Raw Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches with Rainbow Cashew Cream
Bite-sized vanilla chocolate chip cookies sandwiched around silky cashew cream in four naturally colored flavors: pink beet and raspberry, ocean-blue spirulina and coconut, golden milk turmeric, and lemon-lavender. No baking, no refined sugar, and no artificial colors, just plants. Vegan, grain-free, and gluten-free.
Yield: About 24 mini sandwich cookies · Active: 1 hour · Total: 2 hours (including chilling) · Year-round · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Raw vanilla chocolate chip cookies
1 cup almond flour
1 cup cashews, ground into a fine flour in a food processor
4 soft Medjool dates, pitted (about ⅓ cup packed)
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract)
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
⅓ cup mini 100% cacao chocolate chips, or cacao nibs
For lighter-colored cookies: Skip the dates and use 2 tbsp cashew butter, with 3 tbsp maple syrup and 2 tbsp coconut oil. (The dates give the cookies a light caramel color and a rich, chewy texture.)
Master cashew cream (makes enough for all four colors)
1½ cups cashews, soaked 4 hours (or 1 hour in hot water), then drained
¼ cup thick full-fat coconut cream (with no guar gum)
3 tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup melted cacao butter (or coconut oil), for a filling that holds its shape
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
The four colors (each tints a quarter of the cream)
Pink beet and raspberry: ½–1 tsp beetroot powder plus 1 tsp freeze-dried raspberry powder. The raspberry adds a bright, fruity flavor and balances the beet's earthiness.
Blue spirulina and coconut: ¼–½ tsp blue spirulina powder plus 1 tbsp finely shredded coconut. Blue spirulina has a mild, almost neutral flavor, unlike green spirulina.
Golden milk turmeric: ¼ tsp turmeric, ¼ tsp ground ginger, a pinch each of cinnamon and cardamom, and a tiny pinch of black pepper.
Lemon-lavender: ½ tsp dried culinary lavender, finely ground, plus the zest of ½ lemon and a pinch of butterfly pea flower powder for a soft lilac color. Lavender can taste soapy in excess, so start small.
Method
Make the cookie dough. Process the dates into a sticky paste first, then add the almond flour, cashew flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt and process until a soft dough forms that holds together when pinched. If it's crumbly, add 1 tsp water or another date; if it's too sticky, add a spoonful of almond flour. Pulse in the chocolate chips just until mixed.
Shape the cookies. Roll the dough into 48 small balls, about 1 tsp each. Flatten them into 1¼-inch rounds on a parchment-lined tray, smoothing the edges with your fingers. (Or roll the dough ¼ inch thick between parchment and cut it with a 1¼-inch round cutter.)
Firm them up. Chill the cookies 30 minutes, until firm. For a crisper cookie with more snap, dehydrate them at 115°F for 6–8 hours.
Make the cashew cream. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. Blend the cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a high-speed blender until completely silky. With the blender running on low, stream in the melted cacao butter.
Color the cream. Divide the cream evenly among four small bowls and whisk each color's ingredients into its own bowl until smooth. Taste, and add more powder for deeper color or flavor. Chill 20–30 minutes, until thick enough to pipe.
Sandwich. Pipe or spoon about 1 tsp of filling onto the flat side of half the cookies, then top with the remaining cookies and press gently, so the filling peeks out at the edges.
Roll the edges (optional). Roll the exposed filling in a matching topping (see below).
Set. Chill the sandwiches 30 minutes, until the filling is firm.
Edge Toppings to Match Each Color
Pink: crushed freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries, or edible rose petals
Blue: finely shredded coconut or toasted coconut flakes (a "mermaid" look)
Golden: crushed pistachios or finely chopped toasted almonds
Lavender: a few dried lavender buds and lemon zest
For any color: cacao nibs, mini chocolate chips, or chopped edible flowers
More Natural Color Ideas
Hot pink: pink pitaya (dragon fruit) powder, the brightest natural pink, with a mild, fruity flavor
Purple: butterfly pea flower powder plus lemon juice, or purple sweet potato powder
Green: matcha (it contains caffeine), or a pinch of green spirulina with a squeeze of lime
Orange: freeze-dried mango or carrot powder
Chocolate: 1 tbsp raw cacao powder plus an extra tsp of maple syrup
Strawberry: freeze-dried strawberry powder, for a soft pastel pink
Party ideas: Arrange the colors in a rainbow on a platter for birthdays, baby showers, or a kids' party, or pack them in a clear box tied with ribbon as an edible gift. For a pastel look, use half the powder; for vivid jewel tones, use the full amount.
Storage: Refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 2 months. Store them in a closed container away from light, since natural colors, especially blue spirulina, can fade in bright light. Serve chilled.
A note on turmeric: It stains, so use glass bowls and wipe surfaces right away.
A note on "raw": Every cashew sold has been heat-treated to remove the caustic oil in its shell, so "raw" here means no-bake.
Nourishment Notes
Cashews — magnesium, copper, and zinc.
Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, and fiber, with natural caramel sweetness.
100% cacao chocolate — magnesium, iron, flavanols, and theobromine.
Beetroot — betalains, the vivid pigments behind its color, plus nitrates.
Blue spirulina — phycocyanin, a blue pigment-protein from spirulina studied for its antioxidant activity.
Turmeric, ginger, and black pepper — curcumin and gingerols; the black pepper and fats help you absorb the curcumin.
Lavender — linalool, an aromatic compound traditionally associated with calm and relaxation.
Butterfly pea flower — anthocyanins, the pigments that shift from blue to purple with lemon.
Freeze-dried berries — vitamin C and anthocyanins.
Coconut and cacao butter — lauric acid and stearic acid, which help the filling set.
As a circadian treat, these cookies land best at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
Sourcing
Cashews and almond flour — organic; for truly raw almond flour, grind your own from organic, unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump
Cashew butter (optional) — organic, made from just cashews
Chocolate chips or cacao nibs — organic 100% cacao chips (Pascha makes them), or organic cacao nibs, ideally tested for heavy metals
Coconut cream — organic and full-fat, made with just coconut and water, with no guar gum (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans)
Coconut oil and cacao butter — organic, virgin coconut oil; organic, raw cacao butter
Maple syrup — organic Grade A dark
Beetroot, pitaya, and freeze-dried berry powders — organic, with nothing added
Blue spirulina — pure phycocyanin extract, with no fillers or added colors
Butterfly pea flower powder — organic and food-grade
Culinary lavender — organic Lavandula angustifolia, labeled food-grade or culinary (never from florists or craft shops)
Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper — organic and non-irradiated
Shredded coconut, pistachios, and edible flowers — organic; edible flowers pesticide-free
Vanilla — organic vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall