Finding a gluten-free healthy cookie has been a challenge for me. Most cookies have been simply ok and sup-par. I found myself craving a real gooey chocolate chip cookie sometimes. I decided to try this new recipe with limited ingredients, but all ones I was familiar with. I adapted this recipe from The Sprouted Kitchen. She uses muscovado sugar — I have no idea where I could even buy that so I substituted for a different healthy sweetener I had on hand. These cookies are so delicious. In addition I pressed them into my heart and star cookie cutters and they held together amazingly well – another thing not so common in gluten-free foods.

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These cookies are gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free! In addition they are very healthy. Almond flour is simply almonds ground very finely, so these cookies are packed with protein. Cacao nibs aren’t like chocolate chips and don’t have much of a sugar content – it is cocoa in a pure form which surprisingly is actually very healthy for you! So eat these delicious morsels guilt-free.

Coconut Cacao Cookies

1 1/4 cup of almond flour

1/3 cup cacao nibs

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup coconut sugar

1 egg

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir together the almond flour, cacao nibs, coconut, baking powder, salt and coconut sugar. In a separate bowl, beat egg vigorously until it appears to double in volume and is uniform in color. Whisk in the liquid coconut oil and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll the chilled dough into 1″ balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with about 1-2″ of space between each cookie. Press down on each ball to flatten the top a little. Alternatively fill a cookie cutter with the dough and gently push the shape out. Bake 7-10 minutes until edges are golden brown. The inside might still feel a little soft, but that is the nature of this cookie.

Enjoy these cookies plain or with a glass of your favorite milk. These are perfect bite-size cookies for tea parties, lunches and other get togethers! They are spouse approved: Mr. Pen said while I was photographing the cookies, “are you done yet? I want to eat your blog post!” Oh, and baby-approved as well!

What is your favorite paleo or gluten-free cookie recipe?