead in honey or agave syrup and form small balls with your hands.

The balls now have to go in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes or in the fridge for half an hour to get a firm consistency before rolling them in either cinnamon, coconut crumbles or cocoa powder.

Raw cinnamon stars:

  • 200 g ground almonds
  • 10 dates pitted
  • 3 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 small pinch of rock salt
  • Half nuts or whole almonds for decoration

The dates are soaked in a little water for a few hours and (without soaking water) mixed with the almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a blender to form an even, cohesive mass.

If the dough is too dry, you can add some coconut oil or honey. If it’s too sticky, you can add some coconut flour or more ground almonds.

The dough is then rolled out about 1cm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out small stars from the dough, which you can decorate with a nut or almond if you like.

The cinnamon stars already taste very fine. However, they can also be placed in the dehydrator overnight and dried at 40 degrees.

Gingerbread Balls:

  • 100 g ground walnuts
  • 50 g raw cocoa powder
  • 6 dates pitted
  • 2 tbsp high-quality organic coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp honey or coconut blossom sugar
  • 1 tsp grated orange zest from untreated organic oranges
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp gingerbread spice
  • ¼ tsp organic bourbon vanilla powder
  • ground walnuts or raw cocoa powder (or finely ground cocoa nibs) for decoration

All the ingredients (except for the decorative material) are processed into an even dough using a high-performance mixer.

If the dough is too dry, you can either add a little more coconut oil or honey. If it’s too sticky, you can add a little more ground nuts.

As soon as the dough has a good cohesive consistency, roll out about 20 small balls. Place these in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes or in the fridge for half an hour before rolling them in cocoa powder or ground walnuts for garnish.

The gingerbread balls should be stored in the refrigerator.

And finally, a quick but sophisticated recipe from Elfe Grunwald, a gourmet chef for vegan and vegetarian delicacies:

Chocolate Bukhara pralines

  • 70 g bittersweet curd door from the health food store or health food store
  • 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp black Bukhara raisins (alternatively: normal sultanas)
  • 20 g puffed whole grain buckwheat

Melt the bittersweet curd and coconut oil in a saucepan, then remove the saucepan from the heat.

Now carefully turn the puffed buckwheat with the raisins into the chocolate mixture and spoon the mixture into small paper cups.

The pralines then go into the fridge and after half an hour they are firm and can be eaten.

We wish you every success in baking.

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Written by John Myers

Professional Chef with 25 years of industry experience at the highest levels. Restaurant owner. Beverage Director with experience creating world-class nationally recognized cocktail programs. Food writer with a distinctive Chef-driven voice and point of view.

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