CHAI SPICED CRANBERRY COOKIES
Chewy cookies that taste like… Christmas! With a bit of black pepper thrown in for good measure, which makes them extra more-ish and really something special. Made from chickpea flour, a flax “egg,” jaggery, cranberries and more spices than you can shake a feather at, they’re gluten-free, vegan and irresistible!
INGREDIENTS
Makes 14 cookies
2 cups (220g) chickpea flour
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
½ tsp ground allspice (or mixed spice)
½ tsp finely ground black pepper
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
6 tbsp ghee (or your vegetable oil of choice)
80g (½ cup) jaggery
100g dried cranberries
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tbsp water
For the flax egg
3 tbsp ground flax (works with whole flax too*)
5 tbsp water
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Mix the ground flax and 5 tablespoons of water together in a small bowl. Allow to sit.
Toast the gram flour for 15 minutes in a dry heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat, stirring frequently to ensure even toasting and to keep the flour from burning. At the end of this process, the flour should be fragrant and a few shades darker.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little, then start to add the rest of the dry ingredients.
Mix well, then stir in the ghee (this should melt easily in the still warm flour) and flax egg, using your hands to mix in well, adding 3 tablespoons of water slowly to form a dough.
Taste the dough and add more spices if necessary.
Roll the dough into 14 walnut-sized balls.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet and press down so that the cookies are about 1 cm in thickness.**
Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly toasted on the edges. They will still be soft at this point but will harden as they cool.
Let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
These are best enjoyed fresh if you want them crisp and crunchy, otherwise store them in an airtight container, when completely cool, for a chewy cookie.
East by West tips:
*Whole flax might need an extra 10 minutes to soak while stirring occasionally so that any seeds that float get a chance to soak too.
**In a hot kitchen, or if your cookie batter is still warm, the cookies will benefit from being chilled for 20 minutes or more before baking.
