Hello everyone! How’s your week going? Are you reading anything good? I’m back today with a book I’ve started this week and a recipe I’ve been wanting to share since last year! Hope you enjoy 🙂
I decided yesterday that I wanted to have raw cookies for breakfast this morning. It’s been some time since I made these because my dehydrator was in the process of being fixed. I have a love hate relationship with my Sedona dehydrator because it functions very well, but it’s required repair three times since I got it five years ago! When I say fixed, I mean they send me the part and I fix it, haha. So, my warranty is up now and I’m hoping that I’ll at least get another good year out of it.
This particular raw cookie is my own creation. I’ve made so many different recipes and finally just decided to make them the way I want, with the ingredients I enjoy. Here’s what I did.
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Almonds
- 5 Dates (Pitted)
- 2 TB Raw Honey
- Half cup soaked raisins (soaked overnight in water – save the water)
- 2 TB Coconut Oil
- Half tsp. cinnamon
- Dash of salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- Cacao nibs (roughly 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- Chopped dark chocolate (roughly 1/4 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
The first thing you do is put your almonds into a processor and give a few pulses until you get a course meal.
Now add in your coconut oil, honey, a few tablespoons of your raisin water, and the dates. Blend this up until it gets nice and sticky.
Dump this into a bowl and add in everything else until well blended. I use a microplane to grind up fresh nutmeg. Also, Bob’s Red Mill has a nice shredded coconut that doesn’t contain sulfites.
Form these into flat cookies by using a cookie scoop or spoon and by smashing them in your hand.
Line them up on dehydrator trays. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use your oven on the lowest temp, but you won’t leave them in very long.
I ended up with about 20 cookies.
You need to dehydrate these for at least two hours at 117 degrees. In order for these to be considered raw, they have to be dehydrated at or under 118 degrees, so to be safe, I go with 117. Six to eight hours is best because they stay soft inside, but develop a crust on the outside.
I ended up dehydrating some apples too which will take a little longer. I’ll do a post on dehydrating later. These cookies are delicious!
Almond Milk:
Making your own almond milk at home is so simple and super delicious. It’s not the same as store bought!! You won’t be heating this up to high temps like the milks at the store, and it’s made from fresh soaked almonds and water.I think I’ve shown this method before, but here it is again in case you missed it. I like to add in a little honey, vanilla, and cinnamon as well.
Here’s what I do:
Soak about 1-2 cup of almonds in a jar with fresh water over night.
In the morning, rinse them well. Add them into the Vitamix or other blender and fill that back up with about 4 to 5 cups of fresh water.
Blend until completely smooth.
Now, you’ll dump this into a nut milk bag seen here. Squeeze all the milk out into a glass bowl. Save the pulp for cookies later!
Add this strained milk back into the Vitamix, add in a few more cups of water, and put in any additional ingredients you prefer. I like to use 1-2 tsp. of vanilla, 1/2 to 1 tsp. of cinnamon and a TB of raw honey. Blend it up and store in jars in the fridge. You’ll get close to 10 cups of almond milk with this recipe.
This morning I was really craving a warm drink. What I did was add a few cups of the almond milk into a pan and I warmed it up. I added a dash of freshly ground nutmeg. Don’t heat it a lot, just give it a little warmth to take the chill off. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy.
This Week’s Book
This week I finally started a book I’ve had since last year titled The Last Panther. This will be another buddy read with my 11-year-old. We finished One For Sorrow last week and it turned out that we both enjoyed it and rated it 5-stars. I’m hopeful we’ll love this one just as much.
The Last Panther
Eleven-year-old Kiri has a secret: wild things call to her. More than anyone else, she s always had a special connection to animals.
But when Kiri has an encounter with the last known Florida panther, her life is quickly turned on end. Caught between her conservationist father, who wants to send the panther to a zoo, and the village poachers, who want to sell it to feed their families, Kiri must embark on a journey that will take her deep into the wilderness.
