Raw Beet Cookies

Happy Valentines Day!

As a little kid, I always thought of Valentines Day like another Halloween. I couldn't wait to see how much candy I would get from my friends and family. Now that I can't eat most candies, I have to make my own.

This year I made raw vegan beet cookies. The natural red color is a perfect substitute for food coloring. Most red food colorings are made from crushed beetles (yikes!). Made with only 3 ingredients, this simple cookie is earthy and delicious.

Ingredients (makes 30 medium sized cookies):

• 3 cups of raw nuts of your choice (I used a mixture of raw brazil nuts, cashews, and walnuts)
• 1 small organic beet 
• 20-30 medjool dates (depending on how sweet you want your cookies to be) 

Directions:
In a high speed blender, combine all of your ingredients and pulse until it forms a sticky pink dough. Spread the dough out onto a large sheet of parchment paper and leave it in the dehydrator overnight to harden. Once the tops and sides have hardened, cut out shapes using a cookie cutter, or cut into bars. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can bake them in the oven at 200 degrees until the sides become crispy. Enjoy!