Coconut Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

I've been really good with my sugar, gluten and dairy free diet lately. It's the only thing that keeps my body from reacting with inflammation, caused by a diet high in carbohydrates, sugar and unfortunately, antibiotic use. And right now at the beginning of the winter holiday season, I have always been susceptible to strep throat, so no sugar keeps it at bay. I also think I might have food intolerances, hence the gluten free part of this. I've been seeing a naturopathic doctor to pinpoint the cause, and so far prior to tests, she suspects food intolerances and candida as well.

I really like my naturopathic doctor. For those of us suffering from the unknown and what many traditional doctors sometimes dismiss as depression or  being "all in your head," when you know that's not the case, you look for someone that will really listen and care. With naturopathic doctors, you get a lot more one-on-one time. The idea is to investigate the root cause of disease, not cover up the symptoms which is what takes place in most cases of western medicine (or at least in my experiences). I could continue on about this, but will save that for a separate post another time.

Onto the reason you are probably here  - COOKIES!

These cookies are good for those following a paleo lifestyle. Most paleo peeps don't eat grains or sugar. While I've used some sugar, it is quite minimal.





When most people mention "sugar free," in their blogs, they are referring to no refined sugar.  Many still sweeten their recipes with the sweetness from bananas, dates, juices, agave etc. For someone with a candida overgrowth, sugar is sugar, regardless of where it comes from: cane, fruit, or an artificial kind like aspartame or stevia. So the most sugar I usually have comes from enjoying the subtle sweetness of coconut milk, butternut squash, and the sweetness in onions and red bell peppers, for example.  Or like in this cookie recipe, dark chocolate.

I found this particular recipe by a google search, and found a blog called ChocolateandCarrots.com .  I wanted cookies like these using a base of coconut flour. However, I altered the recipe a bit by omitting all sugar except for a bit of Sugar in The Raw sprinkled on top of each cookie just before baking, and using a bit of real butter, dark chocolate mini-chunks and walnuts for crunch.  I found 70% dark chocolate at Whole Foods; it comes in a bakers bag just like Nestle Tollhouse Morsels would, but with barely any sugar - about 4g per tablespoon. And, they are dairy free. I also cut the recipe in half - since this was the first time making them I didn't want a huge batch to go to waste if they weren't a success.  In fact, they turned out quite good, and made my whole house smell fabulous!

Ingredients

Below is the whole recipe - if you cut it in half you will get about 12-15 cookies.

1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean
4 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or whatever milk you prefer)
1/2 cup sugar ( I omitted all sugar except for Sugar in the Raw sprinkle on top of each cookie)
1 cup coconut flour
dash of salt ( I used pink Himalayan salt)
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips  - I used Whole Foods 70% dark chocolate mini-chunks instead

1/4 cup walnuts for crunch (if you like)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line two cookie sheets with a silpat mat or parchment paper and set aside. You can also grease a cookie sheet.
In a small bowl, mix the coconut oil or butter, vanilla extract, eggs and almond milk together.
In a larger bowl, stir the sugar (again I didn't add except for as a topping), coconut flour and salt together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chunks.
Scoop by the tablespoon, roll into a ball with your hands and flatten out.
Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly brown.

Delicious!  One person on the blog site said she only ate three of these compared to the usual six or so she would eat with traditional cookies since coconut flour fills you up fast. That can be a good thing :-) 

Original recipe idea courtesy of ChocolateandCarrots.com