Deliciously moreish Vegan Coconut Chai Cookies, crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. These healthy, protein-packed cookies make a yummy guilt-free snack and are infused with the warmth of a custom chai-spice mix.
Warm Vegan Chai Cookies For A Healthy Afternoon Snack
These delightfully crispy and chewy cookies have become a personal favourite of mine. Vegan cookies are notorious for how easy and foolproof they are to mix and bake. 9 out of 10 times, a vegan cookie can be also eaten raw. You can definitely eat this cookie dough raw as there is no egg in it. I use a flax egg which is a brilliant vegan invention for keeping recipes egg-free yet providing the perfect binding agent. It is basically flax meal (ground flaxseed) mixed with water. It is wholesome, full of fiber and works a treat!
My Vegan Coconut Chai Cookies are inspired by a recipe from the now-defunct Donna Hay magazine. Donna's recipe used butter and a liquid chai syrup. I wanted my cookies to be lighter and less fiddly. I was also never going to tediously make a chai syrup only to have most of it sitting in my fridge for months and then chucking it out. So, I created a dairy-free, egg-free version with my own warming chai spice mix. The quantity you see in the recipe below is just enough for this recipe so you won't have any extra left over. But if you would like to grind another little batch in your mortar and pestle, it goes really well with some chilled almond milk and a bit of maple syrup to make an Iced Chai Latte!
These cookies are wonderfully crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle, an irresistible cookie combination if there ever was one. It satisfies both the crispy and chewy camps. The spice hit is incredible and the warm after taste of chai is so divine.
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (220 g) cashew nuts, raw and unsalted
- ½ cup (45 g) desiccated coconut
- 1/3 cup (45 g) coconut sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 flax egg *
For the chai spice mix
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 6 cloves
- 10 peppercorns
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with baking paper or silicone lining.
- Add cashew nuts, desiccated coconut and coconut sugar to the bowl of a small food processor. Process into very fine crumb/meal. Scoop into a bowl.
- Place cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, fennel, cloves and peppercorns in a mortar. Grind to a fine powder using a pestle. Scoop into the bowl with the cashew mix.
- Add olive oil, flax egg and baking soda to the bowl. Mix well with your hand. The mixture will form a soft dough.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons worth of the cookie dough into your hand, roll into a ball and slightly flatten the top with your fingertips. Place on the prepared sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes until done. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an air-tight cookie jar in a cool corner of your kitchen for up to a week.
Hi,
Is there a good substitute for cashews? I am allergic to them and really want to make these delicious cookies.
Hello Louise,if nut allergy is an issue, try subbing with sunflower seed meal (I blitz sunflower seeds in the processor instead of cashew nuts). If you are only allergic to cashew nuts and can tolerate other nuts, almonds or macadamias are good substitutes as well. Cheers!
Hi. I love your recipes and make at least 1-2 every week. I can’t eat nuts but would love to make the vegan coconut chai cookies. What else can use besides cashews in the recipe? Thanks so much!
Hello Rebecca! I haven't tried subbing the cashew nuts with anything else yet, but if I were to try a nut substitute, I would replace cashew nuts with sunflower seeds and blitz them in the processor like the recipe states. I think that would be closest in taste and texture to cashew nuts. Hope that helps! x