Sweet sustainability: the benefits of vegan Christmas biscuits for the palate and the environment

Raw stollen confectionery

Ingredients marzipan:

• 300 g raw almonds soaked in water for 10 hours
• 5 tbsp agave syrup

Ingredients biscuits:

• 200 g raw almonds, soaked in water for 10 hours and dried in a dehydrator for
  at least 3 hours
• 100 g dried buckwheat sprouts, ground
• 100 g raw tigernut flour
• 100 g coconut blossom sugar
• 300 ml water
• 15 raw, dried apricots
• 100 g raw sultanas
• 4 raw Medjool dates
• 1 tsp lemon zest, grated
• 1 tsp vanilla powder
• 100 g raw coconut flour
• 1.5 tbsp psyllium husk flour
• 5 tbsp raw coconut oil, melted
• Coconut flour for dusting

Preparation Marzipan
1. Rinse the almonds thoroughly with cold water and then peel the skin off the almonds. To do this, take an almond between your fingers and rub it gently back and forth. With most almonds, the skin then comes off very easily and simply.

2. leave the peeled almonds to dry thoroughly in the dehydrator for at least five hours or overnight.

3. process the dried almonds into flour in a high-speed blender and knead well with the agave syrup in a bowl using your hands

Preparation of biscuits
1. Process the dried almonds into flour in a high-speed blender. Then mix together with the buckwheat flour, tigernut flour and coconut blossom sugar in a food processor fitted with the S-insert.
Add the water, sultanas, apricots, dates, lemon zest and vanilla powder and process the dough well. First add the coconut flour
and then flavour with coconut blossom sugar, lemon zest and vanilla powder.

2. place the dough in a bowl and then add the
psyllium husk flour and the melted coconut oil and work into the dough with your hands. Leave to soak for about 15 minutes.

3. roll out the dough to a thickness of approx. 2 cm on a sheet of cling film and then place in the freezer for at least an hour to firm up.

4. then roll out the marzipan on the dough and cut into pieces about 2 cm wide, the length of a small finger.
Shape the pieces into rough rolls in your hands and place on a plate lined with baking paper. Using a small fine sieve, sieve the coconut flour over the confectionery and then store the stollen confectionery in the fridge or freezer.

Image and recipe: Angela Griem | www.createrawvision.de

Rawfood Florentine

Ingredients Florentines

• 120 g almonds, soaked in water for 10 hours
• 120 g raw sliced almonds
• 100 g raw cashew nuts, soaked in water for 2 hours
• 60 g raw almond paste
• 10 tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla powder
• 80 ml water
• 8 tbsp raw coconut oil, melted

For the chocolate

• 8 tbsp cocoa butter, melted
• 4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
• 2 tbsp raw almond butter

Preparation
1. Rinse the soaked almonds thoroughly with cold water, chop coarsely in a food processor and mix with the sliced almonds.

2. Rinse the cashew nuts with cold water and blend with 80 ml water in a high-speed blender to a smooth cream . You may need to add a little more water so that the mixture can be mixed well.
But be very sparing and only add a tablespoon at a time.

3. Mix the cashew cream with the maple syrup, vanilla powder and almond butter until smooth. Flavour the mixture with maple syrup and mix with the sliced and chopped almonds.

4. Place on a drying tray and leave to dry for about four hours or overnight . The mixture will remain tough but the liquid will still have been removed.

5. Then mix the mixture thoroughly with the melted coconut oil, form small round Florentines, place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and place in the freezer for at least one hour.

6. Mix all the ingredients for the chocolate with a fork. Dip the frozen Florentines with the underside in the chocolate and place them back on the baking paper. Place in the freezer for a further half hour.

Image and recipe: Angela Griem | www.createrawvision.de

Raw cinnamon stars

Ingredients 'Cinnamon stars':

• 200 g dates
• 200 g hazelnuts
• 5-6 tbsp oat flakes
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp vanilla

Ingredients 'Cashew Frosting':

• 50 g cashew nuts (soaked)
• 120-150 ml plant-based drink
• 2 tbsp agave syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation

1. For the cinnamon stars, blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender to a finely chunky mixture.
If the mixture is still too sticky, mix in a little more oat flakes.
Then chill for 30 minutes.

2. In the meantime, mix all the ingredients for the frosting into a creamy mixture and chill.

3. Now roll out the date mixture on baking paper to a thickness of about ½ cm and cut out the stars.
Then dip them individually into the frosting, if necessary. Smooth with a spoon
and chill again for 15 minutes.

Image and recipe: Germany is(s)t vegan!

Raw vegan vanilla crescents

Ingredients - For the crescents:

• 300 g raw almonds, soaked in water for 10 hours and dried in the dehydrator for at least 8 hours
• 150 g raw shredded coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla powder
• 2 tbsp vegan sweetener
• 10 tbsp raw coconut oil
• 3 tsp tiger nut flour or coconut flour for dusting

Preparation

1. Process the almonds and coconut flakes separately in a high-speed blender to make flour.

Vanilla crescents - the beloved classics baked vegan

Ingredients - For the crescents:

• 150 g spelt flour, type 630
• 50 g icing sugar
• 50 g grated, blanched almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground vanilla (or a scraped vanilla pod)
• 90 g vegan butter
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 35 g sieved icing sugar
  
• 1 tsp ground vanilla
  

For dusting:

• 35 g sieved icing sugar
• 1 tsp ground vanilla

Preparation
Preparation time (20 minutes + 10 minutes baking time per tray)

1. Preheat the oven to 165 degrees fan and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Sift the spelt flour into a bowl and add the icing sugar, also sifted . Mix in the ground almonds and 1 teaspoon of ground vanilla . Add the vegan butter cut into small pieces anddrizzle1 tablespoon of lemon juice
over the ingredients.

3. Knead the ingredients with both hands until a dough is formed that can be moulded into a dough ball. Divide the dough into 5-6 portions,knead each portion of dough into a ball again and thenroll out into a long shapeon a work surface (without any more flour)
.

4. Cut off pieces the size of gnocchi from the sausage-shaped dough,roll theminto sausages between
the palms of your hands and place them on the baking tray, bending them slightly.
Between the crescents or sausages, roll the doughinto sausages. Leave some space for the croissants as they are still rising.

5. Bake the vanilla crescents at 165 degrees circulating air approx. Bake for 12 minutes. The croissants should notget
dark, but only start to brown slightly at the ends.

6. Sieve 35 g icing sugar onto a plate, mix with 1 teaspoon of ground vanilla and turn the croissants in it while still warm. Store the vanilla crescents in adry biscuit tin lined with baking paper.

Image and recipe: Lea Green