One December, in my previous life as a refined sugar addict, I decided it was time to try my hand at baking. And so, I did as every amateur baker might do and headed to the Betty Crocker section of the baking aisle. I picked myself up a packet of supposedly foolproof chocolate cookies and headed back to my kitchen. I made them as per the instructions, but must have gone wrong somewhere, as they were rock hard. I wasn’t about to give up though, I got out my icing sugar and decorated them to make them look like 2D Christmas puddings.

I was so pleased about how they looked, I took them to my family Friday night dinner the next day, where everyone said how pretty they looked, tried to take a bite out of one, almost broke their jaws, and subsequently put them back safely on their plates. But they all gave me top marks for presentation.

Now that I have actually learnt a thing or two about baking, I thought it was about time to resurrect the idea, given that hopefully my family might have forgotten the incident by now. These cookies are a world apart from my failures of yore, they’re super chocolatey, chewy, crunchy and they look oh so festive too! So if you’re not into Christmas puddings (or you’re scared of 3D desserts, who knows, that could be a thing) these are for you.

For the cookies

• 2/3 ground almonds
• 1 cup oats
• 1/3 cup cacao powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 cup nut butter (I like peanut or cashew the best)
• Pinch of Himalayan salt
• 1/3 cup sultanas (optional)

For the decorations

• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• Dried cranberries/goji berries
• Mint leaves/decorative leaves (just take them off before you eat!)

Preheat your oven to 180C. To make the cookies, place the oats in a food processor and blitz for about a minute until they become a flour. Add this to a bowl and mix with the ground almonds and cacao butter, before adding in the other ingredients and stirring well. Bake for 10 minutes, then leave to cool completely before you decorate.

For the icing, mix the coconut cream, coconut oil and maple syrup in a bowl until well combined. If it is quite liquidy place in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow it to thicken up, then either dunk in the cookies one by one, or spoon it on top. Finish with cranberries and mint leaves and serve!

Love, Mrs H xx