Category Archives: dairy free

Peppermint Triple Chocolate Candy Cane Brownies – gluten and dairy-free

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I’m a bit late posting this but hey, what can I say – it’s been christmas and all that 😉

I actually re-made this over this weekend so thought it was about time I posted the recipe.

This was a birthday creation for myself, to be shared with my favourite cake-eating friend 🙂 We are both fans of chocolate and peppermint so what better than this delicious minty chocolatey combo! The crunch of the peppermint candy canes on top really make this something special (you can use any hard mint candy for this).

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You will need:

1/4 cup Rice flour

1/2 cup Ground almonds

1 cup unrefined Raw sugar (golden caster sugar, coconut sugar etc)

1/2 cup almond oil (or coconut oil)

1/4 cup raw Cacoa powder

2 eggs (or 2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 6 tbsp water)

1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1/8 Tsp Pure peppermint extract

Milk, white and dark chocolate chunks (optional)

For Icing

100g Dairy free chocolate

200 – 300g Unrefined icing sugar (adjust quantity to depending how runny you want your icing)

drop of Pure peppermint extract

a dash of warm water

Hard mints or candy canes, silver balls, any other decorations

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Preheat the oven to 170C and grease a 20 x 20cm square baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix the ground almonds, flour, cacao powder, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl beat the eggs (or if using chia seeds instead then soak them in the water). Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg (or soaked chia seeds), vanilla extract, peppermint extract and oil. Whisk together using a hand mixer until well mixed. It should be thick and glossy when mixed.

If you are the chocolate chunks stir them in now. Pour in to the baking tin and place in the oven for 20 – 25 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack

Take the hard mints (or candy cane) and bash with a rolling pin in to small pieces.

Then prepare the icing. Melt the chocolate and then stir in the icing sugar and peppermint extract.

Use enough icing sugar to get the consistency of icing you want (if it’s too thick add a little water). Spread quickly on to the brownies and sprinkle the crushed mint and any other decorations you want to use on to the top! Then enjoy (with a big old candle if it’s your birthday 😉 )

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and in case you’re wondering if they taste good… well this is all that’s left of this weekend’s creation!
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Frangipane Mince Pie tarts

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I know Christmas is over, but I never tire of mince meat! I did actually create these before the big day but didn’t get a chance to post the recipe until now. This was created on request from a special friend for her discerning hubby, and they seemed to go down well … in his words “this is the best thing you’ve ever baked”…! 🙂

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So if you have some leftover mince meat then give this a go! These include a layer of marzipan which is optional but I think adds a fab extra almondy loveliness! Make your own (recipe here) or buy a block of plain marzipan – but do buy the good stuff (Neideregger is a great brand).

The frangipane does contain egg but I’ve also posted an egg-free version below too! 🙂

If you fancy making up a batch of mince meat specially then the recipe is here

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For the pastry you will need:

4 oz Buckwheat flour

2 oz ground Almonds

5 tbsp Agave nectar

Up to 6 tbsp Water

For the frangipane you will need (this will be enough for 4 small tarts – 5 – 6cm diameter):

65g unrefined Raw sugar or Coconut palm sugar

100g Ground almonds

1 Egg

50 ml Almond oil (you can use mild Olive oil if you prefer)

1/8 tsp Vanilla extract

1/8 tsp Almond extract (if you have it)

Ground cinnamon (for dusting)

Flaked almonds (for decoration)

125g Marzipan (optional)

Make the pastry first. Put the buckwheat flour and ground almonds in a processor and add the agave. Pulse and gradually add the water until it forms a dough. You may find you need more or less water. If it is too wet add a little more flour. Once it is forming a firm dough remove, wrap in cling-film and place the mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 175 C.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out as thin as you can. Line mini tart cases (or one large flan/tart tin) with the pastry (you will probably have spare pastry left over). Brush with a little almond oil and then place in the oven to blind bake. They only need a few minutes – just until they start to brown very slightly at the edges.

Meanwhile make the frangipane. Pop the sugar and almond oil in a bowl and mix well together. Add the egg and extracts and mix again. Gently fold in the ground almonds until well mixed.

