This is another nut-based vegan biscuit, in the form of lemon cashew crinkle cookies. They are sweet, light and crispy with a slightly chewy centre.
Combining both zest and peel with natural lemon extract makes these super lemony. Lots of cashew nuts and a little cocoa butter lend them a creamy background flavour reminiscent of white chocolate.
The candied lemon peel is optional but I find it adds something special both taste and texture-wise, like stem ginger in a ginger biscuit.
They have a short baking time of around ten minutes. The moment they start to look as though they are turning golden, they should be removed from the oven (see pictures) unless you’re after a crunchier cookie.
I’ve used white flour and white sugar in this recipe, for a shortbread-pale colour, but also because wholewheat flour and unrefined sugar would alter the flavour significantly in this instance.
This recipe makes thirty small to medium biscuits that will store well in an airtight tin.
Lemon Cashew Crinkle Cookies…
Ingredients
- 100 g cashew nuts, finely ground in a processor or grinder
- zest of a small unwaxed lemon, finely grated
- 30 g candied lemon peel, chopped fairly finely (optional)
- 200 g white self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 90 g icing sugar plus a tablespoon or two for rolling
- 50 g coconut oil
- 20 g cocoa butter
- 120 g maple syrup
- 1 tsp natural lemon extract
Method
- Set the oven to 180°C/360°F and line two baking sheets (enough room for thirty x 6 cm diameter biscuits).
- Gently warm the coconut oil and cocoa butter in the microwave until the cocoa butter is starting to melt, then stir and set aside (it should finish melting while you prepare the dry ingredients, otherwise give it a little longer in the microwave).
- In a large bowl, combine the sifted flour, bicarbonate of soda and icing sugar. Whisk together.
- Add the ground cashews, zest and peel (if using). Stir through the dry ingredients to combine evenly.
- Add the maple syrup and lemon extract to the oils (once melted).
- Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and blend with a fork until a fairly firm dough is formed. It should hold together well – if it’s so crumbly it won’t form a ball mix in a teaspoon or two more maple syrup.
- Roll the dough to a thickness of one centimetre on a board sprinkled with icing sugar, sprinkling more icing sugar on top to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.
- Cut the cookies with a small cutter (I used a 4 cm cutter) and place on the baking sheets with space to expand (to 6 cm).
- Bake for around ten minutes, until the cookies are only just beginning to look a bit golden around the edges.
- Allow to cool on a rack.
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