Hemp, Almond Butter and Raisin Cookies - A Healthy Vegan And Gluten Free Treat Packed With Omega-3 And Very Low In Sugar!

This EASY, HEALTHY and DELICIOUS cookie
makes a great afternoon snack!

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A Healthy Remake
My nephew made some delicious cookies this weekend from a popular recipe on the web that called for peanut butter, hemp seeds, sugar, chocolate chips and eggs. As I am always looking for ways to turn delicious recipes into delicious and healthy recipes, I created a remake that:
* Made it vegan by replacing the egg with a flax egg. (This also added omega-3 and made them cholesterol free).
* Reduced the sugar by 75% and added some stevia to make up for it.
* Replaced the chocolate chips with raisins.
* Replaced the peanut butter with almond butter for those followers with peanut allergies. (Peanut butter is fine to use too if that's not a problem.)

The result was not only irresistibly delicious but each cookie has 563 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and a very favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 3.5 to 1 (anything less than 4 to1 is good). These beneficial omega-3 fats come from the power seeds, hemp and flax. 

And they are very low in sugar with only 1 tablespoon used in the entire recipe! You can reduce the sugar in any recipe by adding some stevia to compensate. Even if you don't like stevia, if you leave a bit of sugar in the recipe, you will can get the sweetness you desire with much less sugar and without noticing the stevia. Personally I love stevia but some people don't care for it as much as I do.

Hemp seeds, almond butter and flax seeds

Cookie Sheets
I have an insulated cookie sheet that makes terrible cookies. Every time I try to use it, the cookies don't brown and never cook in the specified time. So if you are using one of these, you may have to extend the cooking time.

Nut Butter 
These cookies have a much better texture if you use crunchy almond or peanut butter.

Another tip for having success with this recipe is to stir up the nut butter to mix in the oils that are usually sitting on the top. The recipe is even better if you use a fresh jar because old almond and peanut butter can get hard and dry and won't make as good a cookie.

This recipe makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies. Feel free to double it for 3 dozen.

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Hemp, Almond Butter and Raisin Cookies
Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 18 cookies]
Requires a Cookie Sheet and 1-Tablespoon Cookie Scoop (Optional)

1 tablespoon ground flax
3 tablespoons room temperature water
1/2 cup shelled, raw hemp seeds
1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
2 packets stevia powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup raisins, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup crunchy almond butter (or peanut butter)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Make a flax egg by combining the ground flax seeds and water in a small cup. Beat with a fork until the mixture becomes gooey. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, mix the hemp seeds, sugar, stevia and baking soda. 

Stir in the chopped raisins until they are separated and coated.

Coat chopped raisins with hemp mixture to prevent clumping

Add the nut butter and the flax egg and stir until well combined.

Mix in nut butter and flax egg

Using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop, drop tablespoons of batter onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Flatten with the back of a fork.

Flatten with a fork

Bake in the preheated oven until they firm up and brown slightly, about 13 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 to 10 minutes. Move them to a serving plate and let cool completely. Enjoy!

Per cookie: 75 calories, 6 g total fat, 0.6 g saturated fat, 563 mg omega-3 and 1,979 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, 0.5 g dietary fiber and 49 mg sodium.