Once the pastry cases are starting to brown a little remove from the oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then spread a thin layer of mince meat (enough to cover the base). Thinly slice the marzipan and layer over the top.

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Then cover with a generous layer of the frangipane.Sprinkle flaked almonds over the top and a dusting of cinnamon. Then place in the oven for 15 – 20 mins or until the frangipane is cooked and a lovely golden brown.

Delicious served with custard or soya yoghurt at any time of year! 🙂

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Egg free frangipane recipe:

6 tbsp Coconut Oil (don’t melt it)
2/3 cup Coconut Palm Sugar / Unrefined Raw Sugar
1 and 1/4 cup Ground Almonds
2 tbsp Cornflour
pinch salt
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2/3 cup Almond Milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract

Put the coconut oil, sugar, ground almonds, cornflour, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse until well combined and all crumbly. Slowly add the almond milk, vanilla extract and almond extract whilst still pulsing the food processor until it forms a thick batter. This frangipane takes a bit more baking than the one above so keep an eye on the tarts and just remove when done.

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Christmas Hats! Black Pepper, Coconut Cream and Strawberry Festive Fun!

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I love dressing up (as my friends well know…) .. so much in fact that even my bakes are getting in the act this year….. 🙂

These are a fun little festive treat to make for parties over the Christmas season. The biscuits themselves are very light, and not too sweet and so they go nicely with the sweetness of the strawberry and the rich coconut cream – the pepper adds a bite and make these a perfect bit of adult fun. If you want something a bit sweeter for the kids you can use my basic biscuit recipe for the bases instead – recipe here

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You will need:

150g Spelt, rice or gluten-free flour blend

50g Dairy free margarine

50g raw Coconut sugar / unrefined dark sugar

1 egg (if you want to go egg-free then use a little oil instead – 1/4 cup olive or almond oil but add less of the mixture in (see below)

2 tbsp Maple syrup (or agave or rice syrup, or honey)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper

1/8 tsp ground Cloves

1/8 tsp ground Nutmeg

A punnet strawberries

1 can of Coconut cream (milk – the canned milk, not the carton) (65 – 70% coconut extract – see below)

a little unrefined icing sugar (optional)

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A few hours before you make these (or a day if you can) you need to set the coconut milk. I use this variety.

Pop the can in the fridge for a few hours or overnight and try not to move it. The coconut fat solidifies and separates at the top, leaving clear liquid at the bottom. When you are ready to make the cake remove the can carefully from the fridge and turn the can upside down in one move (i.e. no shaking!). Then open the can at the bottom – yes – trust me, open the bottom! You should find that the fat has solidified and you will see a few cm’s of clear liquid. Pour this off (don’t throw it away – you can pop it in a smoothie!) and then you are left with the coconut cream to use! 🙂

To make the biscuits:

Preheat the oven to 170 C.

Pop the flour, baking powder, spices and sugar in a food processor and blend briefly. Add the margarine and mix again for a minute or so.

While this is mixing break the egg in to a bowl and whisk the maple syrup in to it to form combine. Trickle a little of this mixture in to the processor bowl while it is running slowly. Keep adding until the mixture forms a firm dough (you may not need all of it).

Once it forms a dough use your hands to combine it and remove from the processor. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 3 – 5 mm thick and use a small round cutter to cut shapes. You will probably have more dough than you need but it can be wrapped in cling film and frozen for later 🙂

Pop the biscuits on to a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until they start to brown. Remove and allow to cool.

Coconut cream:

Take the solidified coconut cream and using electric or a hand whisk beat until fluffy. If you want a little sweetness add a little unrefined icing sugar in as you whip it.

Strawberries:

Remove the stem of the strawberries and cut the top off each to give a flat base.

Now you can assemble your biccies!

