Cinnamon clove cookie
Because I was not in the mood for deep frying – it does make your whole house smelly – , my variation on the traditional golabjamoun cookie from Zambia is a version that can be baked in the oven. I mixed some extra flour into the dough to make it dryer and added some baking powder to make the cookies rise better. A pinch of ground cloves – a popular spice in Zambia – for extra flavor and a little oil for the texture, and the cookie is ready for the oven. To finish the cookie I sprinkled it generously with sugar and decorated it with an extra pinch of ground cloves. The cookie will stay a bit soft but the sugar gives it a thin crunchy crust. Don’t be tempted to bake the cookies longer to get a crispier cookie: I tried it and the result was tough and hard!
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Cinnamon clove cookie
For ± 30 cookies
500 grams (16 ounces) of sweet potato (2 large ones)
125 ml (½ cup) of milk
2 cinnamon sticks
250 grams of flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sunflower oil
¼ teaspoon ground cloves + extra for sprinkling over
pinch of salt
75 grams sugar + extra for sprinkling over
Peel the potatoes.
Cut into small cubes and bring to the boil with the milk and 2 cinnamon sticks in a saucepan. Boil with the lid on the pan for ± 15 min. until soft and cooked.
Put in a bowl and mash finely. Preheat oven to 190°C.
Let cool slightly and mix with the flour, baking powder, oil, cloves, salt and sugar. Add a little more flour if the dough is too wet.
Form little rolls of ± 20 grams of dough and put on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.
Sprinkle with extra sugar and cloves and bake in the middle of the oven for ± 10 min. until done, The outside will be slightly crisp but the inside remains soft.
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