Double Chocolate and Almond Cookies.

I do love a good cookie. But, there's one thing I love more than just your average good cookie, and that is a good cookie that is also healthy. With that in mind, these delightful little creations fill the brief perfectly.

You would honestly never know that they were healthy. They look like your average cookie, are crunchy like your average cookie and I'm not biased or anything, but they actually taste better than your average cookie. They're also free from dairy, eggs, lactose and refined sugar which means it's alright when you sit down to eat one and end up eating the whole batch!

Oh, and most importantly, they've got double the chocolate, so naturally they're amazing from the outset!

Ingredients;

4 tbsp pure almond butter
3 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla bean paste
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour (I used wholemeal spelt)
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp rice malt syrup
1/2 cup almonds (slivered almonds work best)
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. In a bowl, combine the almond butter, coconut sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer. Add in the maple syrup, rice malt syrup, flour, baking powder and cacao and mix until well combined. I also used my hands to combine as the mixer will separate things into chunks a bit, so when the flour was mixed in I used my hands instead to knead the dough.
3. Add in the chopped almonds and chocolate chips, again using your hands to combine and mix in well.
4. Line a baking tray with some paper and then take a small handful, about 1 tbsp worth, of mixture and roll into a ball. Place on the tray and press down lightly. Repeat until you've got no more mixture.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, keeping an eye on the cookies so they don't burn.
6. Allow to cool and then devour the batch before anyone else comes along and steals them!!!

Hot tip - find yourself some chocolate soy ice-cream (dairy free) and make a cookie sandwich!!!!!

Vegan Oreo Cheezecake. 

A few months ago, I discovered that Oreo's are in actual fact vegan. Now, this somewhat baffles me because they're a supermarket-shelf, chocolate and cream biscuit and how in the world that also happens to be vegan is literally divine intervention. I'm not one to complain though, and it actually makes me really happy that vegan products can be found lurking where you least suspect them.

Since that discovery a few months ago, I have been slowly formulating this recipe. I often get asked how I come up with all these things that I make and the truth is that about 90% of the time they will come to me in dreams or as my mind wanders on my morning run. This cheezecake is a case in point because whilst I knew I wanted it to be Oreo filled, I wasn't quite sure about what else to make it with until a few nights ago.

I would basically describe this as one giant chocolate Oreo. Because of that, it isn't exactly the healthiest thing out there, but life isn't about being good 100% of the time. My philosophy is 80/20, meaning 80% of the time eating wholesome and healthy foods, and 20% of the time letting loose and enjoying life. This particular creation definitely fits into the 20% of the time category, and oh my is it one hella tasty was to enjoy a treat!

Ingredients;

(makes one large cake, serves 8, or 9 mini cheezecakes)

Crust
14 Oreo biscuits
2 tbsp rice malt syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil (liquid form)

Filling
2 cups cashew nuts, soaked overnight in water
Cream filling from 14 Oreo's
400ml coconut cream (or alternatively, 2.5 cups supermarket purchased coconut yoghurt + 1 cup coconut milk)
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp pure vanilla bean paste

Plus some extra oreo's to serve

1. Take the Oreo biscuits and twist to separate the two sides. Use a knife to scrape the cream filling out and put that into a bowl - you'll need it for the filling. When you just have the biscuit part, put them in a zip-lock bag and seal. Use a rolling pin to bash the bag until the biscuits turn into crumbs.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the biscuit crumbs with the rice malt and coconut oil. You should end up with a very sticky brown mass that doesn't spread particularly well.
3. Take a tin or muffin tray and tip the base mixture out. Use a spoon to press the mixture really well into the bottom of the tin/muffin tray, especially around the edges. When fully pressed down, place in the freezer while you make the filling.
4. Drain off the cashew's that you soaked overnight and discard the water. Place them in a high-powered blender along with the coconut cream, cream filling from the Oreo's, maple syrup, cacao powder and vanilla bean paste.
5. Blend on high speed for at least a couple of minutes. You will likely need to scrape the sides down a few times and be quite persistent - you don't want a gritty, nutty mixture. Instead, the mixture should be smooth and basically look something along the lines of melted chocolate. It will also taste very good so beware to not eat it all otherwise you'll have no chezsecake!
6. Remove the base from the freezer and pour the filling mixture over the top.* It should spread out evenly on its own because it's quite runny, but just make sure otherwise you'll get a lopsided cheesecake. Bang the tin/muffin tray carefully a few times on the bench top to get any air bubbles out.
7. Return to freezer and allow to set. This will probably take a few hours - you want it to be fully solid. I left mine overnight.
8. When serving, remove from the freezer and allow to sit for about 15 to 30 minutes to thaw a little. Crush some Oreo's up and serve with a sprinkling of them over the top and voila - you have one very delicious masterpiece!

*purely for aesthetic purposes, I like to make my cheezecakes in a muffin tray rather than as one large cake, and I make them double layered. To do the double layers, split off approx 1/3 of the blended filling mixture and place in the fridge in an airtight container. Pour the remaining 2/3 out into the tray, place in the freezer for a few hours to set. When solid, remove from the tin and put in a container in the freezer. Take the muffin tray and pour out the majority of 1/3 you set aside earlier into the moulds,  keeping a small amount to use as 'glue' to join the two layers, then place in the freezer to set. When everything is set, use a small amount of the unfrozen mixture to stick the two layers together, put in the freezer again to set then serve as normal.