Strawberry Swirl Cookies

Cookies

• 100g (1 1/4 cups)

  Almond flour

  • Note: Almond flour is necessary for the texture, this is where the snappy texture and "butteriness" comes from.
• 200g (1 2/3 cups)

  All purpose gluten-free flour

  Alternative: These cookies have a slightly better texture with gluten-free flours, but wheat flour and spelt flour also work. Brown or white, depending on your preference.
• 1 teaspoon

  Vanilla extract

• 100mL (1/2 cup)

  Almond milk, or any other plant-based milk.

• 20g (2 cups)

  Freeze-dried strawberries

  Alternative: Use freeze-dried strawberry powder if preferred.

  • Note: You do need freeze-dried fruits here. Fresh/blended fruits wreak havoc on the moisture balance, and the outcome is not that great. Freeze-dried fruits are the way to go.

• Sweetener

  To taste

  Use the sweetener that best works for you. Here are some options:

  • 80g (1/3 cup)

    Coconut sugar

  • 104g (1/2 cup)

    Erythritol

  • 80g (1/3 cup)

    Monk fruit sweetener

  • 64g (1/3 cup)

    Stevia sweetener

  • 80g (1/2 cup)

    Xylitol

  • Note: To confirm the amount for your specific product, follow the sweetener to sugar ratio recommended on the label.

Preparation

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F). Have a baking tray lined with parchment paper ready.

Make the dough

1. 2

   In separate bowls, divide the dry ingredients into two equal portions (almond flour, flour, sweetener)

   Note:

   If you just can't be bothered with this, mix everything together. Roll out with the rolling pin. Cut into shapes or make a dough log for the freezer. It will still be super tasty!

1. 3

   Prepare the wet ingredients in two bowls as well (almond milk and vanilla). Crush the freeze-dried strawberries to your desired powderiness, and mix them into one of the wet ingredient portions. Leave for a few minutes so that the milk absorbs the strawberries, and gains the red colour.

1. 4

   Combine each set of wet ingredients with its respective dry ingredients, forming two doughs. One should be yellow-y (this used the plain wet ingredients), the other pink-ish (this used the wet ingredients with freeze-dried strawberries.

Roll the cookies

1. 5

   Roll each dough separately between two sheets of baking parchment to about 1/4-inch (6 mm) thickness. Using baking parchment will make the next step easier, rather than rolling directly on the counter.

1. 6

   Layer the strawberry dough on top of the plain dough using the parchment paper to transport it on top without it breaking. Peel off the parchment and align the sheets.

1. 7

   Using the bottom baking sheet as a guide, roll the cookie dough tightly into a log. This is how you get the swirly pattern. There's a teensy bit of technique here. Roll a few centimeters, then pull in to tighten. Roll again, pull in to tighten. Repeat.

1. 8

   Oh, how handy. Your log is already on parchment paper. Wrap your cookie log in the pachment paper and place the rolled dough in the freezer to harden for 30-60 minutes. While you can skip this step and cut the cookie dough log without freezing, the texture will be different, and cutting will likely distort the shape.

Slice and bake

1. 9

   Once firm, remove the log from the freezer. Depending on how long you've left it, you may need to let it thaw slightly on the counter until it is easy to slice.

1. 10

   Cut into 0.6 cm (1/4 inch) thick slices and place them on the prepared baking tray. You may need a sharp, solid knife for this. Not a butter knife 😛

1. 11

   Bake for 12 minutes, or just before they start browning. Leave to cool. They will gain the amazing texture once cool.

1. 12

   Enjoy! 🍓😌 Maybe make a nice tea to go with them.