Cardamom Shortbread Recipe

Cardamom Shortbread 

These cookies are divine, buttery, aromatic, delicate and warming.

Regular plain shortbread is fantastic, shortbread with cardamom is special. Having a pile of cardamom cookies is a good way to test your will power.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup sugar

2 cups flour

¼ cup corn flour

6 cardamom pods, freshly ground or crushed (or use more, or less)

Directions

1.      Cream butter and sugar until the mixture is smooth

2.      Add flour, corn flour and cardamom and mix until well incorporated

3.      Roll out the dough between sheets of grease proof paper until the dough is ½ cm thick. Let it chill in a refrigerator for 20 minutes. Bake at 160°C/310°F until golden, about 15-20 minutes

Cardamom Shortbread 

Coconut Oil Graham Cracker Recipe

Coconut Oil Graham Crackers

This is the coconut oil version of graham crackers. It turned out great. I don’t think I have tried the regular graham crackers, hence I am not sure how this version compares. But it was delicious and crispy, and eating cookies made from whole-wheat seemed healthy (healthier).

Adopted from Smitten Kitchen and Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

80 ml coconut oil, at room temperature

1/3 cup honey

90 ml milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Method

1.      Whisk flours, salt and baking soda in a bowl.

2.   Beat coconut oil, sugar, milk and honey until sugar has dissolved. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.

3.     Roll out the dough on a lightly greased baking pan until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick. I didn't grease the baking tray and it turned out OK.

4.    Using a pastry wheel or pizza slicer, make marks on the dough in the shape and size of the desired crackers. Don’t cut all the way through

5.      Place the baking tray in a fridge for about 5-10 minutes, so that the dough is firm

6.  Remove dough from the fridge. Pierce crackers using a fork. Bake at 175°C/350°F, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. 

Coconut Oil Graham Crackers

Coconut Sesame Seed Biscotti Recipe

Coconut Sesame Seed Biscotti

This is almost a very healthy biscotti, as long as you forget that it contains white flour and sugar. All the rest of the ingredients are good for you. This made me feel less guilty when I ate one too many!

If you don’t like either coconut or sesame seeds, substitute one for the other, in the same amount.

Coconut Sesame Seed Biscotti

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup desiccated coconut

½ cup sesame seeds

2 eggs

¾ - 1 cup sugar (original recipe suggests 1 cup, I prefer less)

Method

1.      Heat the oven to 160°C/325°F

2.      In a bowl, mix flour, rolled oats, coconut and sesame seeds.

3.      In another bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until sugar has completely dissolved. 

4.      Add the flour mixture and mix until just blended. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

5.      Divide the dough evenly into 2 equal mounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. With moist hands, space the dough evenly apart and form into logs.

6.      Bake until lightly browned, about 25-30 minutes.

7.      Cool for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into ¼ - ½ inch thick diagonal slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on the same baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are pale golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Peanut Oat Cookies Recipe

Peanut Oat Cookies

These cookies are light and crispy, with added crunch from peanuts. Whole or chopped peanuts are used instead of peanut butter, which gives it a distinct crunch and a stronger peanut flavor.

Ingredients

½ cup + 2 tablespoons flour

½ cup rolled oats

½ cup sugar (use 1 cup if you prefer ‘normal’ level of sweetness)

1 egg

¼ cup oil or butter

½ cup salted roasted peanuts (optional: chopped)

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1.      Heat oven to 180°C/360°F

2.      Mix flour, rolled oats, baking powder and baking soda

3.      In a separate bowl beat butter/oil, sugar, egg and vanilla until sugar dissolves and the mixture turns pale

4.      Add flour mixture and mix well

5.      Stir in peanuts

6.      Place balls of dough about an inch thick onto a baking tray, flatten and bake until golden brown and delicious, about 12 - 15 minutes

Chocolate Coconut Oat Cookies Recipe

Chocolate Coconut Oat Cookie

This is a regular chocolate chip cookie, boosted with coconut and oats. Coconut and oats bring a nice flavor and texture. Plus these are healthy ingredients, so it makes the chocolate chip cookie healthier, or less unhealthier, depending on what you prefer to believe!