There has to be some way to save the panther, and for her da and the villagers to understand each other. If Kiri can’t figure out what it is, she’ll lose far more than the panthers she’ll lose the only home she’s ever known, and the only family she has left.
My Thoughts so far…
In the first few chapters, Kiri and Paulo are waiting on the beach as netters reel something in from the ocean, but nobody seems to know what the creature is. Is it a fish, or just salvage? The Witch Woman comes to explain what the creature is, but will they believe her? Kiri needs help from her ‘da’ who will let them know what this blue-eyed creature is and what to do with it.
After reading the first few chapters of the book, I love the story and characters so far. I can tell I’m going to like Kiri and her best friend Paulo. Kiri’s pet rat ‘snowflake’ is also introduced and her ‘da’ is coming into the story which I’m assuming is her father. So far so good!
I’ve never even heard of raw cookies so this is new to me! One day I’ll follow through and make almond milk. I probably won’t drink it though. I can’t swallow any kind of milk unless it’s in ice cream form. It’s second to bananas on my dislike list, haha.
That book looks absolutely adorable! I can’t wait to read your review on it 🙂
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You might love fresh homemade almond milk! It’s great for smoothies for sure. Plus, I drank mine warm, so maybe it might work for you? 🙂 I’ll definitely fill you in on the book. 😀 Thanks, Nel!
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Wonderful post Jen! The almond milk really sounds yummy and I like the idea that it is not dairy. Is the coconut in the raw cookies organic? I may try one but it seems that I have an allergy to coconut and I will have to see how it goes. They do sound scrumptious! The pics are great and really add to the post. I think its great that you do buddy reads with your daughter. I’m happy she enjoys reading too. 🙂
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Thanks! Yes, no dairy! The coconut isn’t organic sadly, but it doesn’t contain sulfites which is a plus. They are super delish!
I’m happy to do buddy reads with her too.Thanks so much for checking out the post. Glad you liked the pics too! ❤
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The book sounds positive and optimistic, which I love.
The recipes are so ambitious! Good for you. I err on the side of ‘lots of raw stuff in a bowl with filtered water and/or organic milks of whatever kind we have at home that day’. When I have more oomph, then I may try these recipes!
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The book is great so far and I’m hopeful! I’m glad you like these breakfast posts. Thanks so much for your feedback. I hope you can try these cookies and let me know your thoughts if you do. 😀 Thanks, Donna! ❤
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The cookies look yummy. A few months ago I got into drinking Almond Milk. Perhaps I should try making the stuff myself.
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Oh, you must! It’s so different from drinking store bought. I hope you enjoy! ❤
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Delightful breakfast. Looks delicious and so healthy. I get so jealous reading these posts. 😉
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Thank you! Oh, you must try these. I think you’ll like them. ❤
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Probably would if I could get around to trying it 😄
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I’ve never heard of raw cookies before either but I bet they’d be perfect for when you’re hiking or camping. Sounds delicious. I’d try the recipe, only I don’t have a dehydrator. MR N would shake his head in disbelief if I brought one one more small appliance as our kitchen is overflowing with them. lol!
The book sounds interesting. Will have to check it out. The cover reminds me of The Jungle Book.
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I think you can do these in the oven, but you’d have to do the lowest temperature and only for 20-30 minutes I would estimate. You could just watch them and test to see if their the desired consistency. You can eat these without heating, but I love them with a crisp on the outside with a soft center. Yummy. 🙂 Let me know if you try these! 😀
The cover does remind me of The Jungle Book as well! Kiri even kind of looks like Mowgli too. ❤
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Good for you for using dates. They have a very long history and are so delicious. A coworker gave me some at work for a snack today! Btw, I never realized making almond milk was so easy!
