Today is such a cold and rainy day here in the mountains that doesn’t look like it’s June but more October! So I’m snacking some crunchy almond sesame cookies and drinking tea to make myself feel better. 🙂
This is the first time that I live so high up in the mountains (1600 m altitude) as so far I’ve been living or next to the sea or close to the sea or far, far away from the sea in the middle of the Central-Asian steppe but never in the mountains. While in the Winter there are those magical days when it’s snowing and the world is covered with white blanket or equally magical days when the sun is shining, sky is dark blue and air is cold and fresh, it seems that Summer is a whole different story. The weather changes quickly and the temperature can drop up to 15 C from one day to another, the evenings and mornings are also quite cold and definitely I won’t be wearing any of my summer dresses any time soon. But still I love it here, even when it’s raining I enjoy looking at the raindrops on the flowers outside, or walking under my umbrella and taking in all the nature’s beauty…
I’ve been having this pretty bad cold and cough for a week now and I’m so over it! But at least today is the first day that is a bit better so that gives me hope that soon I’ll be back to my normal self… I did manage to shoot few things these days but still everything waiting on the computer to be edited but there will be more good and delicious things coming your way soon.
Today just a quick post about these healthy and crunchy Almond sesame cookies that are also gluten-free and vegan by the way. They are kind of cookies that are good to have in your cookies box when you feel like you want that little something, not very sweet but still delicious with your afternoon tea or coffee or perhaps with a bit of jam for your breakfast. They are so easy to make and actually good for you as they are full of healthy ingredients.
Sesame seeds contain high amounts of protein, dietary fiber and total fat (mainly as linoleic acid and oleic acid) but are also particularly rich in B vitamins and the dietary minerals manganese, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc.
Sunflower seeds are excellent source of vitamin E, magnesium and selenium. Chia seeds are a rich source of B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc.
I found the recipe for these cookies on Food52 page (you can find the original recipe here) and adapted it slightly.
- ½ cup sesame seeds
- ½ cup sunflower seeds (or pumpkin)
- ½ cup agave syrup (or honey but than not vegan)
- ¾ cup almond butter (or other nut butter)
- ¾ cup ground almonds
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- Preheat oven to 175 C (350º F).
- Start by toating the sesame and sunflower seeds in the oven for a few minutes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Stir them occasionally and make sure that they don’t burn. Few mintes will be enough to get them slightly browned so than remove them from the oven and set aside.
- In a small pan, over medium heat, combine agave syrup (or honey) and nut butter and stir until well combined.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds and coconut, add the toasted seeds and chia seeds and finally add the agave-nut butter mixture.
- Stir until combined and then using a spoon, scoop the mixture of dough (1 tbsp per cookie) on a parchment-lined baking sheet to bake.
- Press each ball down gently with the back of the spoon so it flattens slightly.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes (not more!) and pay attention they don’t burn as they bake quickly! Remove them from the oven, leave on the baking tray for 5 min and than gently move onto a wire rack using a spatula.
- They will seem a bit soft but they will harden as the cool down. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature.
They look so crunchy and delicious! I think I’ll make them ASAP! Do you think they would turn out well with tahini? I am again in my sesame phase 🙂
They are really good, in fact I’m eating one right now as we speak lol! 🙂 I like tahini but in small quantities as I find it has quite strong flavor, it could work, I’m just not sure if its flavor would be overpowering, nut butters have milder taste. But if you love it so much, maybe you could try and see how it goes!