Chocolate Chip Cookies
Can chocolate chip cookies be healthy AND delicious? Of course!
This cookie recipe uses dark chocolate, which is rich in magnesium, reducing the production of the stress hormone cortisol. It also produces endorphins that make you feel good and flavonoids that enhance blood flow to the brain. We recommend around 2-3 squares of good quality dark chocolate per day, add this to your diet, and remove all the sugary white or milk chocolate!
This recipe uses almond flour and walnuts, Vitamin E-rich ingredients that help prevent dry skin associated with menopause. It even has Goji berries, known as “happy berries”, as they keep menopausal symptoms like depression and poor sleep at bay. Dee, our Founder is experimenting with Goji berries and has planted some in her garden, they are growing quite fast. They grow with thorny stems but are so good for you. A superfood.
Here’s how you can make these healthier chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups almond flour, blanched (organic is always a preference)
½ teaspoon sea salt (or Himalayan salt should you have some)
½ teaspoon baking soda (or rising agent)
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup honey (try to find organic honey, it does seem to be more readily available now)
6 drops liquid stevia (you can also replace this with agave if you prefer, or other healthy sugar replacement)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips (you can make your own by chopping up good quality dark chocolate, should you be out of chips)
½ cup Goji berries (keep a few back, and plant them in a pot. Watch then grow then when they are a few inches tall, pop them into a hedgerow or space to the side of your garden).
½ cup walnut, chopped (we love walnuts, but if you don’t have any, you can use almonds or hazelnuts)
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sea salt, and baking soda.
- Add ¼ chocolate chips to the flour mixture.
- In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, honey, stevia, and vanilla.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until combined, but avoid over stirring. The chocolate chips will partially melt because of the butter.
- Fold over the walnuts, goji berries, and the rest of the chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
- While waiting, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or oil it with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- When the dough is ready, put spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheets. Make sure to press each one to flatten and shape them into circles if desired.
- Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes until they turn into a slightly golden color.
- Cool for 20 minutes before serving. (yes, we said cool, oh dear, you’ve already eaten them!)
To read more recipes, see Food & Menopause in our Free Menopause Experts Training.
Read another recipe, Feta, Chickpea & Pomegranate:
