Recipe: Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
There has been a lot of hot debate around the gluten-free “craze”. There are many people out there who legitimately have Celiac disease and an intolerance for gluten. Coming anywhere near it results in disastrous gastronomic consequences. There are also many people out there who are convinced that gluten is “evil” and that they “have a sensitivity” to it. It’s debatable as to whether that sensitivity is imagined or if they have actually been able to prove this through blood work with a doctor.
What do I think? I think it completely depends on the chemistry of the individual. I’ve inherited a very efficient digestive system when it comes to bread and pasta. However, I think that minimizing your intake of white flour and even grains overall is a good general template that forces you to look away from packaged foods and focus on incorporating more nutrient dense foods into your diet, such as eggs, avocados and broccoli. However, sometimes I really get a craving for old fashioned chocolate chip cookies. I adapted my own recipe from this one from Slim Palate. (Slim Palate’s own story is so inspiring! I highly recommend you check out his blog and recipes). I found I needed to tweak the original recipe a bit to really get the flavor right on these cookies. The result is a deeply satisfying, wholesome cookie that is healthy enough to eat for breakfast, and hearty enough that just one or two are all you will need to eat.
The most brilliant thing about this recipe is that it uses fresh ground pecan flour, a genius idea that really mimicks the flavor of good old chocolate chip cookie dough! Not only are they gluten-free, they are grain free and very low in sugar.
1 cup almond flour
1 cup pecans
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup kerrygold unsalted butter, softened (you can use coconut oil but it’s not going to taste as authentic)
1/8 cup honey (I halved the amount Slim Palate recommends because it was too sweet for me. He also recommends 1/2 tsp liquid stevia as an alternative but I find Stevia to taste bitter.)
1/2 tsp salt (my addition)
1/4 tsp ground vanilla bean (my addition)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pulse pecans in a food processor until you get a very fine flour that’s turning slightly to nut butter.
In a bowl, mix almond flour, baking soda, ground pecans, and salt.
In a small bowl mix egg, vanilla bean, honey and softened butter.
Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
Fold in chocolate chunks.
Spoon cookie dough evenly as drops a little over a tablespoon in size onto parchment lined baking sheet.
Place in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until they are slightly firm to the touch and begin to brown around the edges.
Cool for @ 10 minutes.
McKenna Rowe is the Founder of Chakra 5 Mobile Yoga, an experienced team of corporate yoga instructors that provides mobile yoga classes on location and by appointment at businesses, schools and organizations throughout greater Los Angeles. Call us to start your corporate wellness program today: 310-853-3885.