I am laughing to myself that the first recipe post of 2014 isn’t a kale salad or quinoa connection, but a cookie recipe! Sorry, I’m not sorry. I have a sweet tooth… but that’s old news.
I’m thinking about experimenting with my diet — possibly reducing/emilinating grains for a bit. My digestion is out of whack. I felt pretty darn amazing during my 10-day sugar detox (zero grains); so, I may “play with my food” for a while because I know I shouldn’t have to suffer from bloating 75 percent of the time.
Reducing grains doesn’t mean I can not have cookies though. Not at all. Almond meal is my best friend. I’ve made these cookies several times. You can’t go wrong with chocolate and coconut. Am I right, or am I wrong? I have a love affair with apricots, too, and think they make a terrific triplet with said other two ingredients.
No chocolate chips on hand? No problem! I chopped up my favorite Trader Joe’s 85% dark chocolate bar.
I adapted the Minimalist Baker’s recipe (incredible blog, by the way). The recipe is grain-free/gluten-free, dairy-free (no butter), and relatively low in sugar. Their decadent flavor comes from the healthy fats (almonds and coconut) and, of course, the bittersweet chocolate morsels and chewy dried apricots.
Click here for the recipe – enjoy!
Apricot obsessed? Me too!
Almond Apricot Quinoa Muffins – vegan
Almond Apricot Enery Bites – GF/vegan
Apricot Peach Smoothie – GF/vegan
Apricot Pistachio Coconut Oat Bars – GF
Homemade KIND Bars – GF/vegan
Pick-Me-Up Power Bars – GF/vegan
You had me at Dark Chocolate…
Oh my goodness…I’m in love with these cookies! They look amazing! I pinned them and have them on my list to try asap. Love the dark chocolate and apricot combo!
Yum to this, will have to give these cookies a try. I have never cooked with almond meal before – I need to add it to my list!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stared at a bag of almond meal at Trader Joe’s and contemplated buying it. Now I have a great reason to!
You sure do! And I have a bunch of other almond meal recipes on my Recipes page :)
These look delicious. My first recipe of 2014 was PIE…so I feel ya!
Oh yum! These look so good. I loveee nutty cookies.
The first recipe I posted this year was Apple and Cinnamon Crepes with a creamy mascarpone topping – but the first recipe I made? Jesse wanted to help me cook something so we made chocolate peanut butter rice crispy treats because I knew he couldn’t mess it up too much when it only uses chocolate, peanut butter and cereal :P
I actually never think to use apricots when I cook, but they sound delicious in these cookies. The combo of dark chocolate and coconut always lures me in!
I love everything about these cookies!!! That Trader Joe’s chocolate is the BEST. Over the last year, I have really cut back on grains in my diet (other than oats) and I feel all the better for it!
I have not experimented much with apricots, but these look delicious!
These look & sound so yummy! I love apricots, but can’t say that I’ve experimented with them in cookies yet… I might need to try this recipe!
I was just looking for a GF cookie made from almond meal – I think I found it :)
These look SO SO SO amazing! I wish I could eat one right now!
Oh my gosh, those cookies sound AMAZING! I’ve never used almond meal, I may need to experiment with it!
I LOVE carbs but I have found myself very tired mid-day. I have been wondering if part of my exhaustion has to do with my grain intake (I eat well, exercise, etc). I feel like I always have some sort of grain with a meal and am wondering if the two have anything in common. Aside from better digestion, have you noticed increased energy by eliminating grains? (Just curious.) Thanks!
I haven’t paid attention to my energy levels with reduced grain intake; I will make a note to do so!
these look amazing and i can’t wait to try thme! i’ve had them open in a browser tab all week!