Valencian Cookies! Vegan and Gluten-free

 Valencian Cookies

Servings: 12-15 cookies

This recipe is from a blog called the Bright Bird and they look and sound oh so delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup buckwheat
  

• 1/2 cup tigernuts
  

• 1/4 cup coconut sugar (can be substituted with any other sugar but coconut sugar has a delicious caramel-like taste)
  

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  

• 1/2 small banana

• 2 tablespoon nut butter (cashew, almond, macadamia...any would do)

• 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk

 

Directions:

1. In a blender or food processor, blend the buckwheat and the chufa/tigernuts until you get a flour.

2. Mix the flour with the cinnamon and the sugar.

3. Mash the banana and mix it with the nut butter and the tablespoon of non-dairy milk to get a batter-like consistency.

4. Add the batter to the flour mix and stir until well combined. The batter will be very thick.

5. Preheat oven at 180ºC.

6. Place baking paper on a baking sheet and scoop the batter on top. Slightly flatten the cookies up.
   

7. Once all cookies are formed, place the baking tray in the oven and bake 15 minutes at 180ºC.

8. Let them cook on the baking tray for around 15 minutes.

Let us know if you give this recipe a try, or better yet bring us some cookies to the store. :)

What are Tigernuts?

The Tigernut (cyperus sculentus lativum) or 'Chufa' as it is known in Spanish, is not actually a nut, but a small tuber.

It was first discovered 4000 years ago.
The Tigernut is a tuber that has been used for centuries in an important part of Africa.
The ancient Egyptians, one of the greatest civilizations of antiquity, already used this food for its magnificent healing and regenerative properties.
Evidence of how valuable Tigernuts were for the Egyptians is given by the fact that Tigernuts were found in some sarcophagi, where it is known that the Egyptians were buried with their most valuable possessions. Since those times, or even before, different civilizations have given the Tigernut a fundamental role in a balanced and healthy diet.

Tigernuts have long been recognised for their health benefits, as they are:

• high in fiber
• protein
• natural sugars
• zero cholersterol
• low in calories
• good source of iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium

The Tigernut has a rough, rounded shape and a certain earth-like color, since it is buried there until it is removed for consumption. The plant has characteristic intense green leafs that can be seen very often in some fields of African countries and in some villages in the coastal Valencia.

Great as a snack to curb that hunger pain in the afternoon, add them to your morning cereals, and try soaking them for up to 4 hours to make them soft and chewy again.