Chapter Five

Indistinguishable From A Regular Cookie

These cookies have a base of deep rich chocolate, and are instantly perked with maple sugar, which brings a sweet lightness that neutralizes the darkness of dutch cocoa. Coconut sugar plays with the espresso, and almond flour guarantees a fudgy exterior indistinguishable from a regular cookie. No one would ever know these are void of gluten, refined sugar, or dairy and they are so insanely delicious you’ll be left thinking about them even after they're all gone. Link in bio!

If you’re trying to be healthier and need a sweet to get through the week, or if you're trying to make a batch of cookies for your family and want to be able to trick them into eating an alternative to they’re favorite dessert I promise these will not fail you. They taste just like any brownie cookie, the secret is really good dark chocolate and maple sugar. A lot of unrefined sugars can be heavy or have a richer taste but maple sugar brings a sticky sweet light flavor to these cookies that it tastes just like a cane sugar based cookie.

‍

Chocolate- To make an amazing healthy chocolate based dessert I recommend Hu’s baking chocolate. It’s vegan, paleo, free from refined sugar, dairy, and sugar alcohols but it's also incredibly delicious. By far the best dark chocolate on the market, their snacking bars are delicious too, my favorite is the vanilla bean cashew butter. It is hands down the most delicious dark chocolate I have ever had and that's coming from a milk chocolate fanatic! Hu’s baking chocolate when combined with avocado and melted down creates a luxuriously thick liquid to start off your cookies, this base is what makes it so true and rich in its flavor. Top the finished dough with your favorite dark chocolate before baking, i recommend Ghirardelli 70% or Hu’s Vanilla bean and cashew butter bars. You can also just top it with some Hu’s baking chocolates!

Sugars- You want to avoid too many liquids in this recipe to achieve that brownie like texture, especially a crispy crinkly top which is why maple sugar is vital in this recipe. I find that it's a secret punch of sweet lightness when coupled with the coconut sugar to deliver the balance with the dutch cocoa, espresso, and dark chocolate. It mimics the taste of cane sugar in this cookie so perfectly that it's so hard to tell this cookie is meant to be healthier! Coconut sugar is the main sugar used in this cookie, but the maple sugar's sweetness makes all the difference and I think it's absolutely necessary. I usually get my maple sugar from Thrive Market, but your local health food store should carry it!

Eggs- These eggs stop this recipe from being vegan as I have not tried this recipe with a flax egg but it's worth a try if you want to make that change! The eggs here are important as they are whipped with the sugars for a good 4-6 minutes in order to create a frothy texture. This should help you achieve your crinkly or crispy top!

Flours- The main flour used in this recipe is almond as it helps create that fudgy chewy soft interior. I also use a tablespoon of oat flour but it's not necessary if you don't have access to it!

Dutch Cocoa- Dutch cocoa helps achieve that rich, intense color and flavor, it also pairs really well with the espresso powder. The dutch cocoa plays a big role in pulling some of that excess moisture in the dough to help balance the fudginess and create a structured cookie.

Espresso Powder- Anything with chocolate needs some espresso, it's a match made in heaven. The flavor of the espresso brings the true deeper taste of chocolate and coffee flavors always pair so well with coconut sugar and maple! Make sure you add some, to access the full potential of this cookie!