Crunchy amaranth cookies
The days at the camp are very intense, but thanks to my participants I have an extra dose of energy. For you, my dear readers, I also have a small dose of energy for these winter afternoons: a healthy and easy to make snack from amaranth.
Preparation
Soak the raisins in boiling water and leave them for 15 minutes.
Blend the egg with the raisins, cocoa and oil.
Add the amaranth and coconut flakes and mix it all together.
Line a baking tray with baking paper, form balls from the mixture and flatten them slightly into a cookie shape.
Bake in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 15 minutes.
It has to be puffed amaranth
The recipe says amaranth without specifying, and the method settles which kind. There is nothing here to cook a raw grain in: no water, no simmering, and fifteen minutes in a dry oven will not soften it. Raw amaranth would stay hard and sandy in the finished cookie.
What the recipe means is puffed amaranth, the popped kind sold like a breakfast cereal, and it is also what gives these cookies the crunch in their name. Twenty grams of it is a surprisingly large bowlful, which is another sign: twenty grams of raw grain would barely cover the bottom.
The raisins are doing two jobs
Soaking them in boiling water for fifteen minutes softens them enough to blend into a paste, and that paste is the only thing binding these cookies apart from one egg. There is no flour and no sugar in the list, so the raisins are both the sweetener and half the glue.
Drain them before blending, or the extra water makes a mixture too loose to shape. If your raisins are already soft and plump, ten minutes is enough, and blend them with the egg until genuinely smooth rather than leaving pieces, because a lump of raisin holds no better than a whole one.
Mix the amaranth in, do not blend it
The order in the method matters. Egg, raisins, cocoa and oil go into the blender; the amaranth and coconut flakes are stirred in afterwards by hand. Put the puffed amaranth in the blender and it turns to dust, taking the texture with it.
Fold it through gently until it is coated and no more. The mixture will look barely held together, which is correct at this stage, and it comes together when you press it into shape.
Shape them by hand and flatten them properly
These cookies do not spread in the oven, so whatever shape goes in is the shape that comes out. Roll a ball, put it on the paper and press it flat to about a centimetre with your palm or the back of a spoon.
Press firmly. A loosely shaped cookie crumbles when you lift it off the tray, because the only things holding it are one egg and the raisin paste. Damp hands stop the mixture sticking to you while you work.
Baking and keeping
Fifteen minutes at 180°C is enough, and the cocoa hides the colour, so judge them by touch: firm on top and dry at the edges. They crisp up as they cool, so a cookie that still feels soft coming out of the oven is usually done.
Let them cool on the tray before moving them, for the same reason as the shaping. They keep a week in a closed tin at room temperature and do not need the fridge, which is what makes them worth baking in the evening for a bag the next morning. If you would rather have snacks like these planned into the week with a shopping list, that is what the Diet & Training by Ann app does.
Crunchy amaranth cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Soak the raisins in boiling water and leave them for 15 minutes, then drain them.
- Blend the egg with the raisins, cocoa and oil until smooth.
- Stir in the puffed amaranth and coconut flakes by hand, without blending.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper, form balls and flatten them firmly to about a centimetre.
- Bake at 180 C (350 F) for about 15 minutes, until firm on top and dry at the edges.
- Let the cookies cool on the tray before moving them.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Puffed, the popped kind sold like a breakfast cereal. There is nothing in the method to cook a raw grain in: no water, no simmering, and fifteen minutes in a dry oven will not soften it, so raw amaranth would stay hard and sandy. Twenty grams of puffed amaranth is also a large bowlful, while twenty grams of raw grain would barely cover the bottom.
To soften them enough to blend into a paste, and that paste is the only thing binding these cookies apart from one egg. There is no flour and no sugar in the recipe, so the raisins are both the sweetener and half the glue. Drain them before blending.
No. Egg, raisins, cocoa and oil go into the blender, and the amaranth and coconut flakes are stirred in by hand afterwards. Blended puffed amaranth turns to dust and takes the texture with it.
They were not pressed firmly enough, or moved too early. These cookies do not spread in the oven, so press each ball flat to about a centimetre, and let them cool on the tray before moving them, since only one egg and the raisin paste hold them together.
A week in a closed tin at room temperature, with no need for the fridge. That is what makes them worth baking in the evening for a bag the next morning. Snacks like these come planned into the week with a shopping list in the Diet & Training by Ann app.
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Chyba jest jakis problem z iloscia skladnikow
Już się nie mogę doczekać aż je zrobię. Może jutro ? 🙂