You want to be *SANE, but you still want to eat cookies every once in a while. You love how being *SANE makes you feel, but you miss chocolate. Fret no more, lovely readers. You shall have cookies and chocolate and *SANEity all at the same time.
I give you Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies.
Now, just don’t go crazy. I’m being serious here. They may have no flour, no grains, no sugar and no unhealthy oils or fats, but if you are new to Xylitol / Erythritol you may need to build up to eating it gradually. A few people experience a little – how shall we say this? – a little intestinal disturbance at first. We don’t want that. So go easy until you know it doesn’t affect you, or if it does, build up gradually. You should get over it quickly with continued use. The benefits of Xylitol, apart from replacing that nasty, nasty sugar are wild and wonderful. They include:
- Safe for Diabetics
- Helps prevent cavities
- Helps prevent ear infections
- Slows the growth of candida
- May improve bone density
- Helps tooth enamel & strength
- Increases white blood cell activity
- Prevents Streptococcus mutants in newborns
- May help with allergies & sinus infections
- May lower risk of ovarian cysts
Lots of good stuff! You can get the full scoop here.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the cookies, which I am certain is all you really care about right now.
I also want to point out that I think the texture could use a little work, so I’ll be updating this recipe once I’ve done that. Since the flavor is fabulous, I figured Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies 1.0 were good enough to keep you going, rather than making you wait another week for a perfect version. I hope you think that was the right decision.
I’ll be quiet now so you can just get on with the whole baking part.
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Mmmmmm.
- 300g unsweetened chocolate (100% cocoa)
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 70 g almond flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp xanthum gum
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 300g Xylitol or Erythritol (NOT Stevia or similar)
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp instant espresso powder
- Pre-heat over to 325 F.
- Place chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
- Stir occasionally until the two are completely melted together.
- Leave to cool.
- In a bowl, using a hand mixer (or in a stand mixer) beat the eggs, Xylitol / Erythritol, vanilla and espresso powder together on high for about 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and thick.
- Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture until evenly mixed.
- Stir in the almond flour, baking powder, xanthum gum and salt until completely mixed. It will start to stiffen as you mix it.
- Leave the cookie dough aside while you line baking sheets with aluminum foil.
- The mixture will stiffen. When it is stiff enough to handle, using your hands, roll dough into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball.
- Place the balls on the lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart, and flatten the balls until they are about 2½ inches across.
- Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 10 – 12 minutes, turning half way through the baking time. They will look dry, but will be still be soft in the center when they are done.
- Remove from the oven and leave on the baking sheet for 10 minutes until the foil and cookies are cool enough to touch.
- Lift the edge of the foil up and over with one hand so that you can peel it away from the cookies as they fall into your other hand.
- These are rather more fragile than regular cookies, so this method means you will get the cookies off successfully.
- Place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
When we say these are *SANE, what we really mean in this instance is that they do not contain any sugars, starches, grains or unhealthy oils. They do not provide a huge amount of protein, fiber or water which is what makes a food truly SANE. They do provide healthy fats, some fiber & the other nutrients that almonds bring to the table. So, enjoy these as a treat, but not to the detriment of your day dose of *SANE protein, fiber and water.
*SANE™, inSANE, SANEity – terms used in Jonathan Bailor’s book, The Smarter Science of Slim.
by carrie
Michelle Fusman - The cookies in this recipe are delicious. Rich, moist, flavorful…yum! Gluten-free too. Cheers Carrie!
carrie - Is that your cookie in the photo?? :-))
Nancy - Carrie,
I made these cookies today and all I can say is I am happy, happy, happy!!!!!!!!
carrie - :-)))) Nancy!!
Baking spree « Lipomachia - [...] (no, really, are you ready for this?) (seriously, you’d better be sitting down or something): Dark chocolate espresso cookies!!! Mine looked more like microwave turds than the beautiful creations on Carrie’s blog, so I [...]
Claire Lucas - Hi Carrie, coming from the UK, is almond flour the same as ground almonds?? I seem to be getting wildly different results when I search online :) Also, whats the difference between guar gum and xanthum gum??
carrie - Yes, Claire – almond flour = ground almonds in UK. Guar is used mainly for cold applications while xanthan for hot, but they can be used interchangeably if necessary. Hope that helps! THANKS for your support – hugely appreicated!
Claire Lucas - Thanks Carrie, that helps enormously! I will be baking these tonight, along with the cheese scones – can’t wait!! Tried the quiche cups last night – yum, yum, yum. An amazing, sane, portable lunch – thanks Carrie, you’re amazing :)))
carrie - Most welcome! Enjoy, Claire!