Pop the whipped coconut cream in to a piping bag. If you don’t have one (I don’t!) then put it in a plastic ziplock bag and just snip the corner of the bag off to use as a nozzle. Pipe a small amount of cream on to the centre of each biscuit. Pop a strawberry on top and then pipe around the base of the strawberry and add a little dot of cream to the top (for the bobble on the hat!). You could dust with a little icing sugar and a grind of black pepper if you wanted to. Serve as soon as possible. They will last overnight but the biscuits will go softer so wait to assemble until as close to serving time as possible. Any extra biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for a few days and they will stay crispy.

Have fun! 🙂

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Persimmon Spiced Muffins

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I have to confess that until a few weeks ago I’d never even heard of a persimmon fruit, let alone eaten one or cooked with it! I do like a challenge though and these little fruits are very popular at this time of year in the States so I thought I’d experiment.

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The fruit itself is like a cross between and apple and a pear, and it’s lovely eaten on it’s own, or chopped and served in a salad. It’s also lovely to cook with. This recipe is for some yummy, healthy muffins which would make a perfect afternoon snack or even something you could grab for a brekkie on the go!

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Before you start the first thing you need to do is make some oat flour. Simply take 4 cups of porridge oats (make sure they are gluten-free oats), pop them in a processor or blender and process until they form a flour. You will need 2 cups of actual flour for the recipe so you will have some extra to use later 🙂

You will need:

2 cups Oat flour

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1 cup Persimmon flesh

3 tbsp Apple puree (recipe here)

1/2 cup Coconut oil (melted)

1 cup Coconut sugar

1 tbsp Chia seeds

1 cup of Raisins

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Cloves

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp sea salt

Makes approx 12 – 14 muffins

Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a muffin tray with paper liners (or just grease the tray).

Put the oat flour in to a mixing bowl, add the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix well and leave to one side.

Put all the other ingredients apart from the raisins in to a food processor and blend for a few minutes until well combined.

Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir gently. Finally fold in the raisins.

Take approximately 2 tbsps of mixture and add to each cake liner. Sprinkle with coconut sugar and pop in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the tops have browned and a skewer comes out clean. These are very moist muffins so they will seem quite loose.

These are divine whilst still warm from the oven! or allow to cool and enjoy later 🙂

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Mince Pies! Gluten and Dairy Free!

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It’s mince pie time again! whoop! This year I’m trying out some mini ones – almost as I type! 🙂 but for now I thought I’d post my recipe for mincemeat and gluten and dairy-free pastry in case you fancy making a batch this weekend 🙂

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For the Pastry:

4 oz Buckwheat flour
2 oz ground Almonds
5 tbsp Agave nectar
Up to 6 tbsp Water

For the Mincemeat:

3 oz Bramley apples, cored and finely chopped
6 oz Mixed dried fruit (I prefer raisins, currants, cranberries and apricots)
1 oz Vegetable suet
2 oz Raw sugar (coconut palm or dark raw muscovado)
Juice and grated zest of half an Orange
1 level tsp of ground allspice
1 pinch ground Cinnamon
1 pinch ground Cloves
1 pinch grated / ground Nutmeg
1 small handful chopped Almonds
1 tbsp Date syrup

Make the pastry first. Put the buckwheat flour and ground almonds in a processor and add the agave. Pulse and gradually add the water until it forms a dough. You may find you need more or less water. If it is too wet add a little more flour. Once it is forming a firm dough remove, wrap in cling-film and place the mixture in the fridge.

Put all the ingredients for the mincemeat into a saucepan. Cook on a low heat, stirring frequently. Cook until the apple is soft and the mixture is thick – it may take some time. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ gas mark 6.

Lightly oil & flour a 12 muffin tin with almond, coconut or hazelnut oil. Remove pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll it as thin as you can – a few mm. Use a round biscuit cutter to cut out 12 bases. Place them in the tin. Lightly brush with oil and use a fork to prick the base. Place in an oven to blind bake for 5–10 mins. Keep an eye on them – this pastry browns quite fast. Once the edges are brown and the middle is firm remove them. While the cases are in the oven take a smaller circular biscuit cutter to cut out the “lids” or you could use star shapes/ holly leaf shapes/lattice pattern – whatever takes your fancy 🙂

Place a generous helping of mincemeat in each of the cases and place your chosen “lid” on top. Lightly oil and sprinkle with a little cinnamon and raw sugar. Place the pies back in the oven and bake until golden (10–20 mins). Keep a careful eye on them. You want the tops to brown but be careful the bases don’t burn. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins, then remove and place on a wire cooling rack.

