Get all the cozy warmth of a big mug of hot chocolate... in cookie form!
If you’ve been good this year and want to indulge in some holiday cookies, whip up a batch of these chewy chocolate cookies. While they aren’t 100-percent Paleo and would definitely be considered part of your 15 percent (according to our 85-15 rule), you can feel good that these “cheat” cookies are made without any refined sugar, flour, or dairy.
To make these cookies, we use almond flour instead of regular flour, and sweeten the dough with maple syrup (or honey) and coconut sugar. It’s not something we’d recommend having often, but these treats are certainly better for you than anything you’ll find at the store.
Start with high quality dark chocolate, at least 80-percent cacao. Melt it with coconut oil until smooth, but keep an eye on it—if you melt it too long, you’ll wind up with a pasty mess. As soon as the oil and chocolate melt together, set it aside to cool.
Next, mix the dry ingredients together, and whisk the wet ingredients separately. Add the chocolate to the wet ingredients before slowly incorporating wet to dry. The dough will be thick, so we recommend chilling it for about 10 minutes to help make it workable.
Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and roll in cacao powder before shaping on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Now for the hard part: Let them cool before enjoying!
Tip: If you don’t have flax meal, you can add two additional tablespoons of almond flour instead.
