Vegan Cashew Butter Gingersnap Cookies (grain, gluten, and dairy free)

And... the snow keeps coming. West Michigan has been on a blizzard warning for the last few hours and it is supposed to last through the night until tomorrow morning. Honestly, I'm kinda excited. I like the snow really. I guess it's a good thing I live here in GR then. It's beautiful, and if you think about it, in like 4 months we will have sun again. OK, that sounds depressing, but really it is kinda nice. The Christmas lights and candles are lit, the kettle is hot for tea, and some warm cookies from the oven. This is my idea of a relaxing evening. Especially when you can hear the 40 per hour winds blowing outside. All I can think about is getting cozy and staying warm. I think baking some cookies will have to be apart of that plan. Something healthy of course. :)

I made these cookies yesterday to share with a friend that was in need of a gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and egg-free cookie. Here it is. Pretty simple, and pretty tasty.

Vegan Cashew Butter Ginger Snaps Recipe:

1 1/2 cup of raw cashew butter

1/3 sucanat (unrefined dehydrated cane juice)

1 1/2 ts of baking powder

1/4 cup agave nectar

4 TB of ground flax seed (flax meal)

1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce

1 ts. of pure vanilla

1 1/2 ts. of ground cinnamon

1 1/2 ts. of ground ginger

1/2 ts. of sea salt

1/2 ts. of ground cloves

1/8 cup of black strap molasses

Mix all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. The batter is sticky, so you may way to use a spoon for dishing out large teaspoon sized balls onto a parchment papered cookie sheet. Mix in some allergen-free dark chocolate chips if you desire or sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Pull from the oven and let cool for about 5-10 minutes before moving.

I love simple cookies that are tasty and even a healthy snack. There is no guilt or hard feelings over having a few of these in one sitting. I can tell you I already had a few :) Yummy!

Stay warm tonight friends. I will be staying close to home with a warm cup of hot cocoa. My favorite dairy-free hot cocoa is 1 cup of a non-dairy beverage (coconut or almond are my favorite), then add 1 heaping TB of baking cocoa powder, 1 TB of agave, and 1 ts. of coconut oil. Put all the ingredients in a small sauce pan on the stove and whip up with a wisk to blend in the cocoa powder. Add a dash of cinnamon if you like, or have a cinnamon stick soak in your cup after cooking. Keep it on medium heat until it starts to boil just a bit. You will have to make sure not to burn your tongue on this one because it gets really hot, really fast. But after pouring it into your favorite mug and snuggling up and waiting for it to be drinkable... it is absolutely divine. I recommend it to all on a night like tonight.

Much love to you friends!