In an effort to be more healthy Anthony and I have banned ourselves from buying any biscuits, chocolate or cake in the weekly shop. Our theory is that if they're not in the house then we won't eat them. It's funny how that works, ey?! However, I do miss my sweet treats, especially after dinner, and I thought I'd try my hand at baking something sweet that's not full of crap.
Enter these little babies: Zanna Van Dijk's The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I've been following Zanna for ages on Instagram but it wasn't until I saw Anna's post that I realised she had recipes on her website. They all look so tasty but these were the ones I wanted to try first as I had most of the ingredients in my cupboard already.
Let me just get this out there now: these are amazing! They don't taste that much different to normal cookies and I actually think they taste better than some, due to the almond flour giving them a slight nutty taste. All of the healthy treats I've tried baking before have included some form of peanut butter and as Anthony isn't a massive fan (he's weird, I know!) he hasn't really liked any of them. These don't use peanut butter, so they're perfect for him and he can't get enough of them. In fact, we've been known to polish off a batch of these in one sitting before, but there are only 6 in a batch so it's not too bad, right??
Now I followed the recipe exactly on my first couple of batches but they came out really greasy, so I had to adapt the recipe a little. I think I've pretty much nailed it now, so I thought I would share my updated recipe here for you guys, in case you have the same issue.
Ingredients
1 cup of Almond Flour (I couldn't find Almond Flour so I use Ground Almonds instead and they work brilliantly)
2 1/2 tbsp Coconut oil
2 1/2 tbsp Honey
1tsp Vanilla
A pinch of Baking Soda (I use Bicarbonate of Soda as that's what I have in my cupboard already)
A handful (or more) of chocolate chips ( I use white and dark as they taste nicer but to be really healthy just stick with the dark ones)
Method
1. I melt the coconut oil in the microwave to begin with, then add the rest of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix.
2. Then I mix in the ground almonds and finally the chocolate chips.
3. I then put small dollops on to a parchment lined baking tray and the mixture usually gives me about 6 cookies. Not many but I always make 2 lots in one go, because I'm a greedy cow!
4. Shove them in the oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for around 10 minutes and you're set. Make sure you keep an eye on them, because they won't look like they're cooking for ages and then all of a sudden they'll turn black around the edges. Trust me on that one!
5. Once baked take them out of the oven and set them aside to cool. If you try and eat them straight out of the oven like I did (who didn't read the recipe properly? *raises hand*) then they WILL fall apart and you'll be eating them with a spoon! So resist them for the minute and then once they're cool enough stick them in the fridge to set them a little bit more. I keep them in the fridge after this too to make sure they're always nice and hard.
See, these are ridiculously quick and easy to make. Too easy in fact, as I find myself whipping up a batch (or 2) every other weekend. They taste glorious and I like that I can enjoy them without the guilt of shoving loads of unhealthy sugars into my body that comes with eating a normal cookie.
Now I recommend that you try them this weekend and let me know what you think. You can thank me later!
Kayleigh x
Labels: Health & Fitness
