Deliciously Ella’s Easy Recipe for Healthy Cookies

Words & Recipe Deliciously Ella

These are a great staple to have in the house. They’re not especially indulgent or impressive, instead they’re moreish little oaty bites that sate an afternoon sweet tooth or a post-dinner snack attack. This healthy cookie recipe is flavoured with orange, lemon, cardamom and cinnamon, and uses honey and raisins to add a perfect sweetness.

Makes 10–12
Nut free

Ingredients:

• 3–5 cardamom pods, to taste (depending on how strong you want the flavour)
  300g oats
  6 tablespoons honey
  finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, plus juice of ½ lemon
  finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed orange, plus juice of ½ orange
  2 tablespoon chia seeds
  3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  6 tablespoons plant-based milk
  40g raisins

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
• Use the flat side of a knife to crush the cardamom pods. Once each opens, take the seeds out and grind in a pestle and mortar.
• Place 200g of the oats into a food processor and whizz for 30 seconds or so, until they form a flour.
• Place the ground cardamom and ground oats in a large bowl and add all the remaining ingredients, not forgetting the remaining 100g of whole oats. Stir well until a nice sticky mix forms. It should be damp, rather than wet or runny.
• Scoop 1 tablespoon of the mix into your hand, roll it into a ball, then place it on the prepared tray and flatten it down. Repeat to make 10–12 cookies.
• Bake for 20–25 minutes. Leave on the tray until cold, so they firm up, then serve.CLEVER COOKING
• Always zest unwaxed citrus fruit before juicing it; as once you’ve taken the juice out it’s almost impossible to zest the fruit shells.MIX IT UP
• Try smothering the cookies with a thick layer of almond butter and eating them as an afternoon snack… it’s amazing!Recipe extracted from Deliciously Ella with Friends by Ella Mills, published on26 January by Yellow Kite, £25 © Ella Mills 2017

Photography © Clare Winfield
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