PEANUT PUMPKIN CREAM BISCUITS

It’s ever so tiring to play the part of the child prodigy for half a week and to dress up in rotation in all the different best versions of yourself that people kindly plan on turning you into (it must be on the top 5 list of mankind’s charity goals for 2015); especially when you have since the very start taken an oath to not wear leggings as trousers in the outside world, thanks for trying, and the only thing you can possibly share with Kim Kardashian is olaplex, because your hairdresser Sam is a star like that.

In such cases, the recommended course of action is as follows:

1) do pick one of these bragged-about best-version onesies to try on, even if it’s just in the fitting room. You’ll know which one you like best when it’s a smiley one (and when someone sings a song and you can sing along cause you remember the lyrics from your childhood);

2) partake in this special-child pantomime, fine; but only if you are rewarded with couscous, sticks of rock, peanuts and/or other types of valuable goods.

This point is least painful to follow if there is some sort of vague evidence of you actually being all prodigious like that – perhaps a metaphysical entity called Ninety-Nine Jam Jars; or just James;

which leads us to point number three:

3) keep writing humourous handover notes at work, as someone may read them on the train home and secretly smile; speak Italian; daydream about Canadian raw vegan restaurants and shoe shops between a sales training PowerPoint slide and the next; jump on a bus to Hackney like the old times just to get hold of a pack of peanut flour, to go join the other forty-five types of flour you already have in your cupboard (this also means you’re entitled to cake for dinner, and a decaf-almond-milk-latte-please, and some puzzled looks from the barista); sip coffee in the park and talk about dolphins whilst people dismantle the office; and bake. Bake some peanut pumpkin cream sandwich biscuits, because you woke up one morning to find that autumn was there, and got all inspired by a place you can’t wait to visit. They will also provide you with all the energy you need to make your best prodigy child impression. Tried and tested.

PEANUT PUMPKIN CREAM BISCUITS

100g (1 cup) peanut flour

190g (1 ½ cups) plain flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

140g (3/4 cup) coconut oil

70g (1/3 cup) pureed pumpkin

175g (3/4 cup) unrefined golden caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peanut butter pumpkin cream filling:

140g (2/3 cup) pureed pumpkin

85g (1/3 cup) natural peanut butter

3 tablespoons maple syrup

25g (1/4 cup) peanut flour

¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice mix

Start by making the filling – mix together pureed pumpkin, peanut butter and maple syrup in a bowl until combined and smooth, then stir in the peanut flour and pumpkin spice mix. Transfer to the fridge whilst you make the biscuits.

In a large bowl mix together flours and salt and set aside. In a separate bowl cream together coconut oil, pureed pumpkin, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add in the dry ingredients a bit at a time, mixing each time until you get a nice smooth dough. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.

Next preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and line two trays with baking paper. Roll out the chilled dough until it’s 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick. Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter and place on the trays. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown, then transfer to a cooling rack.

When completely cool, assemble the biscuits – spread or pipe the cream filling evenly onto each biscuit, then sandwich another one on top.