No Flour Baked Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Dough Cookies (Vegan!)
These have no flour, no oil, no white sugar and are gluten free, dairy free, grain free, and vegan! And did I mention that I am a meat eater, dairy eater, and sometime grain and gluten eater? So why, you ask, would I make and eat these cookies? BECAUSE THEY'RE GOOD. Very good. In fact 'good' doesn't even begin to describe them: I'd actually refer to them as sinful(ly healthy). I was originally skeptical when experimenting with the recipe I saw on Pinterest, but after making them I am a full convert. The best part though is that they're made with chickpeas. So instead of using flour, sugar, and a bunch of eggs (which can be fattening in high quantities) to build your dough base, you're getting a bean that is full of protein, fiber, and copper. And it is very full of folate and manganese, which help in red blood cell production and blood circulation as well as keeping bones strong and synthesizing fatty acids.
This is a one pot recipe...or in this case, one processor. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and add one 15oz. can of chick peas to a food processor with 1/4 cup of the best honey you can find. I made these at a friend's house, and forgot to bring my honey, but was pleasantly surprised to find he had a great local honey that was made from orange blossoms. Talk about complex flavor profile! Now for the peanut butter. You need natural peanut butter. As in the kind that's just peanuts and salt. No JIF here. (You can make your own by putting roasted peanuts in a processor with salt and pureeing for about 10 minutes until smooth.) The reason for the natural is that if you get the over processed kind, they add extra oils to make it smoother (so check the ingredients list to make sure it only has peanuts and/or salt). If you put that in these cookies without any flour to circumvent the oil, they will separate into a slick mess. Add 1/4 c plus 2T of the peanut butter to the mix. Then add 2tsp of baking powder for a little leavening, 2tsp of pure vanilla extract, 1.5T of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Puree until smooth and the chick peas are completely broken down.
DISCLAIMER: This dough will be very thick and sticky (we're talking honey and peanut butter here, people!) and most likely form a big ball in the processor. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and do a quick blitz again to make sure everything is incorporated.
Next remove the blade, and stir in 1/2c of the darkest chocolate chips you can stand (the darker the better, and the darker the healthier). Once you have a uniform batter, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then pour some unsweetened coconut flakes onto a plate. Form the dough into 1" cookies, roll them in the coconut and place them about 1/2" apart on the sheet.
(TayTip: anytime you're working with a sticky, messy dough, keep a mug of water handy to dip your fingers in. If your fingers are wet, less dough will stick to them.) Bake for 10 minutes until the chocolate has melted and the coconut is toasted. Makes 21 cookies.
Ooey-gooey chocolate and peanut butter goodness. Everyone knows the dough is better than the cookie, right? That's what makes these so good: the texture is smooth and thick and breaks apart easily like dough. Not to mention there are only 71 calories, 8g carbs, and 4g of fat per cookie. Hello healthy decadence!
Buon appetito!
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