Raspberry & Almond Cookies

Raspberries and almonds make the perfect pair! While cookies without chocolate may not be appealing to everyone, I promise these sweet treats are delicious and gooey!

The flavours of this cookie remind me of a cherry Bakewell tart - they are rich and nutty with a tang of fresh raspberries.

To start making these vegan almond and raspberry cookies combine coconut oil, maple syrup and golden caster sugar.

You might be wondering why you need both maple syrup and sugar... the maple syrup gives the cookies a soft texture and will also help your cookies to brown in the oven.

Many vegan cookie recipes call for vegan butter, but I decided to use coconut oil in this recipe. Vegan butter is not always easy to find and can be quite expensive, meanwhile, coconut oil is a staple in my cupboard and is so versatile for both sweet and savoury cooking.

The next step is to add plain flour, baking powder and ground almonds to the mixture. Combine the ingredients to form a dough (the mixture should be a little crumbly).

To help combine the mixture into a creamy dough add plant milk (I used oat), peanut butter, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir until smooth!

The peanut butter enhances the nutty flavour of the cookies.

Then mix your washed and dried raspberries into the cookie dough.

It is super important that the raspberries are the last ingredient you add. Raspberries are extremely delicate, so gently stir them into the dough to try and avoid breaking them apart as much as possible.

Use a tablespoon to scoop out the cookie dough and use your hands to roll the dough into small balls. Place the cookie dough balls on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Bake for 15 minutes - when cooked the cookies should be a light golden colour and soft to the touch.

The final step is to mix icing sugar and water together and drizzle the cookies with the icing. Done!

INGREDIENTS:

• 100 ml coconut oil (melted)

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 50 g golden caster sugar

• 100 g plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 50 g ground almonds

• 50 ml plant milk (I used oat)

• 2 tbsp peanut butter

• Pinch of salt

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 90 g fresh raspberries (washed and dried)

• 4 tbsp powdered icing sugar

• 1 tsp water

METHOD:

1) Preheat the oven to 190°c / 170°c (fan). In a large bowl mix together the coconut oil, maple syrup and golden caster sugar.

2) Next, add the flour, baking powder and ground almonds and combine until the mixture forms a crumbly dough.

3) Add the milk, peanut butter, salt and vanilla extract to the mixture and stir until the dough is smooth.

4) Now add the raspberries and gently stir them into the dough. Be careful not to break the raspberries apart too much.

5) Line a baking tray with some greaseproof paper and use a tablespoon to scoop the cookie dough out of the bowl. Use your hands to roll the dough into small balls and place the balls on the baking tray.

6) Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, they should come out of the oven a light golden brown and soft to the touch. Let cool.

7) To finish the cookies mix the icing sugar and water and drizzle the icing over the cookies. These cookies will last 3 days in an airtight container.