Christmas spiced butter

I originally got the idea for this recipe from a magazine I happened to be browsing through a few weeks ago, although I now have no idea where I was when I was browsing and I have no idea which magazine...sorry about that! But I can tell you this, it was such a super simple idea that basically consisted of softening some (non-vegan) butter and whipping into it some Christmas spices. 

I took this one level further by using melted coconut oil and folding in Christmas spices along with some blitzed up dried cranberries for a pretty sparkly berry effect. You could add more or less sweetener to taste depending on how sweet and indulgent you want to make it. I actually used about 1/4 coconut butter as I had a tiny bit of homemade stuff needing to be used but all coconut oil will be fine, I wouldn't recommend all coconut butter as the 'meat' content would not give such a smooth overall blend.

This would make the perfect last minute Christmas gift too, all wrapped up in a little canister with some ideas for use on a little label....imagine it melted and drizzled over pancakes, dolloped on top of a single serve sponge watching it melt over the top or even added too some oats and nuts to make a quick baked granola!

It's barely even a recipe, but of course I've added it below. Feel free to swap in your own favourite spices or add different dried fruits. I'd advise that any dried fruit is blitzed up into very small pieces or chopped very finely so that the resulting 'butter' is not too chunky to use.

Recipe: Christmas spiced butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 tsp each cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger

pinch allspice

1tbs coconut sugar or rapadura (agave etc may also be fine but I opted for a granulated sweetener to mix through)

1 tbs very finely chopped dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)

Method: 

Melt the coconut oil and mix through all the ingredients. Spoon/pour into a small jar and allow to set. Store at room temperature.

Note: the top photos were taken when the butter had set and these photos were taken when the coconut oil was still liquidy, hence the darker colour.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Coconut chocolate slice

It’s now only a few days before Easter, and with plans and preparations already likely to be in full swing, I thought I would give you a simple recipe for a raw healthy chocolate alternative.  You can literally whip this up in minutes and store it in the fridge.

This chocolate is still super rich and decadent, but is made using only raw healthy ingredients. As with any ‘healthy’ dessert it should still be enjoyed in moderation, and since it is a very rich I found a little slice satisfied me so much more than regular dark chocolate would have done.            

I wanted to make a chocolate using coconut oil, or in actual fact using predominantly homemade coconut butter since I buy shredded coconut flakes (the raw ingredients for the butter) in bulk so it is extremely cost effective to make my own this way. Most of the other recipes I found for making raw chocolate used cacao butter instead, which may well create a slightly superior chocolate base and be less crumbly (I found the coconut butter does make it ever so slightly crumbly). However, for me the costs effectiveness and simplicity of using coconut butter along with the fact that this chocolate is still so very good lead me to decide against using cacoa butter.  I may well experiment along those lines in the future but I wanted to offer you a chocolate made using ingredients you would more typically have in your cupboard.  

For me, this chocolate does not taste overpoweringly of ‘coconut’ but then since I use coconut butter all the time I am a little immune to its taste. I would suggest that unless you have a strong dislike for anything remotely coconutty then you would love this chocolate! You can by all means use all coconut oil if that is more your thing, it will create a smoother textured chocolate without the slight grainy texture of the coconut meat content. If you go down this route I would suggest using about 1/3 less oil than the amount of butter the recipe states. You can always add more if you need to, to get a smooth spooning consistency.

You will note I have included both carob and maca powder in the ingredients list below. These ingredients are both optional but I would encourage you to include them if you have them as they create a much more complex flavour base. The carob gives a real richness to the compliment the cacoa and the maca has a ‘malty’ flavour which (depending how much you use) makes for a less bitter chocolate more of the ‘milk chocolate’ variety. If you omit the carob add a little extra sweetener or dried fruit as the carob is naturally sweet. To make this a raw chocolate you would need to use raw cacoa powder instead of regular cocoa powder, but again this is optional and cocoa could be interchanged here is preferred.

Have a happy, healthy….and chocolatey Easter!

For other super simple and versatile chocolatey recipes, check this dessert/mousse/frosting and this (soy free) frosting. Oh and not forgetting smoosh bars and these amazing fudge bites…they can be formed into any shape and they are still made on a very regular basis in this house!

Recipe: Coconut chocolate

Makes once very large bar (approx. 9x4 inch) so feel free to halve the ingredients to make a smaller version. 

Ingredients

200g coconut butter

50g coconut oil (the additional of the oil creates a less crumbly chocolate)

50g raw cacao powder

30g raw carob powder or more cacoa)

1tbs maca powder (optional to taste)

50g agave syrup (plus a tiny pinch of stevia if necessary to taste- I found it sweet enough without)

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla powder or extract

Optional- fruit and chopped nuts

Method

Melt the coconut oil and butter and then mix everything together in a blender/food processor for a few minutes to achieve a thick glossy paste that is easily spoon-able.

