Food should be nourishing and delicious. It sounds simple, right? With sweets especially, it can be so hard to find treats that are as good to eat as they are for you. My friend Laurel, the baker behind the grain-free and refined-sugar-free (and sometimes vegan) goodness known as Sweet Laurel Bakery, has shared some of her simplest and most satisfying recipes with me. My favorite thing about her recipes is that they’re always made with whole ingredients, no funny stuff or filler, so even the biggest sweet-tooth loves them.
Coconut and chocolate together just makes me happy. These little cookies aren’t classic chewy chocolate chip cookies, they’re more like little shortbread cookies made with coconut – tender but crisp. The shards of dark chocolate punctuate the cookies perfectly and make these my favorite accompaniment to coffee.
INGREDIENTS
For about 3 dozen cookies
2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (we used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup homemade chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350.
Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Separately, whisk together all wet ingredients and stir into the dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine. Place one to two inch balls of batter onto greased and parchment lined baking pans and lightly press down. Bake for 7-9 minutes, until just golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and place the cookies on a cooling rack.
INGREDIENTS (HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIPS)
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate (100% cacao), (organic is preferable)
1 tablespoon agave (or more depending on how dark you like it)
DIRECTIONS
Break baking chocolate into one inch pieces and place in thick saucepan or double boiler. Over a very low heat, melt baking chocolate. Once melted, take off heat and add agave and stir. Pour chocolate onto parchment paper and spread into a rectangle, about 8×12 inches. Place parchment in freezer. Once hardened (will take a few minutes), break of pieces and use as needed.
