The lovely people at The Groovy Food Co gifted me some products so that I could make delicious Christmas cookies for my friends and I. I have used coconut oil previously in cooking but have never thought to seek out baking recipes that also use it. The Groovy Food Co are all about healthy alternatives for every day essentials, teaching you how to swap refined products for alternative versions of kitchen cupboard staples. They want to create healthy food that tastes amazing. Good food, not only needs to taste good, it also needs to be ethically sourced, which is why The Groovy Food Company is SEDEX registered, a not for profit organisation empowering responsible sourcing.’

So I got my apron on, followed The Groovy Food Company’s recipe for gingerbread cookies and, although my decorating skills leave a lot to be desired, the cookies were a resounding hit with my work mates!

Ingredients:

100g The Groovy Food Company Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, melted and cooled

85g The Groovy Food Company Organic Virgin Coconut Sugar

100g The Groovy Food Company Rich & Dark Agave Nectar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Beat the coconut oil, coconut sugar, agave, vanilla and egg together in a bowl with electric beaters for 4 mins, until thickened and pale. Add the flour, bicarb and spices, and beat until just combined. Cover and chill for 30 mins, or until firm.

2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Shape the dough into two discs, and return one to the fridge. Place a large sheet of baking parchment on your work surface and dust with flour, top with a disc of dough and dust that with flour too. Cover with another sheet of parchment and roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using your choice of cutters cut out the biscuits, re-rolling any leftover dough.

3. Transfer to parchment lined trays and bake in batches for 8 mins, until golden brown – if you like them  extra crunchy bake for 10 mins. Cool on a wire rack and repeat with the remaining dough. Once cool dust with icing or icing sugar before serving, or enjoy as they are.