"Free-from" buckwheat cookies- vegan and suitable for Ekadasi

These gluten-free cookies are delicious at tea time...

(Please note: although these cookies are free from dairy, egg, wheat and gluten they contain gour so may not be suitable for diabetics. They also contain nuts.)

These cookies contain coconut oil rather than butter, but you could make them with butter if you are not concerned about them being vegan. Refined coconut oil is a safe oil to use for vegan baking, as it remains stable up to 232C. (Look here for more information on how to cook safely with various plant-based oils.) They are really quick and easy to put together, take next to no time in the oven and get eaten even faster! The almond essence balances out the earthiness of the buckwheat flour, but if you are baking these for Ekadasi then do make sure you use a natural almond essence which contains nothing but essence  of almond. I managed to make 13 cookies form these quantities, but a couple of them were slightly smaller, so really this recipe will yield around a dozen.


150g gour, in pieces (boiled sugar cane juice containing iron and other minerals as well as sucrose and glucose)
150g coconut oil
300g buckwheat flour
1 tsp almond essence
flaked almonds for sprinkling

• Melt the oil and gour gently in a heavy-bottomed pan. They will not mix together, so remove from the heat when both are liquid.
• While the oil and gour are still warm, add the almond essence, stirring well.
• Straight away stir in the buckwheat flour until a doughy consistency is achieved. Depending on the brand of flour, you might need to add more or less of it to prevent the mixture becoming too dry or too sticky.
• Form the cookie dough into a log shape and cut into rounds about 1cm thick.
• Place the slices on a well-oiled baking sheet and scatter with the flaked almonds.
• Press the cookies down with a spatula until about half their original thickness.
• Bake in the centre of an oven preheated to 200C, but turn it down to 180C as soon as you put the cookies in.
• Bake for about 10 minutes; watch carefully, as oven timings and temperatures vary, and you don't want to over-brown them.
• When they are done, remove from the oven but do not attempt to take them off the baking sheet until they have cooled, or they will break. Once cooled, they are stronger, but still a little bit more delicate than regular wheat flour cookies, so treat them gently!