FRUITY LITTLE NUMBERS

Finish a meal with these juicy puds

‘The fresh berries plus omega-3-packed chia seeds make these a healthy, more filling upgrade on the dodgers I used to have in my lunchbox,’ says Smart

FOR THE JAM

Ingredients (makes 320g): • 35g strawberries,

stalks removed

• 2 tbsp chia seeds

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

Method:

1. Apron on? Good. Now, chop the strawberries and place in a medium pan with 2 tbsp of water. 2. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Mash the strawberries with a fork and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and stir in the chia seeds, lemon juice and maple syrup. Allow the mixture to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. If you prefer a smoother consistency, pour into a blender and blitz for a few seconds until smooth. This can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

FOR THE DODGERS

Ingredients:

• 150g ground almonds

• 260g buckwheat flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• pinch of pink Himalayan

salt or sea salt

• 125ml coconut oil, melted • 125ml maple syrup

• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract • 1 tsp vanilla powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3 and line two large baking sheets with greaseproof paper. 2. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. 3. Combine all the wet ingredients and pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients; mix until a dough forms. If the mixture is too wet, place it in the fridge to chill and firm up. 4. Flour a clean surface and roll the dough out to 5mm thick. Use a 4cm circular cookie cutter to cut out 50 circles, re-rolling as needed.

5. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out small hearts in the centres of 25 of the pastry circles; place all 50 circles on the lined baking sheets (use a spatula or palette knife to do this so they don’t break).

6. Bake in the oven for

10-12 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool then sandwich together the biscuits with ½ tsp of jam. Scoff ’em down while judging the plebs with their shop-bought packets.