It’s the first day of advent, which – for many of us – means the beginning of 30 days of indulgence followed by a painfully abstemious January, but Kult Kitchen founder Moon Bedeaux suggests taking a different approach to holiday eating this year. “There are ways to treat yourself without going totally overboard,” the London-based holistic trainer and recipe alchemist tells Vogue over the phone in the middle of prep for her pop-up at White City House this weekend. “The simplest way to eat a little more healthily during the holidays is to make things yourself from scratch; there are so many processed sugars and refined oils in most pre-prepared foods. That being said, if there’s something you really love, of course you should have a little bit of it at this time of year. As ever, it’s all about balance.”
Bedeaux specialises in making moreish treats that are best described as “incidentally” gluten-free, vegan and superfood-filled; her dark chocolate truffles – which can be infused with adaptogens – are a perfect after-dinner treat, while her banana loaf is a Kult Kitchen bestseller. (For now, Bedeaux is doing postal drops just once a month as she makes everything herself by hand, with plans to increase the frequency of deliveries in the near future.)
“I’m from four different countries, and I’m always inspired by what I see on my travels,” she explains of her inspirations when developing her recipes. “When I was 21, I opened up an açaí stall in Camden Market after visiting Brazil, but these days I look a lot at what’s happening in the food scenes in New York and Los Angeles. I did a research trip to the States with a friend who’s a herbalist in 2019, just before the pandemic hit, and a lot of that knowledge carried over to Kult Kitchen when I launched it earlier this year.”
Here, Bedeaux shares her recipe for a guilt-free Christmas cookie, which is refined sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan. Not much of a baker? There’s still time to order a batch for delivery as part of Kult Kitchen’s December drop, too.
Moon Bedeaux
Cranberry & Orange Spiced Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 10 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp of ground flax seeds
- 4 tbsp of filtered water
- 130 grams coconut sugar
- 90g of coconut oil, melted
- Zest of half a medium orange
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- ⅓ teaspoon of sea salt
- ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 85 grams organic buckwheat flour
- ½ a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 115 grams organic gluten-free oats
- 40 grams vegan chocolate chunks, preferably sweetened with coconut sugar
- 40 grams organic naturally sweetened cranberries, chopped in half
Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set on top of oven until ready to use. Combine the filtered water and ground flaxseed, then set aside for a few minutes for the mixture to thicken and form the flax “egg”. This will be your binding ingredient. Mix together the coconut sugar and melted coconut oil until creamy. Grate in the orange zest, then pour in the flax “egg”, cinnamon, sea salt, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Add in your buckwheat flour, bicarbonate of soda and rolled oats, and mix until smooth. The texture should be slightly sticky but still mouldable. Fold in the chocolate chunks and chopped cranberries with a spatula.
Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop the batter onto the lined baking sheet (each cookie should be about two tablespoons of mixture). Shape the dough slightly, focusing primarily on rounding the edges, and gently work the chocolate and cranberries closer to the centre. Don’t worry too much if the chocolate chips aren’t budging. The aim is to form more of a “cookie” shape, but avoid overworking the edges, as you don’t want them to crisp out too much – they will naturally flatten out further in the heat of the oven.
Place in the oven to bake for nine to 12 minutes – keeping an eye on them throughout. The edges should be golden brown with a slightly paler centre, and the cookies will be soft to the touch. Let them cool for approximately 10 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