Ingredients

100ml softened butter (or half neutral oil and half butter)

¾ cup flour

1¼ cups rolled oats

½ cup sugar (use ¾ cup if you prefer it sweeter)

¾ cup desiccated coconut

¾ cup chocolate chips

1 medium sized egg

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients

1.      Heat oven to 175°C / 350°F

2.      Cream butter and sugar until sugar has dissolved. 

3.      Add egg and vanilla and mix well. 

4.      In a separate bowl, mix flour, rolled oats, coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the egg mixture

5.      Stir in chocolate chips

6.      Place tablespoons of dough on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

7.      Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown

Chocolate Coconut Oat Cookie

Double Coconut Oil Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Double coconut oil shortbread cookie

May sound a bit confusing but I called it double coconut because these cookies contain coconut oil and desiccated coconut.  So almost 'double' the amount of coconut flavour.

If you want to try single coconut oil shortbread cookie, try this recipe.

 

On to another issue, some idiot was copying my recipes and photos and posting on his (yes a guy) facebook page without my permission. And a kind blogger brought this to my attention. I wrote to the idiot and asked him to remove the photos and text within a day otherwise I will report to facebook. No action was taken so I reported to facebook, and they removed the photos and text within a day. Pretty good result. That idiot copied quite a few photos and recipes. While I should feel good that my recipes and photos are good enough to be copied, it still didn’t make me happy. But very impressed with facebook’s speedy action.

Ingredients

½ cup sugar (use ¾ cup if you prefer your cookies a bit sweeter)

210ml coconut oil

40 ml water

1 cup desiccated coconut (toasted, optional but recommended)

1½ cups flour (you may need a little more)

Directions

1.      Heat oven to 170°C / 340°F

2.      Mix the coconut oil, water and sugar thoroughly until sugar has dissolved.

3.      Add flour and desiccated coconut and mix to get a smooth paste. 

4.      Form the dough in the desired shape, preferably about 1 cm thick. Chill the mixture for a few minutes if its gets too difficult to work with

5.      Bake until pale golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes

Double coconut oil shortbread cookie

Lemon Coconut Crinkle Cookies Recipe

Lemon Coconut Crinkle Cookies

These are delicious, if I may say so myself. Lemon and coconut is a great combination, and the ‘crinkles’ add nice crunch and added sweetness.

Recipe source: Vanderbilt Wife

Ingredients

¼ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar (I used ½ cup)

Juice and zest of one lemon

2 eggs

1½ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut

Powdered sugar

Ingredients

1.      Cream butter, sugar, lemon zest, and eggs until smooth. Add lemon juice and mix until combined

2.      In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt.

3.      Add the flour mixture and coconut to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined

4.      Chill dough for 1 hour, or freeze for 20 minutes

5.      Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on a greased cookie sheet or one lined with parchment paper

6.      Bake at 150°C / 300°F until edges are set, around 15-20 minutes.

Lemon Coconut Crinkle Cookies

Gluten Free Coconut Oat Raisin Cookies Recipe

Gluten Free Coconut Oat Raisin Cookie

These cookies are gluten free, low in sugar and low in butter but still taste delicious. Yes, it is possible. And you can skip the sugar and make it sugar free, it will still be sufficiently sweet.

But wait, there's more. This easy recipe requires no whipping of butter and sugar. Instead the butter is melted and mixed with other ingredients. 

Because there is no flour and little sugar, the cookies are very delicate. They will fall apart if you are not gentle. It is probably better to make these cookies much smaller, so you can have them in one bite.

Gluten Free Coconut Oat Raisin Cookie

Ingredients

125g butter (I used half butter and half oil)

2¼ cups rolled oats

1 cup desiccated coconut

¼ cup sugar

½ cup raisins (chopped, optional)

1 tablespoon (20ml) golden syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions

1.      Process 1¼ cup oats until it has a soft flour like consistency. It takes a few minutes. You should end up with a cup of oat flour, but measure it just to be sure

2.      Melt butter and golden syrup in a saucepan

3.      In a small bowl mix baking soda with boiling water and add to the butter mixture

4.      Combine all dry ingredients then add melted mixture and mix well

5.      Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, place on baking tray and flatten slightly

6.      Bake at 180°C/360°F until golden brown and delicious, approx 10-15 minutes