BOOZY WALNUT COOKIES

After a week featuring frozen feet, bus strikes, blocked bank cards, office thieves, explosive pots of yoghurt, and the universe generally not allowing you to lead the life of a princess (!), who ever thought that watching a marathon of films about working-class families struggling during the recession in London in the 1980’s wouldn’t improve the situation.

Good job there’s cookies. Good job it’s boozy vegan cookies.

BOOZY WALNUT COOKIES

Adapted from Veganomicon – Rumnog pecan cookies

80ml (1/3 cup) sunflower oil or other flavourless oil

60ml (1/4 cup) soya milk or other non-dairy milk

200g (1 cup) sugar

1 tablespoon black treacle

2 tablespoons spiced rum

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

195g (1 ½ cup) plain flour

30g (1/4 cup) corn flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

120g (1 ½ cups) walnuts, chopped

Boozy icing:

60g (1 cup) icing sugar

1 teaspoon soya milk or other non-dairy milk

1 tablespoon spiced rum

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line two cookie trays with parchment paper. Mix oil, milk, sugar, treacle, rum and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat until combined and slightly foamy. In a separate bowl, mix flour, corn flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt, then sift the mixture into the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix well then fold in about ¾ of the chopped walnuts and mix until incorporated. Form 24 tablespoon-size balls and place on the cookie trays leaving some space between them as they will spread in the oven. Sprinkle the remaining chopped walnuts on top of each cookie and bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are slightly cracked around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave on the trays for about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool.
Once completely cool, make the icing: mix icing sugar, milk and rum until smooth. Pour or pipe the icing over each cookie, leave to set then eeeeeaattt and bring any extra ones to your hairdresser.