Ingredients

The following ingredients have 12 Servings
  • 45 g / 3 tbsp smooth almond butter* (I used this one) OR 35 g / 3 tbsp refined coconut oil
  • 120 ml / ½ cup maple syrup
  • 35 g / 2 tbsp coconut cream (from a can)
  • 200 g / 2 heaped cups untoasted flaked or slivered almonds
  • 40 g / 1/3 cup low-sugar (if available) dried cranberries, chopped small
  • 1 tbsp ground (I used golden) flax seeds
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 150 g / 5 oz vegan chocolate
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or orange blossom
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 50 g / 1.75 oz stem ginger in syrup, finely diced
  • 1/8-¼ tsp ground cardamom

Instruction

  • Heat up the oven to 180° C / 355° F (no fan). Line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper or grease muffin cups (paper or silicone) with an oil spray.
  • Put almond butter (OR coconut oil) and maple syrup in a medium pot.
  • Put the pot on a gentle heat, whisk the mixture and allow to heat up until bubbles start to appear.
  • Whisk in coconut cream, allow it to melt into the mixture and to come to a gentle simmer again. Simmer gently for about a minute.
  • Stir in all the dry ingredients (up to but excluding the chocolate) until they are all coated in the maple syrup caramel.
  • Spoon 1 heaped tsp of the mixture at the bottom of the paper or silicone muffin cups and press it down well or directly onto a baking tray lined with a piece of baking paper. If not using cups, make sure to leave plenty of room between the cookies as they will spread.
  • Bake until golden, 10-12 minutes for the cups and 8-10 minutes otherwise. Once out of the oven, press the mixture in the cups down so that the cookies are a little more compact and for the freestyle cookies, use a butter knife to tidy up the edges as soon as the cookies come out of the oven (they need to be hot for this to work). Allow them to cool down as they are fragile when warm.
  • Once the cookies are cool, melt chocolate slowly over a water bath (make sure that the bowl with chocolate does not touch the water underneath).
  • Using a brush, spread the melted chocolate at the bottom of each cookie. Place them in the fridge to set.