Ginger Snaps
Recently, we have been reading the Famous Five series again by Enid Blyton (British author). I read them to Michelle and Michael a LONG time ago, again to Daniel several years ago and now Caleb is in to them. I read them as a child and thus have the original series of 21 books. Last week the Famous Five were enjoying ginger biscuits (cookies) and that got me craving some of our own! Not being able to find my original recipe that I used to make eons ago I started searching my current recipe books and came across this one which is actually much healthier for you. This recipe is also GLUTEN FREE for those of you that need it that way. (We are not gluten intolerant just LOVE this new recipe!)
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups of raw almonds
- 1 cup of butter
- 2 cups of arrowroot
- ¾ cup of honey
- 2 tbsp water
- 5 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp sea salt
IMPORTANT TO NOTE that the original recipe from Nourishing Traditions calls for only 3 teaspoons of ginger. My family did not think the first batch was gingery enough hence I upped it. SO if you want to be cautious on your first batch try 3 teaspoons and up it the next time around if so desired. I looked back to see how long we have had our copy of Nourishing Traditions and it is 9 years! GREAT recipe book and more!
Never heard of arrowroot? Do your own research. We have been using this instead of corn starch for many, many years. LOVE it! Can be ordered in small quantities but we purchase ours in a 50lb box!
The original recipe calls for Rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice). I LOVE this but Richard does not so I normally always substitute for raw honey. Rapadura is not as sweet as processed, ‘life removed’ sugar! (Stevia, another great natural sweetener that we use for lemonade etc. is not suitable for use in baking due to lack of volume. You only need a VERY small amount of stevia to sweeten things.)
NOTE on raw almonds: I never think ahead enough to soak my nuts properly prior to use but that is the best way to eat nuts. ( I do soak my almonds for a few minutes to remove any dust and dirt.) Let them soak for about 7 hours in a brine solution and then slow roast them. This is a much healthier way of eating them and I’ll likely get there one day! Did you know that it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to buy raw almonds in the USA? The FDA requires that all almonds are pasteurized before being sold! Yes, crazy isn’t it? For that reason we purchase our “truly raw” almonds from Spain!
The above recipe makes approximately 50 cookies. These FREEZE really well so this evening I made over 100 cookies, putting most of them in the freezer. Can be eaten frozen if no time or desire to let them warm up a little 🙂
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix butter and honey in mixer.
- Add remaining ingredients minus almonds and mix well.
- Grind almonds in blender or food chopper until finely ground.
- Add to rest of ingredients and mix well.
- Using a spoon, place walnut-sized balls on cookie sheets.
- Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes. After first 5 minutes in the oven, press cookies lightly with a fork. Place back in oven.
- Let cool completely before preparing for storage.
WARNING: These are VERY more-ish!
Happy eating,
Liz
