I’ve mentioned in a few other posts that I really try to avoid gluten and most dairy for the sake of healthy thyroid function. But, you guys. This is a thing: I love cookies. They are my favorite treat. (I also really, really love ice cream, but I think I love cookies even more.) Cookies are just the best. My mom had me baking cookies with her probably just as soon as I could sit on the counter, and, well, not to toot my own horn or anything (toot, toot!), but I do know how to make a dang good cookie.
So what’s a girl to do? Make a gluten free cookie! Duh!! (Occasionally I do still make real deal chocolate chip cookies, but I can’t most of the time.)
Two days after I had Landon, two of my friends showed up with a whole big dinner for us and these ridiculous double chocolate cookies. I ate them. All. I don’t think the Hubs even had one. They were so comforting and kinda the best combination of chocolate, more chocolate, cookies and cake. I don’t even really like cake. After these cookies, I was willing to reconsider. So, I tracked down my friend and begged her for the recipe. And now I’m sharing it with all of you.
I try to stay away from too many prepackaged “gluten free” foods. They tend to be junk food in disguise, in my opinion. Loaded with sugar and lots of really refined flour (sure, maybe it’s not made from wheat but brown rice flower can also send your blood sugar levels on a nice little rollercoaster). Plus, often times they contain some soy (another thing that even my thyroid medicine itself says to avoid!).
But, when cookies are naturally gluten and dairy free, I am alllllll in. These cookies aren’t your mother’s chocolate chip cookies (who would even try to compete with those anyway?), but they will solve all your chocolate problems. The other thing that’s amazing about these cookies? They fill you up (with healthy fat!) and honestly leave you feeling satisfied. No more feelings of, “I really shouldn’t eat any more cookies, but I really just want to finish the whole dang jar!” After one (okay, maybe two) of these suckers, you just feel satisfied and oh-so-happy.
Now, I have heard it said that there are people in the world who do not like avocados. I do not understand you one bit! Avocados are creamy and delicious and just make anything better. But, we are an avocado family. I’m surprised my son hasn’t turned into one yet. Anyway, all that to say, you do not even taste the avocado in these cookies! For as much as I love avocados, even I will admit that an avocado cookie would be kinda weird (although I would certainly give it a try!). Avocado is the fat in these cookies (just like all that delicious butter in your mom’s chocolate chip cookies). It is the binder that holds these cookies together.
One quick tip: make sure your avocados are ripe (very soft!). You know how really ripe bananas make the best banana bread? Well, ripe avocados make the best avocado cookies. About a jillion times easier to combine the ingredients. Also, a slight avocado taste will pull through to the final taste if your avocados are underripe. If it is ready for guacamole status (or even a little bit past that), make avocado cookies!
One other “strange” ingredient in these cookies is coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is made from coconut tree sap which is then heated to remove the moisture and dried into flakes. You can substitute it 1:1 for regular sugar in other recipes (I do this quite often…particularly if I want a salad dressing that has just a hint of sweetness). Here’s the great thing about coconut sugar: it is significantly lower on the glycemic index than regular cane or beet sugar. While table sugar gets a 65 on the glycemic index, coconut sugar weighs in at 35 (just about half that of table sugar and less than an apple!). So, this is good stuff for a treat that won’t require a nap thereafter! Winning!
Also, I love, love these chocolate chips. It’s hard to find chocolate chips that don’t contain dairy or soy, but these ones fit the bill! Plus, they are just really, really delicious. You may have trouble going back to other brands after you taste these. Others just don’t taste chocolate-y enough.
So, let’s get to it. Here’s the recipe…
- ¾ c. avocado, very ripe (about 1 very large avocado)
- ½ c. coconut sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ c. cocoa or cacao powder
- ½ t. baking soda
- ½ c. chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the avocado and the coconut sugar. Beat on high until they are fully combined. Don't be afraid of over mixing.
- Add the egg and continue beating oh high. Let the mixture get a bit shiny and maybe even kinda fluffy (but don't stress, you won't mess them up).
- Add in the cocoa powder and baking soda and continue beating to combine. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to get all the cocoa powder in there.
- Add in the chocolate chips and stir with a spoon to combine (or just turn your machine to pulse or low speed if you don't like dirtying extra utensils).
- Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Drop spoonfuls of "dough" onto the paper. The "dough" will be very wet and these cookies will be fairly flat, so you'll need to shape them into cookies with the spoon (or wet fingers).
- Bake for about 13-14 minutes until the cookies have "set" a bit. They will crinkle a little bit on top.
- Allow to cool on a cookie sheet for 2-4 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
This recipe is adapted from Sprouted Fig by Josefine Meineche.
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Umm…so these look amazing! Can’t wait to try this chocolatey goodness when I’m able to have coconut sugar and choco chips!
Cookies are also my favorite treat! ❤ thanks for sharing!
I just made a batch of these tonight and OH MY GOODNESS are they ever delicious! I ended up using a little less coconut sugar and putting in white chocolate chips and pecans instead of the chocolate morsels (it’s what I had in the pantry) and the still turned out amazing. Such a fun recipe and SO easy to make – thanks for sharing!