You want to ensure that the coconut butter and oil stay warm and therefore liquidy to achieve the smoothest mixture. I used my Thermomix which has heat settings- by setting this at 37C I could maintain the right consistency as it mixed the ingredients together.

Once mixed, add some crushed nuts or dried fruit in last (if using) and briefly mix through evenly. I used coarsely ground almonds and cranberries.

Spoon the chocolate in to the bottom of a lined loaf tin (as I did) or individual moulds and pack down firmly. Store in the fridge to set for a hour. Once set this can be stored either in or out of the fridge for a couple of weeks.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

‘Twelve Days’ day 3: Coconut ‘snowfall’ cookies

Today I have a double whammy for you- one batch of cookie mixture baked two ways:

Coconut spritz snowflakes

&

Coconut macaroon snowballs

…your choice! (or to save the decision making go for both)

I had originally trialled a number of spritz cookie recipes a few months back. I found the trickiest part was keeping the cookie crisp after day 1. Having tried a few different recipes I have now come to the conclusion that the spritz cookies are best eaten on the day they are made, or warmed in the oven to bring back that crisp edge on subsequent days.  They could probably be frozen and then heated through in the oven- note I haven’t actually tried this.

The idea for the macaroons came from a post I’d seen on Oh she Glows a few months back, I then tweaked both the macaroon recipe and my own spritz cookie recipe so that they used the same ingredient base.

I love getting two very different cookies out of one mix- half the work for twice the fun!!

Recipe: Coconut ‘snowfall’ cookies

Ingredients

200g coconut butter

30g fine desiccated coconut

50g agave and ¼ tsp pinch of stevia

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp almond essence

A pinch of salt

70g arrowroot powder (corn starch or tapioca starch would probably also work but I haven’t tested them)

10g instant polenta (optional to give extra crunch)

For macaroons: extra desiccated coconut for coating.

For spritz cookies: 1-2 tbs thick coconut cream or soy yoghurt if necessary to reach required consistency for piping.

Makes approx. 20 macaroons/spritz cookies

Method

Melt coconut butter (or make your own) and once nice a drippy add all the other ingredients. Mix together well and divide dough into halves if making both cookie types.

Spritz cookies: make these first whilst the mixture is still nice and pliable. Spoon into a robust piping bag with a large nozzle attachment and pipe circles or snowflakes shapes onto a lined baking sheet. If the dough is too stiff (which is likely) add a little coconut cream/soy yoghurt (as little as possible as too much will reduce the crispness of the cookie).

Macaroons: form small balls of the dough and roll in the extra coconut before placing on the lined baking sheet.

Bake for approx. 10-15 mins at 180C until lightly golden at the endges. Spritz cookies will need no longer than 10 minutes so keep a close eye on them. Allow to cool fully before removing from the sheet.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Spiced coconut roast cashews

Three meals a day… not for me, I function best on the ‘little and often’ philosophy, always needing a good snack to hand. Often it’s a good old bowl of oats, or some veg sticks and hummous, or sometimes I just crave the sweet kick of these babies! However today I fancied a savoury snack, a few little nibbles to pick at, and what better than nuts. 

Not any old nuts, these are my coconut roasted spiced nuts… oh yeah! 

What- coconut?  Don’t worry, they don’t taste of coconut, this is simple the ‘oily’ medium I’ve used to help the spices stick to the cashews and as a bonus the coconut flesh in the butter  gives a delightful (haven’t said that word in a while!) crumbly powdery coating to the nuts. Coconut is a ‘superfood’ and so it’s a pretty healthy snack too! I’ve used coconut butter over coconut oil as it has more body and I also really wanted to achieve that slightly ‘powdery’ coating which you wouldn’t get to the same degree with regular oil containing no flesh. You can make your own coconut butter here.

So simple to make and endlessly variable, I made three flavours as I just couldn’t decide…..

Recipe: Spiced coconut roast cashews

Makes one smallish bowl.

Ingredients

100g plain cashews (organic if possible)

1tsp melted coconut butter

Spices to taste- see below

Option 1- ground sea salt and black pepper

Option 2- garlic puree or granules  and ground mixed Italian herbs

Option 3- Tabasco chipotle sauce (a few drops!), paprika and cayenne pepper

(as a rough guide use a total of 1 tsp of combined spices per 100g of cashews)

Method

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and swirl with a spoon or hands until well coated. Lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the oven at 180C for approx. 8-10 mins until beginning to go golden. Keep a close eye on these and they have a tendency to go from ‘done’ to ‘overdone’ very quickly!

