Chinese New Year is just around the corner and the best part of it (or worst part, if you have diet goals) is the snacks. All too easy to give in to them, when they’re left out in the open and in every direction you turn.
The traditional Malaysian-style coconut biscuits are the stuff of my childhood and thankfully most manufacturers make them vegan by coincidence. I used to pop those super hard suckers in my mouth and leave them in there until my saliva softens the entire biscuit.
My version of the coconut biscuit is a slightly chewier affair, using a generous amount of virgin coconut oil to enhance richness and aroma.
I sold these at one of my food booths before and they turned out to be very popular. Right before I closed up on the last day of the bazaar, a fan of mine, who had travelled all the way to Kuala Lumpur from Kuching, approached me and asked if I had any more cookies left to bring back to Kuching the next day to share with her friends, who are fans of mine too! I was so thrilled to meet her, I charged her a flat fee of RM10 and stuffed as many cookies as I could into a takeaway box! Cafeina, if you are reading this, I’ll never forget that moment and thank you and the ‘Jodi Picoult Club’ for your support!
These cookies celebrate Oriental flavours with the inclusion of green tea powder and goji berries. Just to give you a heads up: there is a difference between ‘Matcha’ powder and ‘Green Tea’ powder. Both are made from the same type of plant, but Matcha is a premium grade of green tea powder: much more nutritious, much more expensive, and largely reserved for drinking. Most things flavoured with ‘matcha’ these days is just a popular way of saying ‘green tea flavoured’!
Different green tea powders have different strengths of flavour, so it’s best to experiment with the different types available to you in your area, and adjust the amount accordingly. (If you take a close look at my photos here, some of the cookies have a couple of bright green specks – a sign of artificial colouring which I wasn’t aware of beforehand! The food label from the baking shop didn’t show the ingredient list. I guess I’m not getting that one again!) A taste test before the cookies get cut and put in the oven always helps! Not to worry; the cookie dough, as with all vegan cookie dough, is safe to consume as there is no raw egg involved.
For trend’s sake, I would have called this recipe Matcha Coconut Goji Cookies, but the purist part of me would have stabbed herself repeatedly in the eye with a pencil.
If you prefer your cookies a little on the crispy side like the traditional sort, you can stretch the baking time to 15 minutes. They can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container, and will last even longer in the fridge. The older the biscuits get, the weaker the coconut aroma might get, but they will still be tasty and edible.
Enjoy making these lovely green gems and spread joy to your loved ones, not just at reunions, but any moment that could do with some extra sweetness.
Green Tea Goji Coconut Cookies
Rich in coconut taste and enhanced with other well-loved Asian-inspired flavours, these biscuits are a treat to pass around for any occasion.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup dessicated (dehydrated) coconut flakes
- 1 1/3 cup plain white flour
- 1/2 virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup goji berries
- 3-4 tsp green tea powder
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed soaked for 5 minutes in in 3 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
- 1/4 tsp salt
Directions
- Step 1 Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Selsius.
- Step 2 Stir together ingredients evenly into a dough.
- Step 3 Create bite size pieces with the thickness of half a centimeter.
- Step 4 Place in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Step 5 Remove from oven and allow to cool.
