Raw Vegan Chocolate Cashew Cookies
32Piggies! Thankyou for all of your birthday wishes last week. As a humble vegetarian food blogger, I really appreciate all of your messages on Facebook, Twitter and email. Yes! I had a s'blended birthday celebration week in NYC with my friends -- laughing and scoffing my way around my favourite haunts. I just feel at home in NYC. Is there any other city that boasts such vibrancy and diversity? It is like chocolate for me -- I just can't get enough. The proud piggy in me freely admits, that, yes, as suspected, I did spend my entire birthday indulging my snout in one trough or another! It was absolutely sensational. I enjoyed one continuous travelling degustation meal in every neighbourhood of NYC. My snout was tingling, my taste buds were dancing, and my little tail was twirling with joy as I happily devoured everything on offer! To read more about my culinary journey in NYC head to my events blog.
I decided to share a little piece of my NYC trip with you today. I managed to make a batch of my favourite raw chocolate cookies (along with my much beloved kale chips) for the six hour plane journey from LAX to JFK, where I knew I would be tempted by the all-too-familiar moorish toxic omnivore snacks offered by the perky Jet Blue flight attendants. I was also suffering from pangs of guilt, after promising (over a month ago) in my chocolate hazelnut pie post to share this recipe with you. So better late than never, here it is.
These raw vegan chocolate cookies are simply divine. Just throw everything into the food processor, roll out, cut, dehydrate and devour. They will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for weeks. But they never last that long. The only bad thing about these cookies is that they require about 48 hours in the dehydrator. Now if you are impatient like me, that is a tall order! I often find myself sneaking a little bit of the raw "dough" aside and surreptitiously munching on it in an effort to tide me over while I wait for the final product to be ready. I also like to make a double batch. Hey, if I am going to wait that long for delicious raw chocolate cookies there had better be a generous amount on offer!
These vegan chocolate cookies are best kept very small, as they are quite rich. They will also hold together and be easier to mange that way. I use a standard shot glass to cut them out. You can jazz them up by adding some raw unsweetened shredded coconut or dried fruit. But I like them just the way they are. Give them a go and let me know what you think. For those of you looking for gluten and dairy free recipes or allergy free recipes these raw chocolate cookies are a great vegan option. They are not nut free, but they are gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free and sugar free. But most importantly, they are to die for! This is one the best food processor recipes you will find if you are a vegan or raw foodie!
Now…..after all of this indulging….I will be posting some savoury vegan dishes next week. Even the greediest piggy chocoholic needs a detox. Or I fear I will be coat-checking my colon for the rest of my thirties! Oink Oink!
**I have had many emails asking how to make these raw chocolate cookies in a conventional oven for piggies who don't have an Excalibur dehydrator. The best suggestion came from one of our lovely readers Ann, who preheated her oven to 300 F and then placed these cookies in, closed the oven door, turned off the oven and allowed the oven to cool. She then took the cookies out and said they were AMAZING. I tried this method and it yields a better textured cookie than what I tried for you. I put my oven to 300 F and cooked for 10 minutes and then allowed to cool at room temperature. If you have any other experiences with these vegan chocolate cookies please post a grunt so that all the healthy blender pigs can benefit!
Raw Vegan Chocolate Cashew Cookies
- 2 cups organic raw cashews
- 1/2 cup organic cacao powder
- 2 Tbsp organic coconut butter / oil
- 1/2 cup organic raw agave or maple syrup
- 2 tsp organic non alcoholic vanilla extract or 1 tsp regular extract
- 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
- Place the cashews in the food processor and pulse a few times until coarsely ground.
- Now add in the cacao powder and pulse a few times until the consistency of bread crumbs.
- Add in all of the other ingredients and pulse until well combined. The mixture should form a ball.
- Take this ball and roll it out to about a 1/4 inch on parchment paper.
- Now cut out even small circles. I used the top of a shot glass.
- Place these circles on Excalibur dehydrator sheets and slowly warm at 115 degrees for 48 hours.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 weeks.
**I have had many emails asking how to make these raw chocolate cookies in a conventional oven for piggies who don't have an Excalibur dehydrator. The best suggestion came from one of our lovely readers Ann, who preheated her oven to 300 F and then placed these cookies in, closed the oven door, turned off the oven and allowed the oven to cool. She then took the cookies out and said they were AMAZING. I tried this method and it yields a better textured cookie than what I tried for you. I put my oven to 300 F and cooked for 10 minutes and then allowed to cool at room temperature. If you have any other experiences with these vegan chocolate cookies please post a grunt so that all the healthy blender pigs can benefit!
