I’ve wanted to make some raw cookies for awhile now. There are so many out there to choose from, it really is unreal. When I saw these here I knew I had to make them. They looked so irresistible. I decided to put a twist on the recipe though, I was craving citrus. So I added Craisins instead of chocolate chips and added orange extract instead of vanilla. These babies turned out fabulous.
There is one down fall to these cookies, they are SUPER sweet. Next, time I make them I will definitely use less honey. I’m finding more and more that raw recipes use an excessive amount of nuts, dried fruit and sweeteners such as; honey, agave nectar, maple syrup. I’ve been flipping through a few Raw cookbooks and I feel like there is just too much use of these items. I’m not saying by any means that eating Raw is bad for you; I’m just saying with any “diet” or lifestyle too much of ONE thing is not a GOOD thing!!
I’ve been thinking a lot about this because I’m having a very hard time committing to eating all raw during the day. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is all about BALANCE (which many of us already know but we often need to be reminded of this). These diets that insist you can loose weight by eating just meat seem so absurd to me. Yeah, you might lose weight but are you healthy? Are you treating your body right? Your body can not function on one type of food. In order to obtain 100% balance it needs a variety of food. I’m a firm believer of EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. No matter how healthy we eat, we can still gain weight or even develop health issues by eating too much of one thing! It’s all about portion control!
Ingredients:
-
- 1 3/4 cups ground raw almonds
- 3/4 cup ground raw oats
- 1/4 cup raw honey*
- 2 teaspoon orange extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup Craisins
Directions:: Grind up raw almonds and raw oats in a food processor or blender. Place all cookie dough ingredients into a large bowl and mix by hand or with a spoon. OR simply place all ingredients in the processor and blend. Mix until dough forms and you can make a large ball. Fold in Craisins to dough. Place in fridge for 20 min. Roll dough into balls and roll in unsweetened coconut.
*I suggest using less of this. I have never had Agave Nectar and it might be less sweet than honey.
I feel the same way about the raw doughnut holes. LOVE them! Awesome fuel! But man are they sweet – and they only contain dates!
TorontoGirloutWest
I’ve been wanting to try the doghnut holes! they look so great! I’m assuming these are a bit similar!
~Jenna
Thanks for posting the recipe! Do you think the coconut oil adds a coconut taste? I’ve had trouble finding it and wonder if I could substitute.
Alison,
No, the coconut oil does not add any coconut taste at all. I’ve found this at Kroger, its super cheap there too. Also, I’m sure any grocery store with an organic section will carry it aswell. It does not look like regular oil either, its a solid! I hope this helps a bit. I think you could sub canola oil…but I’m not completely sure. If you do that make sure to reduce the amount of oil you use and just add if you need more.
~Jenna
These look delicious, and I have all the ingredients except the coconut oil. Woot!
These raw cookies look delectable, and I completely agree with you about finding a happy balance in your diet. There are so many theories out there about eliminating certain essential foods… I’m also all about everything in moderation (hey, I did have pizza tonight after all
.
Raw food is so fun to create- and I am totally with you on the excessive sweetness. I actually gained weight and got all puffy looking when I went on an all raw diet last summer as I was having so much fun making these raw desserts. The concentrated sugar in dried fruit and honey and the acid forming quality of nuts sort of has the reverse effect of what an all raw diet is meant to do for our health.
I’ve never eaten raw cookies(I don’t think no-bakes count, haha!) but these look really good!!