Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
Remember how I said, not too long ago, that I had an incredible irresistible craving for one of these decadent cookies, right here?
Now of course, making the original version was completely out of the question, ESPECIALLY during Lent. But I had to have one at all costs.
HAD TO!
NOW!
Recreating them was going to be quite the challenge!
I mean, really… baking an exceptionally decadent cookie, using no butter, no sugar, and no flour? Whoa! Seriously… is that even POSSIBLE?
Well, last year, I would’ve been the first one to say: “No way. Anyone who would attempt that is just plain out of their mind. And if they did succeed, the resulting cookies would be hard as a rock, crumbly as dirt and taste like hay”
But now, well, I have to admit that I completely changed my tune. I can tell you first hand that the task is ENTIRELY realisable.
Not only that, but the resulting cookie has a texture that is soft but dense and chewy and a taste that is incredibly intense, sweet and satisfying.
Don’t believe me? Hey, you don’t have to take my word for it… just check them out!
Not only did I recreate this decadent cookie, I made it even BETTER!
Alright, I admit… It does not look AS pretty as the original, but seriously, its texture and flavor are simply out of this world.
Hey, even my coworkers said so.
They don’t often get to taste the food that I make, because, well, quite frankly, I often find it really intimidating to have “normal” people taste my “super clean and healthy” stuff. But, hey, I had a whole bunch of cookies, and well, they were eyeing them big time and asked if they could try one.
Almost reluctantly, I let them have a taste. I was half expecting them to say that, well, no offense, but they were say… not bad, but not their cup of tea.
My jaw dropped when they said that the cookies were plain d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!
They found their texture to be almost like that of fudge, or a VERY dense brownie, and their flavor to be so very intense, deep and seriously chocolaty!
I think that they would’ve eaten the whole pile, if I’d only let them!
Hmpft… now don’t push your luck, guys! The cookies are mine, mine, mine!
Now would you believe me if I told that, not only did I satisfy my craving by having one or two cookies one one occasion, but I even dared have them as a morning snack all week?
Right in the middle of Lent? Oh yes, I did!
There was no reason for me not to! They contain NO grains, NO unhealthy fats and NO refined sugar whatsoever! In fact, they contain nothing but wholesome ingredients that are super good for you!
So here you have it: a cookie that’s good enough to be called a healthy snack or even breakfast on the go!
Of course, you could also have them for dessert if you wanted to. Don’t let me stop you!
Now I only need to work on making them look pretty.
Which means I’ll have to make them again.
Oh! What a shame!
Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnut meal
- ½ cup almond meal
- 1 cup extra dark cocoa powder
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 ripe avocado
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 cup dates, chopped
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cacao nibs
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup Brazil nuts, chopped
Instructions
- Whisk together nut meals, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a food processor, mix avocado, vanilla, coconut oil, dates and egg. Process until smooth and creamy.
- Add flour mixture in three portions, mixing each just until incorporated. Do not overprocess.
- Transfer to large mixing bowl and stir in cocoa nibs, Brazil nuts and cranberries.
- Refrigerate dough for a few hours until firm.
- Place the dough on a clean work surface and divide in four. Place each piece over plastic film, and shape into logs about 10 centimeters long. Refrigerate for about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut dough into 3 pieces, and cut each piece into 3 slices. Flatten and shape cookies slightly with your fingers, as they will not really move or expand while in the oven.
- Place cookies 1½ inches apart on baking sheets and bake for about 9 minutes, or until cookies look barely baked. They will be very soft and fragile but do not overbake.
- Delicately place cookies on a cooling rack and allow to cook completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Nutrition
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54 Comments on “Double Dark Chocolate Cookies”
Wow! These look amazing! I actually really like the rustic, chunky look of them as well.
Are they still healthy if I eat a dozen at once? 🙂
These cookies look great! Did you grind your own Hazelnut meal or can you find that at health food stores? Also, what brand of dried cranberries did you use that contained no sugar? Thanks!
Thanks Robyn! I happened to grind my own hazelnut meal, but you can also buy it ready made in most health food stores, or even in the “organic” section of your grocery store (if they have one, that is!) As for the cranberries, look for the apple juice sweetened variety such as Eden Foods’. Again, health store or organic section…
These look wonderful! I have homegrown hazelnuts at home, would I have to peel them efore making hazelnut meal? What about cacao nibs, can I leave them out? Honestly, I don’t even know what those are!
