Warming up winter with ginger spiced cookies

It’s winter, the rain gauge is about to overflow and there is no way I’m stepping foot outside the back door today let alone playing in the garden. So it’s the perfect time to play with some of my favourite ingredients: spices.

I mentioned their amazing benefits during my turmeric chai latte recipe post, as well as my guest blog for Mura Pathway to Wellness. Just to summarise, spices can be used to  lower blood sugar levels, reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, treat headaches and toothaches, and are anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibacterial and high in antioxidants. 

This ginger spiced cookie recipe features cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, which are all known as warming spices because they raise the body’s temperature – just what you need when it’s cold and rainy. 

I’ve also used black molasses, which has its own range of health benefits thanks to a healthy dose of iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and selenium. The molasses and coconut sugar lend a rich caramelly flavour to the cookies. If you don’t have any besan or tapioca flour handy, 2½ cups of normal plain flour or gluten free plain flour will do. The chia seeds will work fine whole or ground. Powdered ginger can be used instead of fresh.

Super unattractive when wet...

Perfect once baked.

Ginger spiced cookies

½ cup black molasses

½ cup coconut sugar

2 tablespoons margarine

1 cup besan flour

1½ cups tapioca flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp grated ginger

¼ tsp cinnamon

¹/₈ tsp ground cloves

¹/₈ tsp ground cardamom

1 tbs chia seeds

Preheat the oven to 160° Celsius fan forced. If you don’t have a silicon baking mat, lightly grease your baking tray.

Gently melt the molasses, sugar and marg together in a small saucepan on the stove, and let them cool slightly.

Put the chia seeds in a small bowl, add three tablespoons of water and set aside for five minutes.

Mix the flours, baking soda and spices in a bowl, and stir in the syrup and chia seeds. Use a dessert spoon to dollop the dough in small mounds on the tray. Don’t worry about shaping them, they’ll cook into a nice shape anyway.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the house smells all lovely and gingery, allow to cool and enjoy with a pot of chai tea.

Spicy date and ginger bread

Not so long ago I wouldn’t have believed you could make a loaf of bread entirely out of nuts and seeds. Yet here I am, creating this date and ginger nut loaf that is so full of flavour and so nutrient-rich that a single small slice will power your body for hours. I have many more potential flavour combinations in mind so watch this space!

You can never have too many dates in your bread!

I love this bread - it’s delicious, decadent and dense in a slightly fudgy way. It just so happens to also be gluten free, refined sugar free, vegan and paleo friendly, and otherwise oh so good for you – how great is that!

Ground flax and chia seeds

You might like to experiment with adding sugar to the dough – coconut palm sugar would be fantastic – but I love the way the flavour of the date bursts out of the spicy bread without competing for sweetness. If there’s not enough nuts in there for you, roughly chopped walnuts would also make a delicious addition.

Date and ginger nut loaf

Using your blender, grind ½ cup flax seed and ½ cup chia seed into a powder (see note). Put the powder in a small bowl, add ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice and ½ cup almond milk, stir well to combine and set aside for several minutes.

In large bowl combine 1 cup almond flour, ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg, ½ tsp cinnamon, 2-3cm finely grated ginger, and 1 cup of dates, roughly chopped by or pulsed in the blender to produce a mix of big and small chunks.

Add the wet seed mix and combine to form a stiff dough. Put in a loaf tin and mould to a nice oval shape. The bread won’t rise or fill the loaf tin so take the time to shape it nicely. Cut four shallow grooves diagonally across the top of the loaf.

Nutmeg - best freshly grated

Bake in a preheated 180 degree Celsius oven for 45 minutes, although it may need up to an hour as it is so dense. It can be eaten almost straight from the oven, or store it in the fridge and slice, toast under the grill and slather it in something yummy.

Note: The blender gave the best results, after I experimented with food processors large and small, plus the old-fashioned mortar and pestle, without successfully grinding the seeds. A coffee or spice grinder would also work.