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I have an amazingly easy and delicious to share with you all today.
[photo courtesy of Practically Raw Desserts]
These Pecan Shortbread Cookies feature only 4 all-natural ingredients, and taste downright decadent. They happen to be just one of the many tasty recipes found in Chef Amber Chea’s latest cookbook, Practically Raw Desserts!
What I love about Amber’s latest cookbook, is her flexible and reasonable approach to food. Almost all of her recipes can be served raw or cooked, with plenty of substitution options offered for those with special diet restrictions or preferences. Her recipes are totally free of dairy, eggs, gluten, wheat, soy, corn, refined grains, refined sugars, yeast, and starch. Many of them are also free of oils, nuts and added sugars. There’s something in here for everyone!
Practically Raw Desserts covers everything from cookies and bars, cakes, pies, ice cream, puddings, candies, and more. Some of the easy and healthy recipes include:
- Confetti Birthday Cake
- Baklava Blondies
- Deep Dish Caramel Apple Pie
- Summer Fruit Pizza
- Dark Chocolate Sorbet
- Low-Fat Carrot Cake
As an added bonus, Amber’s recipes don’t require special equipment or difficult-to-find ingredients. (A chef after my own heart!)
The recipe below proves just how easy and delicious Amber’s recipes can be.
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Pecan Shortbread Cookies
makes 12 cookies
Recipe by Chef Amber Chea
Ingredients:
2 cups dry pecans
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
Directions:
Place the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Do not to overprocess. Add the coconut flour and salt, and pulse to combine. Add the maple syrup, and pulse until the dough starts to stick together.
Make It Raw: Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a Teflex-lined tray. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the cookies to about 1/3 inch thick. Dehydrate at 110°F for about 4 hours, carefully flipping the cookies over onto a mesh-lined tray halfway through, until they feel dry and firm.
Make It Baked: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the cookies to about 1/3 inch thick. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the cookies are dry on top. Let cool completely on the baking sheet before handling (or else they will crumble).
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.
From Practically Raw Desserts by Amber Shea Crawley. ©2013 Amber Shea Crawley. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press. Author photo by Stephen Melvin.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry pecans
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Place the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Do not to overprocess. Add the coconut flour and salt, and pulse to combine. Add the maple syrup, and pulse until the dough starts to stick together.
- Make It Raw: Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a Teflex-lined tray. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the cookies to about 1/3 inch thick. Dehydrate at 110°F for about 4 hours, carefully flipping the cookies over onto a mesh-lined tray halfway through, until they feel dry and firm.
- Make It Baked: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the cookies to about 1/3 inch thick. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the cookies are dry on top. Let cool completely on the baking sheet before handling (or else they will crumble).
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.
Notes
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 160, Fat: 12g, Carbohydrates: 12g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 1g
Hope you enjoy them!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of dessert? I have many favorites, which include carrot cake, French silk pie, and freshly baked cookies!
*Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Practically Raw Desserts for review from Vegan Heritage Press, but I am under no obligation to post a positive review or to even mention this book on my website. Amber is a personal friend of mine, and I’m happy to support her cookbook and delicious recipes, especially since they meet all the standards I aim for in my own kitchen!
These were delicious, and so easy. I’ve how few ingredients these call for! I made them baked, and they were a hit!
In response to Mimi says, I just made 2 batches of these cookies and I did not have coconut flour so I substituted almond flour and they came out great. So yes it will work. I have made them with coconut flour and both work great. These cookies are amazing!!!
Can I use almond flour instead of coconut flour?
Coconut flour can never be substituted in a recipe. (It will be a disaster and a waste of ingredients!) It’s much easier to find a recipe that calls for almond flour in the first place– there are plenty of them on this site! 🙂
Thank you..I made the baked version yesterday (with the coconut flour) and they are delicious! I ended up with 2 dozen by making them a little smaller…because they’re very addicting! Great recipe!
These were really good, thank you! I made the baked version and did not change a thing.
Hi my question is:Can this recipe be multplied ? I have a few boys from church that I would like to send Care Packages. They are away at University. So I really need more than a dozen. Probably 6 dozen would work. Time is a factor here. One of them has a Gluten-free diet along with no Citris Fruit.
Thank you
I’m so excited to make these! I got a dehydrator for Xmas! I bet they’d be nice with a little bit of mesquite….
Hi there! It looks delicious. But when you say ‘dry’ pecan, do you mean roasted pecan? Or should I use raw pecan? Thanks a lot !
These are incredibly delicious. I love that there are only four ingredients! I made the baked version and they came out so moist and delicious. I’m going to have to freeze some so I don’t eat them all too quickly. Thanks for posting this!
Mmmmm these sound yummy and super simple to make, finally a raw short bread cookie!Can’t wait to try them 🙂
Mmm, I made these just now (baked). Forgot to flatten them. So they were kind of crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. Still good!!