I don’t think you would need to peel them, for I guess home grown are just the same as storebought, only a little fresher and better I guess. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what a hazelnut looks like right out of the tree… and I’m not sure that I would have the kind of patience that is required to crack them all open! 😉
As for cacao nibs, you could very well leave them out, or even replace them with a good quality, dark chocolate chip! Cacao nibs are cacao beans that have been crushed to tiny little pieces. If you ever come across them, you should really consider giving them a try! They’re just so cool. Their texture is out of this world. They feel kinda cold, creamy and crunchy at the same time. Worth a try! 🙂
No way! I just made chocolate cookies yesterday with all hazelnut flour, coconut oil, dates, and cocoa powder and honey (but it was only 3 tablespoons!). Mine don’t have avocado or egg and mine weren’t fudgy so I guess that’s what I was missing! I’m all about fudgy things so I will definitely be making these! I’m so excited for these! I’m already positive that I’ll love them. I have several avocados waiting to be used. 🙂
What kind did you use? One of those little Haas avocados or a normal big one?
Wow, great minds think alike! You know what? I think the avocado would be responsible for that fudgy texture. It was my first time baking with them and I am really looking forward to using them again. Next in line, I think, will be a decadent, fudgy, dense chocolate cake, just the way I like them! With a creamy frosting, of course!
And what do you mean, normal big ones? The “normal” avocados, around here, would be the Haas variety… you guys are weird! 😉
I used 3 avocados on chocolate avocado pudding just now but I set aside one that wasn’t quite ripe enough for these cookies. 🙂
And really?! Haas are the normal ones? Shoot. That means I’ve been using the wrong size. The ones we have here are from Israel and Africa and they’re a lot bigger. Maybe 75% bigger? And the skin is completely smooth. They’re just different.
And yes yes yes! Please make a fudgy dense chocolate cake! Grain free too. 🙂
Gee, I had no idea there were so many varieties of avocado! I knew there were a few, but that’s a lot! Pretty much the only ones we can find around here are the Haas variety. I got my hands on a bigger, much bigger one, much like the one you described, a few months back, but I didn’t care much for it. Maybe it wasn’t in its prime when I ate it, but I don’t know… I found it to be rather bland and “watery”, not quite as rich and creamy as the Haas I’m so used to. I’d love to have the option to choose from different varieties, though. That sure would be nice.
And say, Ms. Erin, is that an official challenge? You know what I’m thinking? How’s about I try and healtify THIS BABY? Oooooh, did I ever tell you just how much I like me a good challenge? So, what do you think?
Yeah, there’s a lot of them. Almost every time we’ve gone shopping in the past few weeks (since avocados are new to us) there’s been a lot of, “Look! They have a new kind of avocado today!” We can only get the Haas ones at the more decent stores and they’re always consistently good but the other types aren’t.
Haha. You want to healthify *that*? It’s all butter, sugar and chocolate! Good luck with that. 🙂
This is an official challenge. The rules are as follows:
It must be 1) grain free 2) bean free! please? 3) at least kind of fudgy. And I vow to make this cake within one week of your post and will post it on my blog once decent pictures are taken… if I like it. 😀
And by the way, I bought buckwheat flour today! But I don’t have a tube pan (they don’t even exist here) so maybe I’ll wait until you have tested it in a regular pan. Now I’m off to make your alfredo sauce! And it’ll be made with grain free pasta. 🙂
You’re on! You are SO on! I will try my darnest to make it happen right this week-end. I have a plan, hope it turns out.
You know what this means, right? Means the cake has to be Lent friendly. No grains, No sugar added. And no, I won’t even use honey. I’ve decided to rule it out after all! I rule out things that were allowed in the first place. I’m tough on myself, aren’t I?
If this cake turns out, it will be a glorious dessert! Not low cal, but healthy! And tasty. Wish
meus luck…Oh, and I am really jealous. I too, want to have a whole bunch of different varieties of avocado to choose from. And Dutch process cocoa as a standard!
