Chewy almond and fig thins

It doesn’t really matter when you make these, but you should! They are rather easy to throw together and definitely hit the spot when you need a little something to cheer up your darling (or yourself!). If you can’t find matcha powder, use a few drops of beetroot juice instead, to colour the chocolate pink.

Chewy almond and fig thins

Ingredients

50g unsalted organic butter (or coconut oil)

50g coconut palm sugar (or you could use demarara sugar)

Pinch of sea salt

65g orange marmalade, very finely chopped

100g soft dried figs, finely chopped

80g flaked blanched almonds

30g shelled hemp seeds (also called hemp hearts)

25g brown rice flour

For the chocolate drizzle

100g organic white chocolate, broken into pieces

matcha powder (roughly 1 teaspoon)

freeze-dried raspberries or additional hemp hearts

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Melt the butter and palm sugar in a small pan over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the salt, give it a stir and set aside.
3. Put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and using a tablespoon, press everything against the sides to mix thoroughly and evenly distribute the flour. Add the butter and sugar mix and repeat the process until you have a lovely dark golden ball of deliciousness.
4. Place this ball between two large pieces of parchment paper and roll it out until it is quite thin (how thin will depend on your preference, but I have found that 4mm is just about perfect). Slide onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes before removing from the oven.
5. Now cut out shapes with a cookie cutter (press any offcuts together and roll them out again) or for a lot less effort, use a large knife to cut the cookie dough into rectangles. Place on the lined baking trays and return to the oven for another 8 – 10 minutes, rotating the trays half-way. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
6. When cool, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water!) and stir every now and then. As soon as the chocolate has melted, add enough matcha powder for a lovely green hue.
7. Dip each cookie in the melted chocolate half-way and sprinkle with freeze-dried raspberries or additional hemp hearts. return to the cooling racks and store in an air-tight container when set. You could also spread chocolate on the underside of each cookie and let it cool upside down. You will need more than 100g of chocolate, but it is more traditional. And reeeeeally good.

Note: If you are not a fan of white chocolate, feel free to use dark chocolate instead.