Cookies make people happy. And happy people are fun to be around with. That’s my central premise for continuing to make desserts that are mostly gluten-free, refined sugar-free & dairy-free. These heavenly, chewy, cacao-filled cookies are 100% raw, sweetened with dates & don’t require any baking. Just a bit of refrigeration for them to
“set in” nicely. This is unconventional baking because in fact; there is no convention or baking.
I dream of one day having a little pastry shop; “Aleyda’s Petit Patisserie”. To walk in & have your senses be instantly flooded by the smell of chocolate and strong, purist coffee that comes from my side of the world. A place where foodies looking for healthier food could enjoy a variety of unrefined treats that would still set their sweet tooth on fire. But for now, am just trying to share this recipe with you guys & get our little family prepped & packed for our ski holiday next week for March Break. Yep, we’re going skiing. Fun times, indeed. So if I’m missing in action next week, am up in the mountains, drinking something warm, and enjoying the fresh air you can only get when you go away from the city. The vacation itself will be breath of fresh air & much needed R & R.
This post is devoted to the “Oreo Chapter” in my life. Yep- they were so big, they deserve their own chapter. And because there’s no fun in Oreos unless you share how you eat yours, I have a few confessions…. Most people dip them in milk. Well, not me. I used to dip them in coffee! True story. And they were soooo good! It wasn’t dark coffee per se. It was more like café au lait. So yes, there was some milk in it. And the other way I would eat it them was with (drumroll please) ice cream! Good old fashioned vanilla ice cream. I would turn them into crumble, mix them into my ice cream and voilà; it was “Cookies n’ Cream” all of a sudden. How often did I eat them? Hmmm… very often. (Read: ALL the time).
Here’s a natural way to enjoy these beloved goodies; sans the hoards of sugar or refined, processed ingredients. The sugary filling is replaced by healthy cashew cream cheese that’s been sweetened with pure maple syrup and is honestly one of the best things I’ve ever tried! The whole recipe takes about 10-15 mins to prepare, depending on how fast you go in a kitchen. For cookies this good, I like to rush, thank you very much. What’s in the base? It’s almost 90% NUTS! Yep, I was amazed. You throw in almonds, sticky dates, almond butter, raw cacao & you can customize to throw in flax, or oats. I LOVE THEM. They’re crunchy and sweet, but sweetened solely with the power of dates. Do they taste like dates? Not at all! They taste like chocolate and crunchy nuts.
Editor’s Note: since I like to go big or go home when it comes to food, I thought I’d go for DOUBLE Oreo stuffing! Yep, you probably figured that one out already.
Raw Vegan Oreos
Ingredients
(cookies)
- 1 cup of raw almonds
- 1.5 (1 + 1/2) tbsp almond butter (or peanut butter)
- about 8 pitted dates
- a handful of raw cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp of raw cacao or cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp of oats or raw, dry oats or flax
- 1 tbsp of coconut oil
* I like to leave a few chocolate chips or nibs and press them onto the little dough balls.
(filling/cream)
- 1 cup of raw cashews (soaked in water for at least 4 hours or overnight, preferably)
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp liquid coconut oil
- 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
*if you want it sweeter, add 2 tbsp of pure maple syrup or a pinch of stevia
Instructions
- Throw all the cookie ingredients into your food processor. I like to start by pulsing to break everything down & then move to high until I get a sticky, even paste.
- Roll the “dough” into mini balls (see images above). I then use my hands or a lid to gently press into cookies. Place them in the fridge so they set in nicely.
- Clean the food processor & throw in all the filling ingredients.
- Remove your cookies from the fridge and layer a cookie, some filling, and another cookie on top. You know what I am talking about! 🙂
- I like to place the ready made cookies in the fridge, in some sort of air-tight container so they don’t dry out, but they continue to set in nicely. I’ve stored for up to 3-5 days, always refrigerated. Enjoy!
- Fancy an ice cream sandwich? Ditch the cashew cream cheese & buy vanilla coconut ice-cream (dairy free) & you’ll die slowly with each bite. So good!
Oreos Saludables
Ingredientes
Para Las Galleta
- 1 taza de almendras sin rostizar (crudas)
- 1.5 cucharadas de mantequilla de almendra o mantequilla de mani
- 1 cucharada de aceite de coco
- 1/3 taza de chips de chocolate obscuro o nibs de cacao
- 8 dátiles (sin semilla)
- 1 cucharada de avena o polvo de linaza
- 2 cucharadas de cacao en polvo o polvo de cocoa
Para el Relleno
- 1 taza de semillas de marañón (remojadas en agua por 4 horas o preferiblemente, toda la noche)
- 1 cucharadita de jugo fresco de limón
- 1 cucharada de jarabe de maple puro o usen 1 cucharadita de stevia (o lo necesario para endulzar al gusto)
- 1 cucharadita de extracto de vainilla
- 1 cucharada de aceite de coco
Instrucciones
- Tirar todos los ingredientes para las galletas al procesador de comida y mezclar hasta obtener una consistencia uniforme.
- Dividir la mezcla para las galletas haciendo “bolitas de masa” del mismo tamaño y luego presionar para darles forma de galleta. Recomiendo meterlas a la refri para que se endurezcan un poquito y quedan mejor!
- Enjuagar el procesador de comida y dejar caer todos los ingredientes para el relleno. Mezclar hasta obtener una “pasta blanca” un poco espesa.
- Saquen las galletas de la refri y usen un cuchillo para poner galleta, relleno y luego tapar con otra galleta. Yo me excedí un poco con el relleno, como pueden apreciar! 🙂
- Estas galletas saben mejor si se refrigeran un rato después de prepararlas. Las he dejado en la refri por 3-5 días adentro de un tupperware (contenedor) y se mantienen muy bien. Que las disfruten! Son libres de azúcar refinada, lácteos o gluten y saben deli!