Oh, and grain free pasta???? Recipe PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE WITH
SUGARsome kind of fruit ON TOP?Oh, and my Alfredo Sauce again? My goodness, you are addicted! Did I do that? 😉
I second that! A dense fudgy cake please!!! 🙂
If all goes as planned, I will be attempting it this week-end! Oh, I so hope that it turns out! Fingers crossed! 🙂
Looks delicious!! I will be making these for sure!
All I can say is WOW. And it must be a sign that I have several ripe avocados to use up this week!
Hehe! Must be a sign indeed! I hope you like ’em Cara and can’t wait to get your feedback! 🙂
PS – I nominated you for SAVEUR’s 3rd Annual Best Food Blog Awards. And I truly meant what I said, about being inspired by your creative use of healthful ingredients and stunning photography. And furthermore, though many of your recipes are special diet-friendly, I truly believe your blog is one that all foodies will be inspired by. Good luck!
OMG, Cara, you are too kind! I am incredibly flattered, thank you SOOOO much! How nice of you to do that, and to say all these things too! I am flushed, really! I just don’t know what to say! I’m just real glad to be a source of inspiration. 🙂
Thank you, so very, very much! 😀
these looks absolutely lovely. healthy and decadent! im jealous of your colleagues having a taste!
OK, I’m totally impressed. These look amazing! I can just imagine how delicious they are, especially with the almond and hazelnut meal. Those sound so good with chocolate 😀
Thank you Heidi! You have to try them for yourself now! That’s another great little treat that you could most probably stick in the freezer and have conveniently ready for you to eat pretty much anytime.
Say… has it not been 3 weeks yet? Isn’t tiny Heidi supposed to be here anyday now? Must visit your site to see if I missed something… I sure hope I didn’t!
I ‘m so glad that I found your blog – you post some amazing recipes. You must be really creative. I really have to make these as soon as possible!! There’s only that small thing that I’m a student and don’t have a lot of money – especially not at this time of the month 😉 So I was thinking if it might be possible to replace some of the hazelnut/almond meal with for instance oat, wholemeal flour or any other kind of flour? And if it is possible to replace the coconut oil with canola oil?
Thanks a lot Anna, glad to hear my recipes inspire you! I guess you could make the substitutions without much of a problem, however, the end result and nutritional value would be slightly different. I think my preference would go to spelt flour, if I was gonna use a milled grain. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try! 🙂
Hi Sonia. I made these today subbing half of the hazelnut meal and half of the almond meal with spelt flour. I also subbed the coconut oil with canola oil and omitted the cranberries. And they turned out great!! They are so delicious – they taste exactly like brownies. This is definitely a recipe I will use over and over again 🙂
Btw. if you have any craving of bread I can really recommend Paleo bread (I’m sure you have already thought about it, but if you haven’t it’s actually a quite good alternative to bread and doesn’t contain grains).
Have an amazing weekend – and thank you so much for sharing this recipe! 🙂
Thanks so much for this, Anna! I’m real happy to know that the recipe also works with grain flour. I might be tempted to give it a try myself, someday. Cookies are something that I get regular cravings for, especially chocolate cookies, so there will be plenty of opportunities for me to experiment with these. Super glad you liked them, so much so that you are considering making them over and over again. That’s quite the compliment. I’m really flattered.
Funny enough, I have not had one single thought for bread since I started this grain free challenge. This is one thing that I do not miss at all. Not sure I could go my entire life without it, but I sure don’t crave it. It’s definitely not something that I enjoy eating on its own, I always use it as part of a meal, so I guess that helps. Thanks for the tip, though. I will definitely look into it.
You have the best week-end also, and thanks again for your awesome feedback! 😀
Can’t wait to make these. Do you know the calorie count, carb, protein, fat count, etc?
The guys I make sweets for have me put a scoop of protein powder in everything and I use egg beaters. Thank you!
Sorry, Eileen… I don’t have that information.
I just sent you my recipe! And by the way, my husband didn’t even realize it wasn’t normal pasta (but really, you need a spicy and super flavorful sauce) and he’s terribly picky about his pasta.
I’m super excited for your chocolate cake post! And I don’t care about calories. If it’s healthy, who cares? 🙂
Did you try the pasta? Was it okay?