Lilly - Carrie, you’ve outdone yourself again! These are so rich and heavenly. I ate one while it was still warm and it had the taste and texture of a decadent gooey brownie :)
I just have one question. This is the second cookie recipe that I’ve made, and both times the recipe calls for the better part of a $10 bag of xylitol. I know in a recent podcast you mentioned that you had purchased a 50 lb bag of xylitol. Just wondering where you found it? I don’t need 50 lbs, but I could certainly save some money by purchasing a 5 or 10 lb bag.
Thanks for sharing, your recipes help me stay SANE!
carrie - This is where I get xylitol from: http://www.naturalsweetenerstore.com/usa-made-birch-xylitol-sweetener/ SO happy that you loved these, Lilly – they certainly help to make us feel “normal”!!
Claire Lucas - Hi carrie, another question for you – can these be frozen? If I make a whole batch we eat the lot!!!
carrie - Hi Claire! I have not tried freezing them – I took 2 batches to the office and poof! they were gone…so I would pop one in a baggie and sling it in the freezer overnight and see how it fares. I cannot see any reason why they wouldn’t freeze perfectly – I mean, I keep my alomond flour in the freezer. Update us?!
Claire Lucas - I will!! I’ll be making more this week so will give it a try.
If You Were Wondering » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] heading into cookie *inSANEity – NOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO. What with these and the Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies, you’re set. These dreamy almond cookies are slightly dense, moist, and chewy in the [...]
And It’s Awesome » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] 6. Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies [...]
Claire Lucas - They certainly freeze beautifully, it even seemer to enhance the espresso flavour. Yum, yum, yum, you’re keeping me SANE and away from the mid afternoon energy slump!!
carrie - YAY! Thanks for being our freezer tester, Claire!
Veronica - Hi Carrie, Thank you for these wonderful recipe(s) and for being a part of the podcasts too. I love listening to how you’ve lost your muffin top…inspiring me to keep at it, even though my size hasn’t yet changed. I’m looking forward to giving this recipe a go….but can I use cocoa instead of unsweetened chocolate? There’s a big price difference, 180g of 100% chocolate is £5.99 here in the UK, about half that for cocoa. Thanks Carrie! Cheers, Veronica
carrie - Hi Veronica – I fear it will not work the same if you substitue chocolate for cocoa powder :-( I would have to change the recipe to accomodate a change like that and I will do that, but it is unlikely to be very soon as I have such a long list of requests. I hugely appreciate your kind words and support.
Hot and Nutty Cereal » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] maybe, but this made me even happier than those Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies did. There’s no accounting for [...]
The Monday Memo #4 » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies – because you deserve a chocolate cookie that does not make you sick, fat or diabetic. [...]
Marlys - Carrie, I’m a newbie here but excited to try your recipe. Just to clarify is the unsweetened chocolate 100% cocoa in powder form? Or am I looking for a bar that is 100% unsweetened chocolate? Thanks!
carrie - Hi Marlys – the chocolate I used is Ghiradelli 100% unsweetened chocolate, NOT cocoa powder.
Marlys - Wow Carrie! I just had to follow up after making my first batch and discovering what xylitol and xanthum gum are all about. These are truly amazing. Mine did not turn out as flat and pretty as yours but rather kept their ball shape for the most part. The dough was pretty stiff after I mixed in the xanthum gum and dry ingredients, but I can adjust next time. They were moist and rich and so flavorful and I’ve popped half in the freezer so I can enjoy a few later too. Thanks! :)
carrie - Marlys – it’s not the easiest dough to handle but glad that you loved them! Impressed that you got some into the freezer!!
Julie - I’m very excited about these – in fact they are in the oven right this very moment. But I’m a little baffled. I went to pull them out at 12 minutes (after turning half way) and they not only did not look dry, they were very shiny and very much not cooked. I’m now on minute 18 and trying to decide at what point to pull them out of the oven. I made cheesy scones again tonight and those always take ~14 min instead of 8-10 to brown up. (another story about the scones is that while amazing, mine never rise like yours do) I just bought a little oven thermometer from sur la table and my oven temp is pretty spot on. Any ideas? Thanks!!!
Julie - Ok, finally decided to take them out at minute 20, and holy cow are they good! We couldn’t wait for them to cool completely to try them. Knocked my socks off!
carrie - Yay for socks being knocked off, Julie! :-)
carrie - Julie – I am perplexed. My immediate response would have been that your oven temp is off…but then you foiled that argument :-( Can you email me with ANY changes at all you made to the ingredients or method?