Piggy Cooking Tips
selecting and storing raw cashews
“Raw” cashews are widely available in pre-packaged bags as well as bulk bins. Always purchase from a supplier where there is a high turnover to ensure freshness and quality. Look for plump cashews that are uniform in colour. Avoid the limp and shrivelled ones. Cashews should smell nutty and sweet. If they have a sharp or bitter smell they have gone rancid. To preserve the precious oils, store cashews in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to six months. Always soak cashews before using to remove the enzyme inhibitors and make them more digestible.
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Piggy Grunts!
Add Your GruntGreat recipes and storytelling. I’ve still have not learned patience through dehydrating, an overrated virtue I say. Look forward for all your future bits of food and thoughts.
Thanks Carla.
My dehydrator is my best friend….after my Vitamix! I know what you mean about the patience part…I OFTEN eat the raw cookie dough! But the great thing is….you CAN!
Wow! On a chocolate roll Tess. But no complaints here! Can’t wait to try! Keep the amazing recipes coming :)
Oh Thankyou Nikki
The support and encouragement really does mean the world to me. It makes all of my work worth it to get that feedback.
Great to be connected :)
I made these on the weekend and they were really delicious. Your blog is really beautiful and fun.
Thankyou Stella.
I really appreciate the kinds words of support.
I am glad you enjoyed these cookies :)
These were delicious!!! Made them in the oven. My oven was at 300 and I turned it off, shut the door and let the temp. lower on its own and took them out 20 minutes after. So yummy!!
Amanda, I was just about to answer your question, but th Lovely Ann beat me to it. Wonderful Ann! Thankyou for sharing how to make these in a conventional oven. I will add your suggestion to the post. =)
My whole family loved these. My husband and I that love raw foods, my 14 year old daughter who loves to try raw foods, and my 16 year old daughter who hates everything and thinks raw foods are disgusting…..LOL
I had so much fun making them because I actually got to roll them out and use a cookie cutter, just like the old fashioned mommy making cookies. Fabulous. I sprinkled dehyrated coconut on some.
That is FABULOUS Kim!
I am so glad you enjoyed these cookies :)
Kim, my whole family loved these too. My kids are asking for another batch already. The hardest part is waiting for them to come out.
Stop with the amazing chocolate recipes Tess. My butt gets bigger just reading these irresistible recipes!
I am SO glad you are all enjoying these easy cookies. This is one of my favourite recipes :)
I just made these and the mixture was DEEELISH!!! I don’t have a dehydrator yet, so I am trying them on a low oven heat (as I am making beetroot chips at same time) and hope they turn out! Think I might have to add one to my christmas list though ;)
Hey Lauren,
Lovely chatting with you on Twitter.
I LOVE that cookie batter too!
I hope Santa brings you a dehydrator for Chrissy!
I make these at least 1x a month….and now my oldest daughter asks to share them with her High School friends….they are just soooooo delicious!!!!
Oh Caroline,
I am so pleased everyone is enjoying them,.
Thanks for taking the time to tell me.
Happy Holidays :)
AWESOME!! My new favorite raw chocolate cookie! Of course, I had to add 2 T of cacao nibs. I am addicted to cacao nibs and often add them to raw cookies…. And ice cream… And banana bread…. And smoothies….. And…. Thank you!! :D
Hi just wondering can I use other nuts besides cashews or almonds atm my nuts are soaking lol and i dont have almonds but I have walnuts and pecans.. would this work..
You can absolutely use other raw nuts to make raw cookies with chocolate. The cookies will have a slightly different personality, but you can still make them work and taste amazing. For example, raw walnuts can be bitter, So, you will need to tweak quantities of cacao and sweetener. Pecan are quite rich and porous, so you will need less. The GREAT thing about making raw cookies is that the batter tastes exactly like the final product, you can get it juuuuust right and keeping tweaking to taste before you place them in the dehydrator. Good Luck :)
HA HA! What a great post! You really are a good writer. Food processor is pulled out tomorrow.
Oh….thankyou Liz.
That just made my day!