You’re probably wondering what jaggery is and how could this strange sounding ingredient be part of a cookie. I didn’t know what this was until recently when I start looking up healthy recipes for weight loss. Jaggery is a sweetener very commonly used in India (and apparently southeast Asia and Africa, though being African myself I’ve never heard of it). It is unrefined sugar that still contains molasses, but is said to be healthier than normal sugar. I was intrigued and decided to try it out.
I’ve recently added it to some of the sweet treats I’ve been cooking up in my kitchen. I find it’s not as sweet as white sugar and makes for a chewy, caramel-like cookie. So here’s a healthy-ish cookie made of almond flour and jaggery – great for your cheat day.
Almond Flour Cookies (with jaggery)
Ingredients
- 200 g almond flour
- 100 g jaggery powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 75 g softened butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Cream butter and jaggery in a bowl with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add vanilla and egg and mix together.
- Add almond flour and baking powder and mix. The dough will be soft and sticky.
- Chill the dough, then make balls. Flatten slightly and add to baking sheet or dip into jaggery first. You can also add an almond in the middle of the dough ball.
- Bake at 180°C for 12-15 minutes or until the edges start turning golden.