Double chocolate-chip cookie dough bites (gluten free)

If you have active kids who love chocolate treats and you don’t want them eating all kinds of processed crap, here is an easy, wholesome recipe they will love. My teenage boys both ate them up without any care that they were made from healthier alternatives to traditional cookie dough. (And yes, they saw me making them with all my organic ingredients spread out on the counter.) There’s no refined sugars, no wheat, no butter, and they are meant to be eaten like raw cookie dough. I have added zero eggs or any other ingredients that need to be cooked before eating.

It took me a few tries to get this one right. I am learning that when you create something without gluten it can tend to get very dry after you refrigerate it. The third try was a charm as 4 huge dough balls quickly disappeared along with my coffee while I was photographing the final product. YUM! This recipe has only 7 ingredients and is truly so simple. You can add nuts, or any other fillings you love. There are so many health benefits to some of my ingredients here vs. using refined sugars and flours – for those of you who care to learn more about this, see the end of the post. Whether you care about that or not, I am certain you will have a hard time eating just one of these. Mmmmmm. Enjoy!

RECIPE TUNES (because everything is always better with music)

  Superposition by Young the GiantBoom by X Ambassadors • I’ve Been Waiting by Lil Peep & iLoveMakonnen (Ft. Fall Out Boy)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup almond flour (for a smoother texture, I recommend using the super-fine as seen in the ingredients images below the recipe)
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder (I prefer using dark chocolate cocoa powder for a richer chocolate flavor)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil (The clear coconut oil, photo in the ingredients images below the recipe)
  • 6 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use Hershey’s dark chocolate chips but any kind you like works great)

Makes 12-15 balls depending on how big you make them. 

LET’S COOK!

  1. Combine your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt) in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Add your oil and maple syrup, and combine until it is a very soft dough-like consistency.
    NOTE: It will be much softer/more oily than typical dough.
  3. Once all of your dry ingredients are mixed well into your wet ones, mix in your chocolate chips.
  4. Place your dough which will be more like a blob, softer than regular dough, into wax paper and put into an air tight container. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
  5. Once dough has chilled a while it should be the perfect consistency to make balls.
  6. You can eat them right away, but try not to eat them all at once.
    NOTE: I recommend keeping them refrigerated in the air tight container until they are all gone.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS VISUALS

HEALTHY FACTS:

Coconut sugar benefits:
Coconut palm sugar is harvested by tapping the blossoms of the coconut tree. The sweet nectar is then collected and condensed into pure golden sugar--one of the world's healthiest sweeteners. 

  • LOW GLYCEMIC & NUTRIENT RICH: This type of sugar is notably high in magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, contains 12 of the essential B vitamins, and is naturally low on the glycemic scale. These vitamins and minerals are necessary for many bodily functions such as muscle and bone growth, cognitive and immune development, as well as healthy cell production.
  • IMMUNITY BOOSTING: Coconut itself is a source of natural, "good" fats that contain lauric acid and are anti-microbial, immune-boosting, and cancer-fighting. It also helps the body process and metabolize sugars more efficiently--which is always beneficial to your waistline
  • HAPPY TUMMY:
    The sugar also contain inulin, which is a pre-biotic that "feeds" the probiotic in your digestive tract--here's to a happy tummy!

Almond flour benefits:
Almond flour is particularly rich in vitamin E, a group of fat-soluble compounds that act as antioxidants in your body. They prevent damage from harmful molecules called free radicals, which accelerate aging and increase your risk of heart disease and cancer (4).
In fact, several studies have linked higher vitamin E intakes to lower rates of heart disease and Alzheimer's. Magnesium is another nutrient that's abundant in almond flour. It's involved in many processes in your body and may provide several benefits, including improved blood sugar control, reduced insulin resistance and lower blood pressure

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