I wasn't planning on posting Christmas recipes, let alone creating them - maybe that's why it happened. These easy, yet oh so delightfully yummy, raw truffels will become my go-to recipe, I'm sure, for when I want something sweet fast. They do not call for a lot of ingredients and you will most likely have them in store (I always have dried fruits in my pantry in case of things like this..) Make a few batches for Christmas; and I'm sure your friends wouldn't mind little presents either!

RAW COCOA TRUFFELS

250g dried dates (soaked for a few hours)
250ml shredded coconut
50ml raw cacao powder
0,25tsp ground vanilla
0,25tsp salt
shredded coconut or raw cacao powder for coating


Soak the dates in water for a few hours until they are soft. Drain excess liquid and pure them with a hand blender. Add rest of the ingredients and mix with your hands to combine everything well. Form small balls and roll them in cacao powder or shredded coconut. Store in the fridge for up to a week or so.

Notes:
You can use regular dark cacao powder instead of raw cacao powder; I've stuck to raw since it's less processed and has got a lot more of its valuable nutrients left.

 

RAW FIG TRUFFELS

200g dried figs and/or apricots (soaked for a few hours)
150ml shredded coconut
50ml coarse almond flour
0,25tsp ground vanilla
0,25tsp salt
0,25-0,5tsp cinnamon
shredded coconut for coating


Cut off the hard stems from the figs. Soak the figs and/or apricots in water for a few hours until they are soft. Drain excess liquid and pure them with a hand blender. Add rest of the ingredients one by one and mix with your hands to combine everything well. Form small balls and roll them in shredded coconut. Store in the fridge for up to a week or so.


Notes:
I prefer organic on most products and apricot is definitely one of them. They’re not treated with any sulfur or artificial color and so are very different from the non-organic ones. You can go for either figs or apricots or a mix or really any dried fruits! For almond flour I pulsed almond flakes in the food processor because I had them at hand, but you can of course use ready almond flour, and preferably coarse. You can also use fine almond flour, your truffels will just become a little more dense. You can, all in all, play with this recipe a lot; substitute almond flour with more shredded coconut or oatmeal. Leave out cinnamon or use more! Taste after adding each ingredient to get just the truffels you'll love!

Mornings around here are calm and slow. I am taking everything out of this time I now have with no agenda; I make good breakfasts and spend lots of time with the Bible. I've also finally gotten around to trying baked oatmeal. Here's how I've been making it, in praise of autumn.

BAKED APPLE OATMEAL

(serves 2-3)

300ml oatmeal
0,75tsp salt
0,75tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
0,5tsp pure vanilla powder
400ml coconut milk
1 organic egg
1-2 apples
coconut oil (or butter) for greasing
natural yoghurt, almonds, blueberries etc. for serving


Mix the dry and wet ingredients first separately and then all (except the apples) together. Grease an ovenproof dish (about 25cm in diameter) with coconut oil and pour the mixture in and top with sliced apples. Bake in 175 celsius for 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt, blueberries and chopped almonds (or go crazy like we did one morning with a little bit of everything; bananas, homemade apple jam, dried mulberries, and everything I already mentioned!)

 

COCOA BUCKWHEAT GRANOLA

(adapted from My New Roots)

300g rolled oats
200g buckwheat
75g coconut flakes
100g hazelnuts (or any nuts really; hazelnuts are the crunchiest though)
30g chia seeds
0,5tsp salt
35g coconut sugar
100ml maple syrup
100ml coconut oil
1tsp vanilla powder
150ml raw cocoa powder


Chop the hazelnuts roughly. Mix oats, buckwheat, coconut flakes, hazelnuts, chia seeds, salt and coconut sugar in a bowl. Melt coconut oil in a saucepan and add maple syrup, vanilla powder and raw cocoa powder and mix well. Pour the cocoa mixture in with the dry indredients and mix thoroughly. Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake the granola in 150 celsius for 15 minutes. Keep baking, mixing every few minutes, for 10 minutes more (or more, depending how dark you want to roast it. Taste a hazelnut to test if it's done to your taste). Let cool down completely before storing. Serve with milk and e.g. fresh strawberries, nectarines or banana.


This granola is seriously addictive. Just saying.

Oatmeal raisin cookies

I went to visit old workmates at the theatre yesterday and since I'd been craving oatmeal raisin biscuits for days, I made them some. On the way home I went to GLC for a double espresso and got Suke Quto from The Barn, my lucky day!

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

(makes about 24 small biscuits)
(adapted a little from Smitten Kitchen)

115g soft butter
125g muscovado sugar
1 organic egg
120g rolled oats
95g flour (I used light spelt)
0,5tsp baking powder
0,5tsp cinnamon
0,5tsp salt
0,5tsp pure vanilla powder
70g raisins
40g chopped dark chocolate


Cream together the soft butter and sugar. Add egg and mix. In a separate bowl combine oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, raisins and chocolate to the sugar butter mixture and mix with your hands to have everything well combined. Scoop the dough onto two sheets of baking paper and roll them tightly and place in the fridge for half an hour or so. When chilled, cut the rolls into biscuits, divide on two baking sheets and press each a little to flatten them out. Bake in 175 celsius for 8-9 minutes, until golden at the edges but still pale on top. (We're aiming at crunchy edges and soft, chewy middle. Chilling the dough makes the biscuits a little thicker and chewier; a warm dough bakes faster and spreads more.). I made small biscuits (about 5cm) but next time I think I'll go for proper cookies and make bigger ones. Baking time will vary a lot depending on your oven, how big you make the biscuits and how cold the dough is. Just do as my grandma always did; bake a test biscuit or two first!

I highly recommend muscovado sugar! (This is the sugar I use the most. In Helsinki you find it in Ruohonjuuri and other organic stores.) Muscovado's got a lovely, subtle caramelly taste. Since it's less processed than white sugar it still has some nutrients in it and is easier for your body to digest. Of course you could make these biscuits with any sugar but you will miss a little in flavour if you use white sugar.