Coconut butter

In many of my recipes I use coconut oil or coconut butter. This is the healthiest type of oil (particular if organic, cold pressed and raw). Coconut butter is rich with lauric acid; a medium-chain fatty acid. Medium chain-fatty acids differ from long chain fatty acids, found in animal fats. They are small, absorbed directly by the liver and convert quickly into energy; unlike long-chain fatty acids that are deposited in fat cells and convert much more slowly. The white meat of the coconut is also packed with fiber, protein, vitamins B1, B6, C and E, folic acid, calcium and iron.

For more info on the health benefits of coconut oil see here, where there are various links for reference. 

The only downside to coconut oil is that it tends to be so expensive at around £10 (or more) for a 450g tub. Coconut butter on the other hand can be very cost effective due to the fact that it is very simple to make your own as long as you have a high powered blender.

Coconut oil and butter are not the same thing and they are not always directly interchangeable. Coconut oil is the pure ‘oil’ with no flesh, whereas coconut butter is the oil and the flesh combined (approx. 70% oil and 30% flesh) so the resulting product when melted in its usable form is much thicker- think yoghurt or thick cream consistency- and opaque compared with the clear very runny oil.

When it comes to baking I have tried countless combinations and substitutions using coconut butter and often it does the trick, however there are times when the butter just won’t do and a very runny oil is needed, see this cookie recipe to get a better understanding in context. Coconut butter works best when used in place of ‘softened butter’ or ‘shortening’ i.e when you are not relying on the runniness of oil to combine ingredients into a dough, and other liquid ingredients are also used. To get a really ‘crisp’ cookie where oil is the primary liquid then don’t skimp on using pure oil!

So, to make your own coconut butter, it is really so simple it barely needs a recipe but I’ve added one for completeness!

Recipe: Coconut butter

Ingredients

200g-500g Organic dessicated coconut (unsweetened and not defatted- just the usual stuff bagged up in health food stores/supermarkets. Use an amount appropriate to the size of blender- don’t use too little as the volume reduces a lot when it liquefies and I find in my Thermomix that it is more difficult to work with a small amount as it just flings itself to the side of the jug.

That’s it!!  You just need coconut!

Method

The key here is to keep blending beyond the point you think it’s finished- I made this mistake the first time I tried as even though it looked ‘ready’ it still had a fairly grainy consistency. In my Thermomix I use 500g of desiccated coconut and blend this at high speed for 3 ½ minutes- stopping a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. My machine also has an independent temperature setting which I set at 37 degrees to help release the oils a little better. The temperature is by no means a necessity but it may simply take a little longer to blend. Taste test after 3 ½ minutes and keep going until you have the consistency of thick cream and no graininess.

Once ready it should pour smoothly and effortlessly in a jar where it can be stored in the cupboard for use. I’d advise against storing this in the fridge as it will go very hard and will be more difficult to use. At room temperature coconut butter is typically solid but on a hot day it will liquefy, this is absolutely fine and in no way degrades the butter, it will solidify again when the temperature drops.

'Two way' choc chip cookie

When you think of a cookie what’s the first thing that springs to mind…

Mmm, I thought so, me too! The classic choc chip cookie.

Well the classic choc chip cookie is not at all healthy, so let’s give this one a twist… or two! See, the use of coconut oil vs coconut butter can dramatically change the result of your cookie- so much so that changing one simple ingredient determines what type of cookie you end up with;

‘crisp cookies’

Or

‘crumbly shortbread’

Oooo options, can’t choose? Make both!  These cookies are also gluten free- yay!!

(P.S the darker ones were in the oven slightly longer- that is the only reason for colour difference! and before you even think it, no they are not burnt!)

Recipe: choc chip cookies/shortbread

Makes approx. 10 cookies

Ingredients

¼ cup finely ground hazlenuts

½ cup buckwheat flour

¼ cup tapioca flour

¼ cup instant polenta (or additional ground nut meal)

Pinch of salt

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

2 tbs agave and a pinch of stevia

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup choc chips (sub half of this with course ground hazlenuts if preferred)

Key ingredient:

For crisp cookies- use 2 ½ tbs melted coconut oil

For shortbread style cookies- use 3- 4 tbs melted coconut butter (if you are having trouble with the mixture sticking add a little coconut oil (or nother oil) to help it bind)

Method

Combine all dry ingredients and mix together in a large bowl. Combine all wet ingredients including melted coconut oil or butter and pur into the dry ingredients. Mix well to combine and add the chocolate chips/nuts last. If you are using the oil the mixture will combine very easily, whereas if you are using the butter the mixture will be more crumbly to work with and take more work to stick together- use your hands!. Spoon the mixture on to parchment lined baking sheets and press down with a spoon (if you are using the coconut butter you will need to form balls with your hands and then press down to flatten).  Bake at 180C for 10 minutes rotating the tray half way though.

See how different the cookies look!