This is a recipe I developed that I make now and then for a treat - they're wheat free, dairy free and naturally sweetened, and really yummy - just ask the kids
For the chocolate chips, I use Rapadura sweetened dark chocolate chips, but you could use your home-made chocolate cut into small bits to avoid the soy lecithin which is probably in them! (I just saw these chocolate chips for sale in a co-op store and couldn't resist them!)
I make the almond butter first, then add the other ingredients. You could use any nuts, and you could also add some chopped pecans or walnuts if you like - yum! (Note: if you use other nuts, you may need less oil to make the butter - macadamia nuts may not need any oil at all.)
This recipe makes a lot, so you could half it, or just roll some of it up in plastic wrap and keep it in the freezer until you 'need' some cookies. You just have to thaw the dough out for 10 minutes or so, then you can slice it into rounds, place on a baking tray and pop them in the oven. It's great to have some in the freezer when visitors drop by!
(Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius)
1. First, make your nut butter (or you can use a bought one)...
Grind on speed 9 for 20 seconds, then scrape down sides with spatula:
- 250g almonds
2. Add and mix on speed 9 for 10 seconds:
- 50g good quality oil (sunflower/macadamia/grapeseed)
Scrape down sides of bowl again.
3. Add and mix on speed 6 for 30 seconds:
- 150g Rapadura
- 180g raw honey
- 3 medium eggs
- 230g light olive oil (or other good quality oil)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
4. Add and mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds (using spatula to help mix):
- 500g plain spelt flour (can be a mixture of wholemeal and white, and may need more or less than 500g - you should be able to roll the dough into balls)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
5. Turn dough out into a large bowl, add a little more flour if needed. (I do this in a bowl as the Thermomix is a bit too full at this stage, and the heavy dough slows down the blades.) Add choc chips and mix in with spoon:
- 1 cup mini dark choc chips, Rapadura sweetened (or malt sweetened) *
6. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto greased or papered baking trays and bake in oven at 175 degrees celcius for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. (Or you can roll dough into balls and flatten with a fork.)
7. Cool on the trays for crispier cookies, or remove to a rack while warm for softer cookies. Or just eat them all while they're warm, and lick the chocolate off your fingers!
(If you do cook the whole batch at once, store them in the freezer so they don't go stale.)
* Note about Rapadura sweetened choc chips - I bought these at a co-op store in Cairns (Qld) so I know they're available, but I'm not sure where else to get them. I know in the USA you can get malt sweetened choc chips, but I haven't been able to find them here. If anyone has links to sites where you can order either of these, please let us all know in the comments!
