Valentine’s Day is on Saturday which hopefully means lots of chocolate for all. These would be perfect if you are looking for something gooey, rich and chocolaty but are trying to keep it (and yourself) a little lighter. They’re free of flour, added sugar (they get their sweetness from medjool dates), and oil which means they’re basically healthy. They’re made with 100% whole-food ingredients and have a vegan option, if you fancy. V-day doesn’t usually scream health, but this year it can:)
The recipe is really simple (and you can see I made it really messy), but you do need a food processor. Right now I only have a little mini cuisinart processor and it works fine, but a larger one (yay wedding) will be better. It works, just takes a little more time when you need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl while mixing your dough.
The dough is really sticky, so after you drop your spoon-fulls onto your baking sheet, you will want to make sure your fingers are a little wet so you can press the cookies into whatever shape you want. They don’t spread in the oven, so whatever shape you choose, it will stay that way.
Pop them in a 350F. oven for 10 minutes and you have healthy dark chocolate cookies. Enjoy!
- 1 1/2 cups pecans or walnuts
- 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted (about 12)
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder (I used 3 tbsp raw cacao and 3 tbsp Hershey's Special Dark)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg (for vegan option see notes)
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a bowl of a food processor, process dates and nuts together until a crumbly texture is formed
- Add cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, vanilla and egg and process again until better is smooth
- Spoon better onto the lined baking sheet and use your hands to flatten the dough (wet fingers to help)
- Bake at 350F. for 10 minutes, or until edges are firm
- Transfer to a cooling rack, or a plate and serve immediately or place in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer for later
- Vegan option: make a flax or chia egg - combine 1 tbsp ground chia or flax seeds + 3 tbsp water and let it come to a gel. This takes about 5 minutes and will serve as a binder and replace your egg.
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