One of my favourite combination in the sweet world is definitely orange and chocolate. Jaffa cakes used to be one of my most loved treats, I just adore the contrast between the tanginess of the orange and the richness of the chocolate, yum!

These cookies incorporate perfectly this delicious contrast but they are also packed with goodness! They are almost entirely made with oats which I like to call the “Everyday Superfood”. Oats have been proven to lower cholesterol, they are also packed with a specific antioxidants which reduce the risk of cardio-vascular disease, they help stabilize the blood sugar level, they are high in fibre which have been famously known to help protect us against cancer. Apart from all these incredible health benefits oats are by far my favourite  grain to bake with as it’s so easy to transform them in flavour (just put them in a blender) and they work well in almost any recipe.

I like to dip the cookies in melted dark chocolate (the darker, the better) and top them with chopped pistachios and shredded coconuts. So far these have been my favourite combination of flavours and textures but you can totally experiment with different toppings of your preference. These cookies are also so cute and pretty to look at so they could be the perfect handmade gift or they would be ideal for kids parties too.

Ingredients:

2 cups of oats

2 tablespoon of melted coconut oil

2 tablespoon of almond butter

3 tablespoon of coconut or date syrup (for this recipe you want to use a sticky sweetener so it will help to hold the dough together, you can add more if you like it sweeter)

The zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon of orange essence

The juice of 1/2 orange

2 tablespoon of brown rice flour

To decorate:

75 gr of good quality dark chocolate ( I have used 80% cacao Madecasse)

shredded coconuts

chopped pistachios

Method:

Start by preheating the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Place the oats into a  blender and blend until they reach a flour consistency. Transfer the oat flour into a mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients apart from the rice flour. Start by mixing it with a spoon and when the flour starts to absorb the liquid use to finger to roll it into a dough. It should be quite sticky but not too wet. If it’s too wet add the rice flour.

With a rolling pin gently roll the dough onto baking paper (so it won’t stick to the surface). With a cookie cutter of your choice cut out the cookies and place them onto a baking tray. The dough is slightly crumbly so you will have to be extra gentle in rolling and cutting it but it’s worth the effort!

Once you have cut all your cookies bake them in the oven for 15 minutes until the edges are starting to get golden.

While the cookies are baking melt the dark chocolate by placing it into a ceramic/glass bowl on top of pan with boiling water. It shouldn’t take more than few minutes until all the chocolate is completely melted.

Remove the cookies from the oven and leave it on one side to cool. After about 10 minutes decorate them with the melted chocolate, you can drizzle it or you can completely cover them with it,it’s entirely up to you! Topped with the chopped pistachios and shredded coconuts. Leave them to harden up for about 20-30 minutes. You can place them in the fridge to speed up the process. Enjoy!