Back to school and work lunchbox ideas (part three!)

Looking for some new lunchbox ideas? Part three of our four-part lunchbox inspo series features a yummo nut butter and jam-drop cookie.

Lunchbox filler ideas:

• Sushi
• Dried Apricots
• Mixed fruit (whatever is in season)
• Tomatoes
• Pistachios
• Nut Butter and Jam Thumbprint Cookies (recipe below)

Lunchbox recipe:

Nut Butter + Jam Thumbprint Cookies (Makes 16–20 cookies)

• 1 cup nut butter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 150g / 5.3oz oats
• 100g / 3.5oz buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup milk of your choice
• approx. 1 cup jam

For the raspberry chia jam (Makes around 2 cups) 

• 250g / 8.8oz frozen raspberries, thawed
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tsp maple syrup

The jam recipe will make more than you need. Rad, spare jam! Oh, and regular jam works just as well.

What to do: 

1. Make the chia jam by crushing the raspberries in a medium bowl with the back of a fork.
2. Stir through the chia seeds and maple syrup until everything is well mixed.
3. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to swell, giving it a stir once or twice every so often to make sure the chia seeds don’t clump together.
4. Store the chia jam in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
5. To make the cookies, preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
6. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
7. In a small saucepan, heat the nut butter, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla paste over low heat, stirring until the mixture is well mixed. Set aside.
8. Place the oats into a blender, or the bowl of a food processor, and blitz until they become flour.
9. Tip the oat flour into a medium-sized bowl and stir in the buckwheat flour, baking powder and salt.
10. Add the nut butter mixture and the milk into the dry ingredients and stir well.
11. Roll heaped tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the lined baking trays, leaving some room between each ball.
12. Flatten the balls slightly with your hand, and use your thumb to press a dip into the centre of each ball.
13. Place a teaspoonful or so of jam into each dip.
14. Bake in the oven for 15–17 minutes, or until the cookies are golden.
15. Allow to cool slightly on the tray for a few minutes before eating.

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The recipe was originally published in Lunch Lady Magazine Issue 10. Recipe by Amber Rossouw and photography by Jacinta Moore.

For more lunch box ideas see part one and part two and part four.