MUSHROOM SERIES 1: LEMON, POPPY SEED AND CHAGA MUSHROOM COOKIES (V+, NF, CHF, GF)
Let's talk about the elephant in the room, shall well? Mushrooms in these delicious lemon, poppy seed and Chaga mushroom cookies, what's up with that? Before I explain, let me just say:
1. No, I'm not going mad. Not yet anyway ;)
2. These cookies taste AMAZE!
3. Your kids won't know there are mushrooms inside these cookies, I promise.
4. And YES, it's TOTALLY worth adding in this weird but wonderful Chaga mushroom.
As you may remember I am not a massive fan of the 'superfood' tag. Basically I feel it's so overused. BUT after my encounter with a raw food expert (more about that in this blog post) and a fascinating lecture about medicinal mushrooms (not magic mushrooms, medicinal mushrooms ok?:)), I can honestly say that I am completely sold on them. So much so, that the next 4 recipes I'll post here on the blog (this one included) will contain a different medicinal mushroom.
You see, there is so, so much about medicinal mushrooms that I love. I mean, our ancestors would have been eating and cherishing this stuff, fully recognising it's potency and powers. How cool is that?
From all the medicinal mushrooms out there it is chaga I think I am most intrigued by. It grows on the Birch Tree - from which it draws all its energy - and can be found in Northern Europe, Canada and North America. Back in the day, it was thought the mushroom granted those who consumed it long life. (We are now starting to recognise that people 'back in the day' were probably spot on!)
For ages, the West neglected this mushroom. In fact, we forgot about it completely. But recently, a small group of forward thinking (or backward looking :)) individuals have started to re-learn how to use this mushroom. They discovered how chaga can enhance our lives and optimise our health. You see, it's a SUPER potent anti-oxidant, anti-ulcer, anti-viral, anti-aging and anti-fungal plant-based food. It has recently also been used to treat cancer and auto-immune diseases! I mean, need I say more? This baby rocks!
So, there is no way, I am NOT going to get this stuff into those I love, which is how the idea of these cookies came about. Both my son and my husband really liked them, meaning they not only get to enjoy a fabulicious cookie, but also get all that mushroom power into their bodies. Job done, me thinks.
Thanks for reading everyone, enjoy your Easter and happy baking!
IMPORTANT: Please see tips at the end of the recipe for ideas and suggestions.
MUSHROOM SERIES 1: LEMON, POPPY SEED AND CHAGA MUSHROOM COOKIES (V+, ChF, GF, NF)
This recipe was adapted from this recipe and further inspired by this post here!
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 30 cookies
Ingredients:
225g (8oz) (organic) coconut oil
100g (3.5oz) (organic) caster sugar
275g (10oz) (organic) spelt flour
juice of ½ (organic) lemon, approximately 2tbs
zest of 1 (organic) lemon, approximately 1/2tbs
2tsp (organic) poppy seeds
1 sachet chaga powder (optional)
some (organic) plain white flour (for the worktop, see recipe)
Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven 170C (375F) and cover 2-3 baking trays with grease proof paper.
Gently warm the coconut butter in a sauce pan over a low heat. When about half the coconut butter has melted, transfer it to a bowl and whisk it with an electric hand whisker until the coconut butter resembles a white, fluffy, soft mixture. Slowly add the sugar until fully combined and dissolved (it took me about 10 minutes) . Finally add the lemon juice and continue to mix until nicely combined.
In a separate bowl mix together the spelt flour, poppy seeds, lemon zest and chaga powder.
With a wooden spoon, mix the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients until a dough is formed.
Sprinkle some plain flour over your work top, so that the dough doesn't stick and roll the dough out on top of the floured worktop. The dough shouldn't be rolled out too thinly. Use a cookie cutter of your choice and transfer the cookies onto the prepared baking trays, placing them slightly apart.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Let them cool completely. Then, enjoy :)
Looking for some more sweet treat? Just click here.
Tip 1: I did not try using a gluten-free flour, but I am sure you can use an all purpose gluten-free flour instead of the spelt flour.
Tip 2: You can still make these cookies without the chaga, should you not be able to get hold of the powder, but please do note, I provided an affiliate link to the one I used in the recipe ;).
