For the past three days it has not stopped snowing. The cars on the streets are so thoroughly buried, they look like they were built entirely out of snow...no metal or glass parts to speak of. As such, we've been pretty much homebound: the buildup of ice and snow on the highway has made it pretty hard to justify any nonessential trips into town, and there is an avalanche warning for our valley, so any snowshoeing is pretty much out of the questions. Needless to say , I've found myself engaging in some pretty serious nesting behavior: we're talking hats crocheted, cookies baked, and no less than 3 flavors of venison jerky languishing in the dehydrator. I also literally ran out of things to wash (something that has never happened in our house...ever).
Now I'm not normally much of a sweets person, but the cold and snow gave me a hankering for chocolate chip cookies. Of course, my husband is usually the one who eats the lion's share of my baking endeavors, and since he generally strives to follow a paleo diet ( think no wheat, no dairy, no refined sugar) I thought it only fair to keep this in mind when I whipped out my kitchen aid.
Thankfully we had some coconut flour in the cupboard, to form the basis of my cookies. Now, for anyone who has not worked with coconut flour before, it is important to be aware of a couple of things: 1. Coconut flour does actually taste like coconut, so whatever you make will have a light coconut flavor. 2. Coconut flour does not behave like regular flour. It for the most part retains whatever shape you form the dough into before baking. If you want it "cookie shaped" you need to flatten it down before you put it in the oven. 3. Dough made from Coconut flour is much more wet than dough from wheat flour. You use a lot more binder (such as age) and much less flour, proportionally than you do with wheat flour. 4. Don't be discouraged if your first attempt with coconut flour isn't perfect. It can be a bit finicky, but I promise, with practice the results can be great. It is possible to make really moist, really delicious cookies that don't dry out.
To make the Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Bites you will need the following:
-3/4 cup coconut flour
-3/4 cup crushed walnuts (I usually just mash walnut halves with a rolling pin)
-2 TBS coconut oil
-3 eggs
-2/3 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
-1 tsp. Vanilla
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 cup honey
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl (I use my kitchen aid mixer, but you can just as easily mix this by hand) combine the coconut flour, walnuts, and eggs. Once these are well mixed, add the vanilla, honey, salt, and coconut oil. Finally add in the chocolate chips. Just like that, your dough is made! Remember, the dough may appear wet and seem to come apart. This is fine/normal.
Line a cookie sheet with was paper. Scoop out dough by the spoonful and then use your fingers to press the dough together and form it into your desired shape (round balls or flattened into more of a cookie shape). I prefer to mold mine into little spheres. Keep in mind the dough doesn't really spread, so you can place the cookies fairly close together on the sheet.
One your cookie sheet is full (I usually can fit one batch of 18 cookies onto a single sheet) pop them in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Once they are done they should be slightly golden brown along the top. One you take them out of the oven, let them sit for about 10 minutes to continue baking themselves and becoming set. Otherwise, the cookies may flake apart.
Once the cookies are finished setting up, the should have a nice crisp layer on the outside, but remain soft and delicate on the inside. My husband and I both love these cookies, and while they aren't necessarily "low calorie", they definitely have a lot less sugar and a lot more protein than your regular cookie recipe.
Enjoy! I know we sure did. They were just what we needed to keep out spirits up during the snowstorm. I especially liked having my treat along with a cup of coffee.
Until Next Time!
-JoAnna
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