Ingredients for approximately 10 biscuits

150 gr Mulino Marello Brown Rice Flour

100 gr Mulino Marello buckwheat flour

30 g tapioca flour

Approximately 100 ml rice drink

40 ml rice oil

1 tablespoon almond butter (optional)

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

1 tablespoon of cocoa

half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Cinnamon powder to taste

Powdered ginger to taste

Procedure

Mix together the flours, bicarbonate of soda and coconut sugar. Add the oil, the vegetable drink and the almond butter. You must obtain a dough that can be worked by hand. Divide the dough in half. On one add the cocoa and cinnamon and mix well, on the other add just a little ginger. Form rolls of dough, braid and give the classic Christmas stick shape.

Cook in the oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Curiosity

I'm sure you know them, Christmas sticks only those red and white sugar sweets, the Candy Canes, typical of American holidays. They have also been popular here for several years and can be prepared in the form of nice biscuits.

It seems that these cheerful sweets were born coincidentally in Germany, by a singing teacher who was unable to keep the children of his choir at bay during the religious function. He decided to keep them happy with sweets, but since you couldn't give sweets in church, he gave them the particular shape of a stick, so he couldn't be accused of giving sweets to children! The Christmas sticks then arrived in America via a German migrant who used them to decorate the tree. They liked it and as America always does, a business was born!

The recipe I have chosen to offer you for these holidays are Christmas stick biscuits, made in a genuine way with gluten-free flours rich in fibre, without butter and without the significant amount of sugar usually added. I preferred to personalize these biscuits with spices, because for me, at Christmas, sweets must smell like cinnamon and leave a delicate spicy flavor in the mouth!

These biscuits are therefore suitable to be eaten without sins of gluttony, to be enjoyed at any time of the day, accompanied by tea, herbal teas and mulled wine.

The classic stick shape allows us to add a ribbon and hang the biscuits on the tree, but we can use them as a placeholder on the plate at Christmas dinner or as a gift, perhaps in a nicely decorated jar, for friends and relatives.

Recipe by Doctor Isabella Vendrame, food coach psychologist, www.isabellavendrame.com