I didn’t even get around to that yet. I’m telling you, 6 weeks of being off grains wasn’t nearly long enough. So many things I haven’t had time to experiment with yet… but hey, I’m in no hurry to start eating grains again, so I’ll definitely give it a try at some point, and when I do, you can be certain that I will let you know! 🙂
OMGoodness! How did I miss this? I am behind in my blog posts and these looks FABULOUS! I would totally eat these for breakfast….oh I wish I had a whole plateful in front of me!!!!! I can’t look anymore. I am 100% craving these little jewels!
Jewels?! Wow! Thanks so much Nora! I am flattered… I think they would be absolutely wonderful crumbled over a nice serving of frozen yogurt! Now how’s that for a yummy breakfast! 😉
So happy to find these, they look amazing!! I love healthy baking and love using avocados in cookies! Will have to add this to my “to do” list 🙂
Uhm they are SO delicious! My girlfriend and I are so happy that we can eat cookies on our non-sugar-diet! 🙂
Thanks!
Sofie – Denmark
I made these the night before leaving on a little trip to bring with us and they’re amazing! I even got my husband to admit that they were yummy (I added lots more chocolate for him so that he’d eat them and not whine). I didn’t do any of the chilling and rolling into a log because I was in a hurry and it was no problem! They were a bit sticky, but I could still roll them into little balls, which I flattened with my fingers. And they came out fudgy! You definitely can’t taste any avocado and they almost taste like bad for you cookies. I didn’t have a fridge so mine have been at room temp and no problem there either (although they might taste better cold). Thanks for a great recipe. 🙂
Oh wow, thank you so much for all that feedback! I wanted to try making them again without all that refrigeration process (I find it a tad time consuming and I’m a bit of a lazy foodie, you see… I like to keep things simple!) now, thanks to you, I know it can be done! I bet they were much prettier too! Oh great, now you got me wanting to make them again… but I still have to make that decadent chocolate cake before I can do the cookies! Plus, I’ve got this crazy inspiration for Dark chocolate, caramelized pear and goat cheese tartelettes…
Sometimes, I wish I could eat nothing but cookies and muffins and cakes! It would be a lot easier on my baking addiction! 😉
Glad you liked the cookies, Erin, and thank you so much for sharing your experience! I appreciate that to no end! 😀
I have been a secret stalker for quite a few months now and when I saw these I knew I had to make them! I have spent a lot of money an time searching all the ingredients.. Couldn’t find hazelnut meal anywhere here in The Netherlands, so I decided to do it with Spelt flour and also vanilla extract is basically doesnt exist here except for this tiny little shop just around the corner of my house! Hahahaha but anyway getting back to what the beautiful cookies, just made them.. Didn’t have a food processor so when I put everything in the blender it wouldnt blend.. So added some soymilk… also how do you get it be a firm dough??? without liquid of any kind? I added some more soymilk when i was whisking it alltogether because it became a fluffy powder… I added some agave syrup because i wasnt sure if it would be sweet… didnt put it in the fridge because didn’t have the time but i am glad to say they came out wonderfully! They are subtly sweet, and very filling. They are so rich! I do wish I added a little bit more agave syrup just so the sweetness would be a bit stronger but all in all, this is the first time I made cookies on my own and i am glad to say they turned out very well! Just want to add how much I love your site and I come here nearly everyday! Thank you for your wonderful recipes Mrs. Healthy Foodie! 🙂
Well, I’m happy to hear the cookies turned out well, Ashley, despite all the complications and ingredients / kitchen tools “unavailability”… 😉
Thank you so much for your great feedback and comment. I truly appreciate that! 🙂
Wonderful dark cookies! I prefer them to white ones!
I love these!! They are a staple at home for anyone curious on Nutirtional info I used (1/2 dried apricots instead of cranberries) as unsweetened cranberries are hard to get in Aus! and 1 cup carob poweder in place of cacao powder and nibs 🙂
36 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 75.4
Total Fat 5.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.9 g
Cholesterol 5.1 mg
Sodium 2.6 mg
Potassium 103.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 6.3 g
Dietary Fiber 1.4 g
Sugars 4.3 g
Protein 2.2 g
Vitamin A 1.6 %
Vitamin B-12 0.2 %
Vitamin B-6 2.0 %
Vitamin C 1.0 %
Vitamin D 0.3 %
Vitamin E 3.8 %
Calcium 1.0 %
Copper 3.8 %
Folate 2.2 %
Iron 1.7 %
Magnesium 2.8 %
Manganese 9.3 %
Niacin 1.5 %
Pantothenic Acid 1.3 %
Phosphorus 2.2 %
Riboflavin 1.7 %
Selenium 46.1 %
Thiamin 1.5 %
Zinc 1.1 %
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
This website will help you out in case of recipe nuiritional searching!