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How cool! I still have issues eating them alone, lol. I do try. 😀 Almond milk.is super easy. The main time is soaking the almonds and the rest is cake! Let me know if you try it. ❤
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Honestly, I’d never even heard of raw cookies before, but these look so awesome and impressive! Glad you’re enjoying this book as well. I like the idea behind this post 🙂
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They’re really good and healthy! Let me know if you ever try them. Thank you! ❤
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Awesome! Sure! You’re welcome ❤
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Oh, my goodness, those cookies look amazing! I may try them. So much better for me and my kids than store bought cookies! I can’t wait to read your dehydrator post. I’m thinking of getting one. Oh, and the book looks good too! 🙂
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Thanks, Ann! They really are good and so healthy. If you like granola, you’ll love them. I hope to talk more about dehydrating next week. Its such a wonderful device to have. Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate it so much. ❤💖❤
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Haha, we use the same cinnamon at work! 😀
That was really cool, I might give this almond milk a try! I did it years ago, when I still was a student, but it didn’t turn out very nice, so I do it your way this time! Adding honey and cinnamon will surely make it even nicer 🙂
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It’s a great cinnamon! I’d die without Costco lol. This method yields such a creamy milk. I do hope you try it and thanks so much for checking it out. 💕
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I have never heard of raw cookies. Wow.. Looked yummy. I want to say I will make them but I hate to cook. Showed my sister the recipe, girl, I got some strange looks from her, she has a toddler and her own family to look after.. Hehe
On a serious note, it looks great. I liked this almond milk. I don’t have that bag for straining the milk after the first friend. Will a seive work?
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Shalini, believe it or not, all my kids love these! They’re sort of like eating a soft granola bar. Really good. ❤ A Sieve will work, but it lets a lot of the pulp back in. The nut milk bags work great and they're super cheap! 😀 You'll have to let me know if you try them. 🙂
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It looks so good, so I also love them.. In India, not many kitchens have oven. I didn’t even know what a dehydrator was till I saw yours.
These bags are not available here, not sure. Will thin muslin cloth work??
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Wow, I didn’t even think of that! Yes, I think muslin will work. You just can’t squeeze it too hard or the pulp might shoot out through? You’ll have to let me know how it works out. ❤🤗
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Haha I will have to buy almonds…
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Those cookies look good. I would have to try the stove message. I just read 6 middle grade/junior books that I need to review. I would love to do reading buddies. I have to wait for Graham to get older. He is smart, but not that smart.
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They are really good! I know what you mean about buddy reads. My 11-year-old is ready, but not my nine-year-old. We still do buddy reads, but it’s mainly with small chapter books for now. Thanks for commenting, Carla. ❤
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Yum! We don’t do raw cookies too often, but they’re always a great treat when we do! Maybe we’ll give this recipe a try, since it looks/sounds delicious!
I’m excited for when my kiddos are old enough to do buddy reads. That will be fun. Plus, it’ll be a great excuse for me to pick up more MG, which I almost always enjoy–it just doesn’t ever take itself too seriously.
I’m currently reading a book called “Fender,” which takes itself VERY seriously. I’m enjoying it so far! Very sad, though. Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton of reading time lately, as I’m gearing up for my next novel’s release! Which I guess is also a good thing. 🙂
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Yay! I love middle grade and YA occasionally as well. It’s nice to have the excuse and my youngest is four, so it’ll be while, haha. ❤
Are you reading Fender by Brent Jones? I have that one on my TBR and was thinking about reading it next month for one of my challenges. I need a tear jerker. 🙂 Let me know if you think this one will be good for that.
I do have all of your books added and they're coming up soon! Congrats on your next novel. That's wonderful!! ❤
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Thank you!
I’m not super far into Fender yet. You know…life and whatnot. But so far, so good. I’m not sure if the sorrow will play out a bit too heavy handed, but that’s honestly my only concern at this point. I think it could be a good one for it. If you happen to get around to Home To Roost in time for your challenge, that one has made some folks cry–kind of shocked me at first to get that report, but *shrug* ah well!
I’ll hopefully be finishing Fender soon, but don’t wait for me. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Yep, our oldest is almost four, so for us it’s just picture books and the occasional chapter books–which is absolutely delightful. That other stuff will come in due time. 🙂
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Very interesting recipe! The book sounds super cute too!
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Thank you! The book is good so far. ❤
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