Raspberry-Lemon Hearts

Is there anything better than a pairing of lemon and raspberry? These delicate jam cookies are a special treat both in taste and looks. They are vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free, and oil free. You can change up the jam flavor and the shapes, depending on the season. Since it's close to Valentine's Day I went with hearts!

Makes 7-9 cookies depending on size of cookie cutters.

Ingredients:

Wet

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup almond butter

• 1 tsp almond extract

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Dry

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1/2 cup oat flour

• 1tbsp arrowroot powder

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

• Zest of one lemon (use microplane to achieve lemon zest)

Other

• Powdered sugar (or Lakanto powdered sugar substitute) for dusting

• Raspberry jam, either store-bought or homemade (scroll down for recipe)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix dry ingredients together.

3. Place wet ingredients (syrup, almond butter, extract, and lemon juice) in a Cuisinart and blend. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and pulse to combine. You may need to add 1 tbsp plant milk if the mixture is too dry.

4. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours or more.

5. Roll dough out between two pieces of parchment paper. Cut out heart shapes, then use a smaller heart cookie cutter to cut out an inner heart on half of the cookies. Carefully collect all the scraps as well as the small hearts that were cut out from the bigger hearts and repeat the process cutting out hearts. Slide a cookie tray under the parchment paper with the cutout hearts and cook in the oven for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool completely on a rack.

6. Spread desired amount of jam on the bottom half of the cookie and top it with the cookie with the center cut out. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

7. Enjoy these on the same day that you fill them with jam as the jam will make them moist the next day. Store leftovers in refrigerator or freezer.

Raspberry Jam:

• 1 bag frozen raspberries

• 2-3 Medjool dates, chopped

• 1/4 cup orange juice (or apple)

• Pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg

• Squeeze of lemon

Bring the above ingredients to a boil, then simmer until all the liquid has cooked out and the mixture is thickened.