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Chocolate, Nut and Chia Cookies – dairy and gluten free

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Do you love chocolate? I do! rather too much sadly! So I’m always on the look out for chocolate goodies that will hit the chocolate spot but are a little bit better for me! These cookies are awesome – they’re chocolatey, they’re healthy and they’re full of omega-3’s and good protein and fat. They’re also dairy, gluten and unrefined sugar free! Whoop!

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You will need:

1/2 cup Buckwheat flour (you can also use quinoa or rice flour)
1 cup Almonds
1 cup Hazelnuts
1/4 cup Medjool dates (approx 2 – 3 chopped)
1/3 cup Maple syrup
2 tbsp Coconut oil (melted)
3 tbsp Raw cacao powder
3 tbsp Chia seeds
1/4 cup Water
Cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar – for dusting

For the cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar you can buy pre-mixed sugar, but I prefer to make my own. It’s easy! Just mix 100g coconut sugar with 10g of cocoa powder, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp chilli powder (or more if you want it hotter!). Adjust the amounts depending how much you need but keep them in those ratios. Make up a batch and keep it in an airtight jar. Just shake before use as the sugar tends to sink to the bottom, leaving the lighter cocoa etc at the top.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

First pop the nuts into a food processor and blend until they are really well ground (almost to a flour). Add in all the other ingredients and process again. It will form a sticky dough.

Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Then place on a lined baking tray and flatten until very thin.Sprinkle with the cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar and then pop in the oven. Bake for 12 – 15 mins until firm and starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Then eat! 🙂

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Apple, Date and Coconut Granola – sugar-free!

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Why waste your money on nasty, sugar-filled shop-bought granola when you can make your own! This is divine and uses only fruit sugars so there’s no added sugar of any type at all!

If you are a cinnamon fan I highly recommend adding a generous few teaspoons in to this mix as well! Nom nom nom! 🙂

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2 cups Spelt porridge oats (or normal oats if you prefer)

1 cup Almonds

1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup Sunflower seeds

1/4 cup Chia seeds

1/4 cup Flax seeds (Linseed)

1/2 cup Desiccated coconut

1/2 cup dried Fruit (I used a mix of different raisins)

1 cup chopped Dates

1 cup Apple purée (recipe here)

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Add all the ingredients except the apple purée to a large bowl and mix well together. Add the apple purée and make sure everything is well coated. Then transfer to a large roasting dish and pop in the oven.

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Check after 10 minutes and turn. Keep checking after that every 5 minutes and ensure it isn’t burning. The apple purée makes this quite moist so you need to let it roast for as long as possible. Once the oats and nuts have browned turn the oven off and leave the granola in there while the oven cools to further dry it out. Make sure it is completely dry before you remove (if not just roast a bit longer!).

Store in an airtight container and it will last for weeks (unless you’re like me in which case it will last days as you won’t be able to stop eating it! 🙂 )

Then enjoy with some soya yoghurt and compote for brekkie! 🙂

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Fight that grump! Chocolate, Cherry and Chilli Biscuit balls! Dairy and Gluten free

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We all get a little grumpy sometimes don’t we? When I’m feeling the grump I usually reach for the chocolate (Willie’s Cacao is my chocolate of choice!) but I thought this week I’d try something a little different! It’s still chocolate but with a kick, and I guarantee this little beauties will cheer up even the biggest grump!

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This a modified version of my great balls of biscuit recipe but I’ve made these bigger – cos you need a bit more biscuit to fight that grump 😉

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To make about 16 biscuit balls you will need:

260g Ground almonds

4 tbsp Raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

30g Dark, dairy-free chocolate (I use the Willie’s Cacao Drops but any dark chocolate chopped up small will be fine)

30g Dried cherries

5 tablespoons Coconut oil (melted)

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt

1/4 – 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)

1/4 – 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder (adjust to taste)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

4 tbsp Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener such as agave or honey)

Preheat the oven to 170 C.

