Scrummy Coconut & Sultana Cookies

I am always on the hunt for yummy treats that are super healthy & super fast to throw together. These cookies are just that. They are a fantastic snack and hunger buster when you're on the run. They are not super sweet, with just a wee bit of agave syrup to satisfy those with a penchant for sugar. Of course, you can add more, the proportions below are a suggestion, change them at will! I am becoming less convinced of the super healthy virtues of agave syrup. It is certainly lower on the GI scale than sugar and that's a good thing. This is because it's made up of mostly fructose and a little glucose. Proportions vary, depending on the variety of plant and harvest method...but my guess is it's somewhere around 70% fructose and 30% glucose. Fructose has to go to the liver first, before it can be metabolised, hence the delay in increasing blood sugar levels. Massive amounts of fructose can do it's own damage, so my advice is, everything in moderation, including agave syrup!

So, back to the cookies; they are made with a mix of tahini, dessicated coconut, dried fruit (in this case sultanas) and oat flour. I had intended to use all coconut, but ran short. Necessity being the mother of invention, I grabbed some oatflakes, blitzed them in my little coffee grinder and made oat flour! Who'd have thought it would be so easy? I quite like the end result, coconutty without being macaroons, of which I am not a fan! The tahini adds protein and buckets of calcium, which is good news for anyone who struggles with dairy. The oats are rich in fibre and bring their own share of protein to the mix too.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dark tahini
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 generous tbsp water
• 1/4-1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour (see method above! Substitute all coconut if you prefer)
• A good handful of sultanas (or unsweetened cranberries if you have them)
• A pinch of salt flakes

Get stuck in!

1. Turn the oven on to 170C and grease and line two shallow baking trays.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the tahini, lemon zest, water and agave syrup. Mix thoroughly until smooth & glossy. Tahini has a habit of seperating into oil on top and a more solid, dense paste at the bottom. Stir it up as best you can and make sure you smush out all the thickerlumps of tahini.
3. Add the beaten egg and mix thoroughly
4. Combine the dry ingredients in a seperate bowl and add to the wet mixture. Give it all a good stir.
5. With wet hands, shape and flatten spoonfuls of the mix into discs about 1cm thick.
6. Place the whole lot in the oven and set your timer to 10 minutes. My fan oven takes 14, others will take 10, so the first time you make these, watch 'em like a hawk to be sure they don't burn. When they are nicely golden, they're done.
7. Enjoy with a cuppa herbal and kick back for a few minutes. As one of my sugar loving tasting friends skyped me yesterday 'Jeebus those cookies are f****n delish...'