I never imagined I would say, “My husband makes the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER!” And, I never imagined said chocolate chip cookies would be HEALTHY.
I am not exaggerating when I say these are the best chocolate chip cookies, as in you will want to eat a whole plate full of them. We first made them with chocolate chips, but after some more trial decided we really like the chocolate chunks best.
What I love most about our Paleo journey, is trying new recipes and realizing we can still have delicious treats. I have had lots of people talk to me and express concern over giving up certain foods or changing their snacking habits. That is why I wanted to share this recipe first to show:
- You don’t have to give up everything you love, you just need to choose healthier ingredients
- Healthy treats can be so yummy they are down-right crave-able (and you won’t miss the sugar-laden versions you ate before)
The hubby and I are not food scientists, so we started trying new recipes and then experimenting with modifications to the recipes we like. We were inspired to create these Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies from a Paleo Blueberry Scone recipe. The scones turned out amazing, and instantly I imagined them with chocolate chips instead of blueberries. After trying a chocolate chip version of the scones, we realized they could easily be made as cookies.
They are so good, our kids think they are the real deal. So, for anyone wondering if these will taste overly-nutty, the answer is no. They really taste like chocolate chip cookies…REALLY GOOD chocolate chip cookies.
For those of you just starting to experiment with Paleo, a few notes on the ingredients before we get started:
- Instead of the cashew meal (we get ours at Trader Joe’s), you can use raw, unsalted cashews ground up in a blender or food processor to a fine powder (we use a NutriBullet for this). We have tried the recipe with both the cashew meal and raw cashews…with the same delicious result.
- Arrowroot Powder can be quite pricey at your local grocery store. When we started out we only found a small spice bottle of it, which hardly had more than 1/4 cup of powder. We have since found it another local store in a larger package and ordered a case of Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot Powder on Amazon. Arrowroot Powder is a common ingredient in Paleo recipes.
- Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks are gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free. You can also use the Enjoy Life chocolate chips. We find both locally in the baking aisle of our grocery store and Target.
- 1½ cup Cashew Meal
- ¼ cup Arrowroot Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
- 3 tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
- 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix together the cashew meal, arrowroot powder, salt, and baking powder, then add the chocolate chunks.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg well with a fork or whisk.
- Mix the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract into the egg.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Drop by rounded spoonful onto parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 F for 16-18 minutes.
- Let cool on pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Thank you so much for sharing this first! I am very intrigued by the paleo diet but am one of those people who doesn’t know if I could abide by its rules – mostly giving up certain foods. Now that I know you don’t have to, I am more inclined to try it. First up – I’m making these cookies!
Megan, It is actually really exciting to learn about what you can make without flour and sugar. When you make these cookies, you won’t believe what cashews can do!
Yum. I’m so excited to try this. For some reason I didn’t realize I could eat chocolate on paleo.
Yum! Trying this weekend!
Yummers!! We made a batch last night. They are delicious! Thanks for sharing. I’m excited to try the banana bread next.
These look yummy! Do you happen to know the calorie count and grams of sugar by any chance?
Sorry Lauren we don’t count calories.