Kisses to your tummy from Susan Jane Murray

Pinched straight from Susan Jane Murray herself without additions because these Valentine cookies just look divine:

Valentine CookiesGinger and Chocolate hearts¨

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 teaspoon good unrefined salt

2 cups ground almonds

2 tablespoons lucuma powder (optional)

2 tablespoons dried ginger

1/4 cup agave or honey

Large bar of 80-85% organic dark chocolate

SJM says. " Us girls love a guilt free pig-out, so don’t save this recipe just for V-Day. Cookies adore DVD evenings and impromptu office picnics. These chaps take a mere 3 minutes to whip up, 6 minutes to cook, and 2 seconds to devour. They boasts oodles of magnesium, particularly important in supporting adrenal function (stressed?), circulation (heart problems? Rusty libido?) and food cravings (pay attention girls!). Its vitamin E content is renowned for waging war against damaging free-radicals, aging cells and diseased cells. Other goodies include its anti-depressant content of niacin, energy-boosting B vitamins, blood-strengthening iron and impressive calcium levels. To help absorb its calcium content, go munch them in some sunlight for vitamin D. Otherwise, vitamin K found in foods like barley grass, miso, kale and spinach also prove helpful for proper calcification in the bones. We began with fizzing libidos and ended up with advice on kale and osteo conditions. I sincerely beg your pardon. What I meant to say was that they are so damned tasty, your knickers will be knocked off. "

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees conventional oven, 150 degrees fan oven and 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Click on the handy temperatures chart below, and scroll down for extact conversion temps depending on your oven.

2. In a saucepan, gently melt the coconut oil.

3. Take off the heat, and using a fork, combine with the remaining ingredients. Taste and add more dried ginger or rock salt if you like – I always do.

4. Form into a squidgy ball of dough and place on top of a piece of greaseproof paper. Press into an oblong ‘pizza-base’ shape about ¼ inch deep with the base of your palm or your fingers. Cover with another sheet of grease proof paper and freeze for 15 minutes max. This makes it easier to shape and cut the cookies, but also ensures they don’t turn into puddles in the oven.

5. Remove dough from freexer, cut out desired shapes (see picture to the left) and place on a greased cookie tray. The quantity you get depends on how thin you managed to press the dough out.

6. Bake for approximately 6 minutes before they start to brown or colour.

7. Allow cool on the cookie tray in a cool place. In the meantime, to take your mind off pillaging the entire batch before they’ve had a chance to cool down, I recommend melting a large bar of organic dark chocolate like Montezuma’s, Green & Blacks or Dagoba. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate and allow to cool on grease proof paper in the fridge. You might like to adjust the sweetness for your next batch, or the ginger content. Lucuma is a wonderful way of sweetening the dough without making it sloppy, while providing niacin (vitamin B3) for cholesterol and depression. "

She adds: "The ‘received view’ on coconut is that it is high in fat and to be avoided. This is most unfortunate because organic virgin coconut oil has incredible immune-boosting properties. Its lauric and caprylic acids stave off fungal infections while helping your gut’s friendly bacteria thrive. And its fat content is in fact needed for the proper metabolism of the nasty fats we take in. Think about it – how many fat Thai people have you met? Exactly. "

So i'm off to whip up a storm in the kitchen and hopefully in less than 15 mins ( i may skip the freezer bit) will be merrily munching my way through some delicious biscuits.