Small ginger cookies sandwiched with a blended cashew cream. Naturally dairy free and easily gluten free.
Three things the source leaves out
This recipe comes from a short social post and it is missing information you need before starting.
The coconut oil has no unit at all. It reads as a quarter of something, and a quarter cup is the reading that fits a cup and a quarter of flour. That is what appears here.
The oven is given as 250 degrees with no scale. If that were Celsius it would be 482F, which would scorch a maple-sweetened cookie in under five minutes. Read as 175C or 350F, which is what a dough like this wants.
There is no baking time anywhere. Ten to twelve minutes is right for teaspoon-sized cookies at that temperature, until the edges are set and just colouring.
The cream also lists no maple syrup in its ingredients while the method says to add some. A tablespoon is a sensible starting point.
Soak the cashews at least three hours
A cup, covered in water.
Raw cashews are hard, and a blender will not break them into a smooth cream without softening first. Under-soaked cashews give a gritty filling that no amount of blending fixes.
Three hours is the minimum. Overnight is better and they can sit in the fridge.
If you forget, boiling water for thirty minutes gets most of the way there.
Drain the soaking water
Which the method does not say and which matters.
The soaking water picks up starch and a slightly bitter edge from the skins. Using it in the blender carries that into the cream.
Drain and rinse, then blend with fresh almond milk.
Blend until genuinely creamy
Which the method specifies as the endpoint.
This takes longer than expected, often two to three minutes with stops to scrape down. The mixture goes from grainy to smooth quite suddenly toward the end.
Add almond milk a splash at a time if the blender struggles. Too much at once and the cream is too loose to hold between two cookies.
Grated ginger, not ground
A tablespoon of fresh.
Fresh ginger is sharper and brighter than ground, and a tablespoon is a generous amount that carries the whole cookie. Ground ginger is warmer and duller, and it would need only a teaspoon.
Grate it on a fine grater so it disperses rather than sitting in fibrous threads.
Small balls, spaced apart
Which the method says directly.
These are sandwich cookies, so each finished piece is two cookies thick. Rolling them small keeps the sandwich a reasonable bite.
Spacing matters because a maple and coconut oil dough spreads more than a butter one. An inch and a half between them is enough.
Maple syrup as the only sweetener
Five tablespoons in the dough.
That is a liquid sweetener replacing granulated sugar, which changes the texture. These come out softer and chewier than a crisp ginger biscuit, and they will not snap.
Pure maple rather than a pancake syrup, which is mostly corn syrup and would taste flat.
Coconut oil behaves differently from butter
A quarter cup, melted.
It is solid below about 76F, so the dough firms noticeably as it sits and the cookies set harder than a butter dough would once cool.
Work reasonably quickly after mixing. If the dough stiffens too much to roll, a few minutes at room temperature loosens it.
Refined coconut oil is neutral; unrefined tastes distinctly of coconut, which suits these but is worth knowing.
Fill once fully cooled
Both parts.
Warm cookies melt the cashew cream and it runs out of the sandwich. Room temperature throughout is the requirement.
Assembled, they are best within a day. The cream softens the cookie over time, so keeping the two separate and filling as you serve gives the better texture.
Making them gluten free
The source suggests any non-wheat flour, and a measure-for-measure gluten free blend is the most reliable swap. Single flours like buckwheat or oat behave differently and may need adjusting.
Storing
Unfilled cookies keep four days in an airtight container. The cashew cream keeps five days refrigerated and thickens as it chills; a splash of almond milk loosens it.
Ginger Cookies with Cashew Cream
Description
Maple-sweetened ginger cookies filled with a smooth cashew and vanilla cream.
Ingredients:
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet. Note that the source gives 250 degrees with no scale, which as Celsius would burn these.
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Soak the cashews in water for at least 3 hours, or overnight in the fridge. Drain and rinse before using rather than blending the soaking water.
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Mix the flour, melted coconut oil, vanilla, baking powder, maple syrup and grated ginger together until a dough forms.
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Roll into small balls and place on the prepared tray, spacing them about an inch and a half apart as they spread.
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Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and just colouring. Cool completely on the tray.
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For the cashew cream, blend the drained cashews, almond milk, vanilla powder and a tablespoon of maple syrup until genuinely creamy, two to three minutes, scraping down as needed and adding almond milk a splash at a time if the blender struggles.
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Once the cookies are completely cool, sandwich them in pairs with the cashew cream..
Note
The source is a short social post missing three pieces of information. The coconut oil has no unit; a quarter cup is the reading that fits a cup and a quarter of flour. The oven is given as 250 degrees with no scale, which as Celsius would be 482F and would scorch a maple-sweetened cookie in minutes; read as 175C or 350F. No baking time is given anywhere; 10 to 12 minutes suits teaspoon-sized cookies at that temperature. The cream method mentions maple syrup that is not in its ingredient list; a tablespoon is a sensible start. Soak the cashews at least 3 hours or they blend gritty, and drain the soaking water rather than using it. Fill only once both parts are fully cool, as warm cookies melt the cream.