I had planned on posting this indulgent treat tomorrow to celebrate the end of the year, but due to my crazy schedule, I opted to share it with you now.I've been so busy that I didn't get an opportunity to rawify these walnut cookies Martha Stewart demonstrated on her show in time to leave some on Santa's plate. I guess they'll have to be celebratory cookies instead.
What am I celebrating?
Well, the end of the old and the beginning of a new year, as well as a new addition to my friend's family. She welcomed her little Leo into the world only one week ago (Congratulations Becky and Richard!).
Hayden (who was fascinated with the baby, that was half her size) and I brought a couple of these cookies to her yesterday, along with some chocolates and flowers. And, since others had come up with similar ideas, we spent the day catching up while indulging in chunks of fudge, homemade peppermint patties (have you checked out the ones on Averie's site?) and rich vegan brownies.The end of the year is like a last hurrah; similar to Mardi Gras, we tend to feast before starting our new resolutions. In fact, baked (and in my case, unbaked) goods are traditionally served at many new year's gatherings, sometimes containing a special trinket inside (sounds like a King Cake to me).
What better way to celebrate than with these unbaked walnut cookies. They hold an actual walnut on a bed of chocolate within their doughy shells. Here's how it's done:
Unbaked Walnut Cookies
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup oats
1-2 Tbsp. agave nectar
sea salt
cinnamon
ginger
vanilla
*chocolate sauce and extra walnut pieces to hide inside
In high speed blender or food processor, grind nuts and oats into a flour and transfer to a bowl. Add sea salt, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla. Stir to combine.
Drizzle a little of the agave at a time, mixing it into the flour to create a dough. The amount may vary, but the end result should be wet enough to hold together and dry enough to form into cookies.
Divide the dough into six sections and roll into balls. Shape the dough balls into walnut shells with a flattened base. Cut each "walnut" in half like a sandwich, and use your knife to make the decorative lines on top.
These cookies can be "baked" in the dehydrator or firmed up in the fridge. Fill the centers with chocolate sauce (mix a little agave at a time into some cocoa powder until it becomes a thick icing-like paste) and pretty looking walnut pieces (try to find the whole ones, if you can). Then, share them with a friend.
Here's who I have to share with in the new year (I just adore this photo from Christmas day, so I thought I'd share that, too). See you next year :-)
