Are you making homemade nut milk yet? If not, you totally should be!
Almond milk is low in carbohydrates, high in calcium and contains more healthy nutrients than other non-dairy alternatives. If you do give the almond milk a go, save the leftover pulp and try making these cookies, they are worth it!!
Almond Milk Ingredients:
1 cup almond
3- 4 cup filtered water
seeds of 1/4 vanilla bean
4- 5 pitted dates
pinch Himalayan salt
1 tbsp chia seeds
Here is a quick guide to making your own almond milk (yields just over 1 cup of loosely packed almond pulp)
✘ Cover almonds with cool water and soak overnight or for at least 4 hours,
✘ Once soaked, rinse and drain the almonds,
✘ Place almonds and water in a high speed blender and start blending at low speed to increase to high speed until all of the nuts are completely pulverized, strain the milk with a nut milk bag,
✘ Pour your milk in the blender and add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
✘ There you go, how simple. Extremely healthy, pure almond milk in a few easy steps. This milk will last for 3-4 days in the fridge (so it’s best to make a small amount at a time).
Tips: You can make this using a variety of nuts and seeds and even like oat groats. Sometimes the amount of water will vary depending on the flavor and creaminess you like. Things like cinnamon, vanilla, cacao powder can also be added. Shake before each use.
How to Make Almond Meal (Flour)
Instead of throwing away the leftover pulp after making homemade almond milk, dry it to make almond meal.
Recommended Equipment:
✘ oven or dehydrator
✘ large baking sheet
✘ blender, food processor or coffee grinder (optional)
What to do with the leftover from making nut milk:
There are so many different uses for the fresh leftover pulp you can add it to smoothies or your morning oatmeal, you can add it to dips, homemade granola, to your cookies, muffins, pancakes, cakes or crackers, you can keep it in the fridge for a few days or you can even dehydrate it and then blend it up to make flour. Don’t own a dehydrator? No worries. All you need is an oven. When all else fails freeze it for later or compost it if you really don’t have room for it.
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to the lowest possible setting. Mine is 60 degrees, but yours might be different. Break up the almond pulp in your fingers and spread it out on a baking sheet. Place it in the oven and set a timer for about 4 hours. When the timer goes off, check the almond pulp by rubbing it between your fingers. If you still feel some moisture, put it back in for another hour, or until it’s completely dry. Put the meal in a blender, food processor or coffee grinder and blitz until fine, it becomes almond flour. Once it has been dehydrated it will have a longer shelf life, store in an airtight container or glass jar.
Nut Milk Ingredients:
handful of mix nuts – soaked (macadamia, cashew, almond and hazelnut)
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp chia seeds
4- 5 pitted dates
seeds of 1/4 vanilla bean
pinch Himalayan salt
4 cup filtered water
Hemp seed Milk Ingredients:
1 cup raw shelled hemp seeds
4- 5 pitted dates
seeds of 1/4 vanilla bean
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp chia seeds
pinch Himalayan salt
4 cups filtered water
Pumpkin seed Milk Ingredients:
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked 3 hours
3 cup filtered water
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
seeds of ½ vanilla bean
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger powder
sweetener to taste
Let’s go back to my super happy yummy cookie recipe! This recipe uses basic ingredients you probably already have.
Here are my ingredients but do not let me limit your creativity. This recipe is completely adaptable, so feel free add, change or swap any ingredients you have on hand. Don’t worry if you don’t have any pulp left, you can use ground almonds too.
- Cookies
- 1 cup wet almond pulp, the amount leftover from making 1 batch of nut milk*
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- ½ cup buckwheat made into flour
- ½ cup flax seeds made into flour
- 1 cup soft dates
- 1 cup fresh cherry
- 2- 3 tbsp beetroot juice
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- Chocolate coating:
- ¼ cup cacao butter, melted
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp beetroot powder, optional
- Combine dates, cherries, beetroot juice in a food processor and process for 1 minute or until the mixture starts to come together. Add the remaining ingredients and process until a sticky dough is formed.
- Remove from food processor and roll flat with a rolling pin. Then use cookie cutters to make the shapes.
- Place cookies on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115°F for approximately 4 hours. Flip and remove dehydrator sheet. Continue to dehydrate for about 4 hours or until desired dryness archived.
- Dip each cooled cookie into melted chocolate (you can use any leftover melted chocolate here!) and place on parchment paper until chocolate is set.
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.
Have fun experimenting!
