Hot Chocolate & Cookies for a Rainy Day

It has been quite cold and rainy here lately which is the perfect weather to snuggle up in front of the TV with a cuppa and a cookie!

We have been overdosing on Netflix and enjoying the old-fashioned art of jigsaw puzzling. Could jigsaws be the “new” colouring in? It’s certainly more fun to do with company!

If you think that this biscuit recipe is reminiscent of the good old Anzac biscuit, you would be right! Without the oats, I substituted the golden syrup for honey and added more nuts and seeds to make it delightfully crunchy and it is easily kept gluten-free. I prefer to grind the linseeds & buckwheat in the magic bullet and mix the batch by hand. I find it gives a much nicer texture than if it is mixed in the Thermomix.

HONEY NUT COOKIES

   

1 tab linseeds
70g rapadura sugar
60g buckwheat
70g GF flour (I prefer Orgran)
30g whole buckwheat, extra
40g desiccated coconut
90g flaked almonds
60g sunflower seeds
1 tab chia seeds
120g butter
1 tab honey
¼ teas salt
½ teas bicarb soda
2 tabs hot water

In the TM (or magic bullet) grind the linseeds, sugar and 60g buckwheat until finely ground.

Place the above mix and the rest of the dry ingredients into a big wide bowl. Melt the butter with the honey in the TM on SP 1 for 2 minutes. Mix the bicarb and hot water and add this to the butter mixture. Stir the wet mixture into the dry and place apricot sized balls on a lined tray and flatten. The mix will be quite wet. Bake in a 160°C for 20 mins. Leave on the tray until they are cold – they are quite crumbly when warm but will firm up on cooling. I like to refrigerate them to keep them crunchy.

A handful of chocolate chips would be a yummy addition!

HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE MIX

60g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped
120g raw or coconut sugar
2 tab slippery elm powder (optional but helps to thicken)
40g cocoa powder
¼ teas vanilla powder
50g dry milk powder or coconut milk powder*
¼ teas salt

I find this easy to make in my magic bullet but it is just as easy to do in your Thermomix.
Pop all of the ingredients into the bowl and blitz until a fine powder forms. To make up a hot chocolate
add 2 tablespoons to a mug and half fill with boiling water. Stir to dissolve, then top up with hot milk.

*I know that powdered milk is not very good for you and pretty nutritionally void, but I like the creaminess that it adds. I prefer to use coconut milk powder rather than dairy milk to keep this dairy free.