These moringa lemon cookies are sweet, and a little tart, featuring one of Africa’s healthiest ingredients. Moringa offers a rich flavour that pairs well with lemon to make a simple cookie that is very delicious with a complex flavour. These dairy-free and egg-free cookies are one of six delicious and unique Ghanaian/West African-inspired cookies I am adding to my Christmas box this year.
Why Moringa?
Moringa is an important plant in many parts of the African continent. The pods, the seeds, and the leaves are included in soups, stews, bean dumplings, and cooked “salads”. Beyond food, moringa is used for traditional medicines and water purification. While the popular cultivar in the moringa family (moringa oleifera) is a product of India, the botanical roots of moringa are on the African continent. Specifically, 13 out of 14 moringa species are found on the African continent, with the largest concentration in East/Horn of Africa. This centre of biodiversity has lead botanist to postulate that the proto-roots of moringa oliefera might also lie on the continent. In locations where these plants are indigenously cultivated, a diversity of moringa cultivars are used for everyday life.
The part of moringa most are familiar with are the leaves, which will be the subject of today’s post. People tout moringa leaves as a superfood because it is filled with vitamin A, C, calcium, iron, essential amino acids, and many more antioxidants.
After my trip to northern Ghana, I start most of my day with a hot moringa, baobab and honey beverage instead of coffee. Beyond the health benefits, I have really come to love the flavour. While it might be easy to compare it to matcha, because both are leaves, moringa is different. One it is caffeine-free. It has a rich grassy flavour with a hint of sourness — this is a very common flavour profile in many West African foods. The sourness pairs well with the bright flavour of lemon hence why the two have been paired together for this cookie.
What you will need for these Moringa lemon Cookies (and substitutions)
- Lemon: We will use the zest and juice for the cookie batter and frosting.
- Sugar: For this recipe, we are using white granulated sugar. Castor sugar should work okay but the weight per volume might be different. I do not recommend brown or any other alternative sugar as sugar (both the type or combination of sugar) in baked goods does not only serve the role of a sweetener but is important in the texture and cooking process of the cookie.
- Butter: I use a vegan-friendly butter for my recipes. Make sure the butter is soft and at room temperature.
- Apple Sauce: I use this as an egg replacer for extra moisture.
- Moringa: Moringa can be found at many natural health food store or any online retailer. I am inclined to say matcha as an alternative but the flavours are not quite the same. You can use matcha and it will be a delicious, yet different cookie.
- Cornstarch: this reduces spreading and makes the butter cookie nice and fluffy.
- Flour: This recipe is made with all-purpose flour. Cake flour can be a great alternative for a softer cookie.
- For gluten-free options, please use a 1-to-1 substitute. Some gluten-free flours might not absorb as well as gluten flours, so feel free to add less lemon juice or a few more tablespoons of gluten-free flour to get the dough into a ball.
- Salt: Salt helps to bring out flavour and balance out the sweetness.
How to make moringa lemon cookies
- Mix the lemon zest with the sugar — the natural oils on the zest add a noticeable lemon flavour to the sugar
- Cream the butter and sugar together
- Add in the apple sauce and lemon juice
- Add in the dry ingredients and combine into a dough
- Roll out the dough
- Cut out your preferred shapes
- Bake at 320°F for 12 minutes
- Cool
- Frost your moringa cookies with lemon-flavoured icing sugar
Storage
Storing baked and frosted cookies. These cookies stay fresh for a few days at room temperature. After which they can become stale. To avoid this, you can place them in an airtight container and put them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing raw cookie dough. You can freeze cookies at many stages of making it. Once your raw cookie dough has come together, you can roll it out and wrap it in plastic wrap before freezing. To bake, just thaw on your counter then proceed with the cooking instructions.
Freezing baked cookies. You can also bake the cookies and freeze them before frosting. Make sure they have fully cooled before freezing them. Once the cookies are frosted, you can also freeze them. Make sure to freeze them on a baking sheet before packing them into a bag or container. For double protection, separate cookies with parchment paper. To enjoy these frozen cookies, allow them to thaw on the counter or microwave for up to 30 seconds for a faster process.
Check out the rest of the Christmas Cookies
- Double Chocolate Teff Cookies (instead of teff, I used millet)
- Grains of Paradise Orange Cookie
- Roasted Millet and Peanut Cookie
- Dawa Dawa Chocolate Cookie
- Spiced Tamarind Sandwich Cookie
Moringa Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients
- the zest and juice of one lemon
- 85 g (1/2 cup) of white granulated sugar
- 113 g (1/2 cup) of unsalted room temperature butter
- 1 tablespoon (20g) of unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tablespoon of moringa powder
- 240 g (2 cups) of all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Frosting Ingredients
- 85 g (2/3 cup) of powder/icing sugar
Instructions
The cookie
- Mix half the zest with sugar to bring out the lemon flavour.
- Add the butter and combine with the zest sugar mix.
- Mix in the apple sauce as well as 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients (moringa, all-purpose flour, cornstarch and salt). Use a spatula and then your hands to bring the dough together to make a ball. If the dough does not come together after a few minutes of mixing, add another 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll until the dough is about 1/2 a centimetre thick.
- Preheat your oven to 320°F
- Use your favourite cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.
- Bake the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper for 12 minutes
- Once the cookies are baked, allow them to cool on a cooling rack and proceed with the frosting
The frosting
- In a small bowl, slowly mix the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with the powdered sugar. You want it to be a thick, but luscious, paste
- Pour the frosting into a pipping bag or ziplock, cut off a tiny piece of the corner, and frost the cookies based on personal preference. Before the frosting fully dries, you can sprinkle more lemon zest on top for added presentation.
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