Rose Hips and Blood Orange Super Cookies

In the mood for a cookie but don’t want to cheat on your diet? Well don’t pass up this incredibly healthy and delicious high fiber, antioxidant goodie. I drink rose hips and hibiscus tea all winter, usually mixing my own recipe with dried orange peels. And when I feel even an inkling of a cold, I drink this elixir every 2 hours as hot as I can stand it. For me it works every time.

While winter begs for high vitamin C, please be cautious as it can interact with medications. Too much vitamin C can affect the kidneys, hormones and blood thinners. The benefits in fighting inflammation and boosting the immune system needs to be smartly weighed out. These cookies like everything in life should be eaten in moderation.

I buy the rose hips loose in the bulk herbal section of Sprouts. You can order them on line or buy rose hip tea and open the bags. It’s super cheap loose, so that’s the most cost effective. If you order them on line, they generally come in whole berries and you may have to soak them longer and deseed before dicing and adding them to the cookies.

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Rose Hips and Blood Orange Super Cookies

1 cup raw oats (I use the extra thick)

2 blood oranges (juiced with pulp)*

1/8 cup rose hips (soaked for 2 hours in filtered water)

2 pitted dates (soaked for 4-6 hours in filtered water)

Soak dates for 4-6 hours in filtered water. Soak rose hips in filtered water for 2 hours, deseed and dice if necessary (take out any stems or husks as well).

I cut and scooped out the orange like I would a grapefruit and with a fork crushed the pulp. Place in a heat resistant bowl and dehydrate for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. This is to concentrate the flavor and thicken the juice. This is not necessary but it like how it makes the consistency. You can use any type of orange you want, but you want to choose a variety that is sweet, juicy with a strong orange flavor (CaraCara’s are too mild, I tried).

Smash the dates and add the oats, blood orange juice and pulp and then add the rose hips. Form into balls and flatten. Place in the dehydrator and bake for 1-2 hours at 115 degrees. This is also not necessary, it’s only to dry the outside to keep the cookie together.

You can add seeds or other fruits. If you do, you will need to dehydrate an extra hour or it will fall apart. If this happens, add “milk” of your choice and turn it into cereal. There is no way to screw this up.

*You can zest the orange before juicing and dehydrate the rind. Add to your favorite tea (I add it to my peppermint tea for a delicious variation on a simple favorite).