Two “different” bickie recipes that are tasty and healthy.

[Epacris]

I’m trying to reduce the amount of salt and sugar we eat (but not fat, we like fat), so I’ve started making my own bickies.

The first one is a modified Jessica Seinfeld Deceptively Delicious recipe (modified because I can never follow someone else’s recipe, I always have to change it in some way to make it my own). The second one is a recipe I made up all by myself inspired by her.

Choc-chip-chick bickies
125g butter (room temperature)
1 cup dextrose
1 egg
1 can chickpeas (rinsed, drained and lightly crushed)
1 cup choc-chips
1 cup rolled oats
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Pumpkin, carrot and craisin bickies
125g butter (room temperature)
1 cup dextrose
1 egg
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 medium carrot, grated
1 cup craisins
½ cup bran
1 cup rolled oats
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Pre-heat fan-forced oven to 180 degrees.
Cream butter and dextrose with an electric mixer. Add egg and mix again.
Add all other ingredients, sift in flour and baking powder.
Mix thoroughly but lightly with your hands.
Roll into flattened balls. Arrange on baking paper lined trays.
Bake for approx 15mins (more or less). Cool on a wire rack.
Makes approx 40.

Dextrose is a sugar (table sugar - sucrose/fructose) alternative. It is also sold as powdered glucose. It is available in home brewing sections (I think Big W has a home brewing section but Woolworths and Coles don’t have them anymore) and some health food shops. It’s pretty cheap, much cheaper than Natvia (Natvia is a “natural” non-sugar sweetener). If you don’t have dextrose maybe go for 3/4 cup sugar or brown sugar (but I haven’t tested this).

I like to lightly crush the chickpeas making sure some are left whole. I often can’t be bothered pureeing the pumpkin so I just get a chunk of pumpkin (about as big as the carrot) chop it up into small pieces and microwave it with a bit of water on high for 3 or 4 minutes. I then drain off the excess water and chop it up really finely. I spread it out on the chopping board and it cools quickly so by the time I get everything else done I can add without it melting the butter.

I’m sure you could use a kitchen aid or similar to do the whole thing but I don’t have one so I just use my eclectic beater and my hands.

They don’t make nice crispy bickies, they’re more like little cakes but IMHO are tasty none-the-less. They don’t keep well, they go soggy after a couple of days.

[RhiChiChi]

Thanks for sharing. There is a website called The Naturopaths Kitchen and she does alot of recipe modifications too (gluten free/sugar free/egg free etc...)

[nothing2lose]

Rach, i bought some natvia when I did my carb detox a couple of weeks ago (which I need to repeat!) I found it still had a bit of an aftertaste. Do you find the same???

[Epacris]

Thanks RCC, will check it out.

N2L - yeah, it sure 'aint sugar, but the aftertaste isn't as bad as other sweeteners IMO. I can hardly taste it in baking and I make a hot chocolate with full cream milk, 2 heaped teaspoons unsweetened coco and 1 teaspoon Natvia and I actually like it, maybe even more than ovaltine

I should say too, these recipes make chewy sort of bickies, they’re not lovely and crunchy, but you can’t have everything.

[ummAadam]

if i dont have natvia, can i just use all sugar? how much would i use?

[Epacris]

I’ve been making these for a while now and I keep tinkering. I’ve edited my first post with my revised recipes.