4-Ingredient Gluten-Free Coffee Cashew Butter Bear Cookies

 These gluten-free and dairy-free bear cookies are soft, chewy, fragrant and tasty, BUT insanely easy to make! 

This is so easy even young kids can help to make the dough! If you don't bother with the bear design, it is also very quick to make these cookies. You only need a mixing bowl, hand whisk and spatula to make the cookie dough. The recipe can be applied to any nut butter. I used the coffee cashew butter from Redman but you may omit the coffee bit and just use any nut butter of choice. The coffee in the nut butter I used isn't too strong and I feel helps to round out the flavour. My kids love it!

Cookie dough

(makes about 22 rounds or 19 bears)

250g (1cup) coffee cashew nut butter

140g brown sugar 

1 egg (60-65g with shell on)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt (optional)

1/8 tsp caramel essence (optional)

Decoration

White chocolate chips

Mini dark or milk chocolate chips

Black cocoa powder (optional)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking tray with baking paper/mat.

2. Dump everything for the dough into mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg with a whisk. 

3. Mix everything with whisk & switch to spatula when it gets too thick to whisk. Sugar doesn't need to be dissolved but dough should look homogeneous.

4. Set aside for 10min to firm up. 

5. Shape into balls of about 20g each. Place on baking tray at least 5cm apart. Flatten the balls of dough. Add ears of about 1g each if desired.

6. Bake for 8-12 min or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on tray. 

7. Decorate bear face if desired, with chocolate chips & melted chocolate.

Tips & Notes:

- I used Central Sugars Refinery's "Better Brown low GI sugar" that tastes great but only has a glycemic index of 55 (that's way less than plain flour!)

- Salt & caramel essence are optional but they serve to improve the flavour

- I reshaped the bear heads to be slightly oval but that's optional

- Use a fine zester to smoothen the edges of baked cookies if you wish

- Make sure excess black cocoa powder is dusted off thoroughly or you may stain the cookie if you accidentally drop it on the bear.

You may refer to my Instagram reel for the tutorial of shaping and decorating the bear face. You may choose to decorate it any way you want or leave it undecorated too!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cvdzdc-gHkM/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Here's a peek at the insides!

with love,

Phay Shing