Put the dry ingredients in to a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly. Start with a small amount of cayenne and chilli powder at this stage (unless you are confident in how hot you want it 🙂 ). Then chop the chocolate and cherries into small pieces and add them in to the mixture. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix together. Have a little taste and add more of the cayenne and chilli is required. I like it pretty hot so I added quite a bit! Mix it in well if you’re adding more at this stage. You should find the mixture will stick together when you squeeze it between your fingers.

Take tablespoon sized portions of the mixture and form in to a ball. Pop on a greased baking tray and flatten a little. Place in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes (start checking at 10 minutes). Remove when they are starting to brown. They will feel very soft when you take them from the oven but just leave them to cool on the tray and they will harden.

Enjoy with a nice cuppa and feel that grump melt away! 🙂

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Apple and Cherry Cinnamon Biscuit Balls

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Tuesdays are long, tiring days for me so I have just whipped up a batch of these bad boys to get me through!

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To make about 24 small biscuit balls you will need:

260g Ground almonds

40g Dried apple

30g Dried cherries

5 tablespoons Coconut oil (melted)

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Vanilla extract

4 tbsp Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener such as agave or honey)

Preheat the oven to 170 C.

Put the dry ingredients in to a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly. Then chop the apple and cherries finely and add them in to the mixture. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix together.  You should find the mixture will stick together when you squeeze it between your fingers.

Take tablespoon sized portions of the mixture and form in to a ball. Pop on a greased baking tray and flatten a little. Place in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes (start checking at 10 minutes). Remove when they are starting to brown. They will feel very soft when you take them from the oven but just leave them to cool on the tray and they will harden.

Enjoy with a nice cuppa!

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Chewy, Crispy Pumpkin Cookies – Dairy and Gluten Free

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This is the last of my pumpkin-based goodies (for now!). It may be the last but it’s certainly not the least! This was my second attempt to make the elusive crispy pumpkin cookies and this time I think it worked! My first attempt was delicious but turned out more like a gingerbread-texture cakey cookie  (the recipe for the cinnamon glazed pumpkin cookie cakes is here). These ones however are just as I intended  – crispy on the outside and chewy and soft in the middle. They need to be eaten the day they’re cooked if you want them to stay crispy (trust me you’ll have no trouble wolfing them all down on day one!), but you can always pop them back in a low oven for a few mins to re-crisp them up if you want to 🙂

The best thing to do is split the dough and freeze half if you don’t want to eat them all at once. It freezes really well and will keep for several weeks in the freezer.

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The secret to these is the use of the pumpkin butter (recipe is here). So the first thing you need to do is make a batch of pumpkin butter! 🙂

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For the cookies you will need:

1 cup Dairy-free margarine

1 1/4 cups raw Coconut sugar or other unrefined raw sugar

1 cup Pumpkin butter (recipe here)

1 Egg (or 1/4 cup pureed apple)

2 tsp Vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups Gluten-free flour mix or Spelt flour

1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Cloves

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground Ginger

1 tsp Himalayan rock salt

Zest of 1 orange

1 cup dairy free Chocolate chunks (I used Willie’s Chef’s drops)

Preheat the oven to 170 C.

Place the margarine and sugar in a bowl and cream together using a hand mixer. Add in the egg (or apple), vanilla extract and pumpkin butter and mix well together.

Place all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl mix really well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. It will form a sticky dough. Stir in the orange zest and the chocolate and then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for 30 mins to rest.

Take small chunks of dough (about a tbsp in size) and flatten on to a lined baking tray. The cookies won’t spread so make sure you spread them out on the tray a little. If they are too thick they will still be delicious but will be a bit more “cakey”.

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Pop in the oven for 15 – 20 mins until starting to change colour and slightly crispy. They will harden further as they cool. Allow to cool on the tray for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

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