Date and Ginger Five-Spice Cookies

With February being the Chinese New Year I thought this recipe would be a small, but nice, way to celebrate. This is a good recipe for the colder months especially with the warming, yet spicey spices! These cookies contain no fats or added sugars, so you don’t even have to feel bad for eating them. They are lovely with a coffee (maybe spiced) or large mug of tea.

This recipe is adapted from one taken from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage, Light and Easy for Spiced Date and Almond Cookies. The original recipe is lovely, but I have adapted it to include orange zest and have replaced some of the dates with raisins. The orange zest, spices and dried fruit pair well I think, with the mixture of dates and raisins being slightly toffee – ey!

Enjoy and Happy Chinese New Year

Makes 12-14

Ingredients

100g pitted dates

100g raisins

2cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 eggs

250g ground almonds

Zest of one orange

1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 ½ tsp Chinese five-spice

A pinch of salt

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170°C/160°C fan.

• Grease and line a tray, or just grease if you have a good quality non-stick tray.

• Put the dates, raisins and ginger into a food processor and blend to a thick, smooth paste.

• Add the eggs and blend again until fully mixed.

• Add the remaining ingredients and blend until well combined, scraping down the sides every so often, until a thick sticky dough is formed. You may need to add a little water but not too much as the mixture will be too sloppy.

• Lightly wet your hands and take a heaped dessertspoon full of the mixture, rolling between your palms into a ball. Flatten slightly, then place on a baking tray.

• Repeat until all of the mixture is used. Be sure to leave a little space between the cookies.

• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, with a crisp edge. The cookies should feel slightly softer in the middle.

• Once cooked place the cookies on a wire rack to cool before eating (if you can resist!).

• Store in an airtight container. The cookies will last for 3-4 days.