Either way these little gems are full of healthy fats, vitamins and minerals and I just love them!
Hi there, I found this recipe when I was searching for a healthy chocolate cookie with sea salt. I modified it a bit to fit what I had in the house. I made them and they were delicious! Very chocolaty and they came out the perfect consistency – firm but not crisp. I also rolled them out onto a baking sheet, popped it in the freezer for 10 minutes, then took it out. Then I used cookie cutters to cut them out and it came out PERFECTLY and they were adorable. Before baking them I sprinkled them with sea salt. I think next time I will add a bit more honey as they weren’t quite sweet enough to share with others (I don’t mind them less sweet but others will). Here are my substitutions that worked well.
Almond flour for hazelnut meal
Coconut flour for almond meal
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for avocado (did not have an avocado)
3 tablespoons honey for dates (did not have dates)
Added 1 mashed up sweet potato
No dried cranberries
No Brazil nuts
Sarah, thank you so much for your awesome feedback, I truly appreciate that! Love the substitutions that you made and love the fact that you made that into a “cookie cutter” recipe. Now I will definitely have to give that a try. I like to make sugar cookies for Christmas just because well, they are so darn cute, and had been meaning to work on finding a healthier way of making them this year. This will help tremendously!
And seriously, sweet potato? I am LOVING this. Thanks again, Sarah. You’re a real star!!! 🙂
I just made these today! ( i was impatiently waiting all week til today when I’m off work to make these!). I halved the recipe though so I wouldn’t be ‘stuck’ with 36 cookies! and I made a couple of substitutions to cut cals and fat as well – instead of the 1 egg, I used egg white and instead of the coconut oil, i basically used a flax ‘egg’ instead (ground flax + water). Oh and instead of the cacao nibs, i used some carob chips because I had those (and didn’t want to go out and buy a big bag of cacao nibs just for this! :)). and i omitted the brazil nuts because i’m not a fan. the nutritional breakdown for mine if anyone is curious ended up being per cookie: 85 cals, 10 carbs, 4g fat, 2g protein!
I used the deglet noor type of dates, not the medjool, so i’m wondering just out of curiosity, how they would turn out with medjool dates… I love that I can eat sweet stuff and not feel guilty AT ALL, because I know everything in it is totally nutritious and good for you! now if only I could get my husband liking stuff like this..! :). and I love avocados, and i love that you can bake with them in desserts and you can’t taste them at all! 🙂
LOL! You sure made a lot of substitutions, Caitlin! 🙂 Glad the cookies worked out for you and that you liked them, too!
Not sure that using Medjool dates would make that much of a difference. Personally, I find Medjool dates to be way too good (and expensive) to be used in recipes. I always eat those on their own! For recipes, I make date paste out of the more widedly available and affordable packaged, pitted dates.
Thanks for sharing this most excellent feedback and substitution ideas Caitlin. I totally and genuinely appreciate that! 🙂
Oh, and don’t worry too much about your husband not liking this kind of stuff… if he did, he’d wolf them all down and there would be none left for you. That, or you would have to make a full recipe! 😉
I love your recipes!.
Thank you Kelly, that’s very kind of you to say! 🙂
Hi Sonia,
I’m dying to try these… but have an egg allergy. Do you think they would work without the egg? And if so, should I sub anything? Thanks!!
Not sure, KE, I don’t have much experience at all with egg substitution… Some people like to use ground chia or flax seeds mixed with water and have reported very good results. I believe you are to mix one tablespoon of the ground seeds to one tablespoon of water for each egg you are wanting to replace. Might be worth a shot!
Thanks, Sonia! Unfortunately I’m on GAPS so my only options are probably vinegar/baking soda or sunflower lecithin – have to decide if one of those would make it better or worse. I’ll let you know what I do and how they turn out.