Grain Free Chocolate Coconut Cookies

When I think of my childhood, cookies were inseparably connected to afternoons in the swimming pool or nearby lake. Cookies is what we ate in copious amounts after splashing for an eternity in the water while soaking up the sun to get warm enough to jump into the pool again just a few minutes later. Cookies was the only thing we wanted to eat. Cookies would not melt in the sun, they were easy to carry.

The swimming pool and beach season has started in Dubai (at least for us), and I am finding myself in the kitchen baking cookies. Naturally, I try and make them as healthy and nutritious as possible by sneaking in some flax meal, making them gluten or even grain free.

However, for my family taste and texture comes first (nutrition is secondary). The very first requirement for a good cookie is crunch. These chocolate coconut cookies have a wonderful crisp. I love the deep dark flavor of the chocolate combined with coconut. They are quite filling too, in a pleasant way that makes you enjoy the flavor and texture of those few that you can eat at a time even more. Bon appetit!
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GRAIN FREE CHOCOLATE COCONUT COOKIES

(Print Recipe)

3/4 cup almond meal

1/3 cup chickpea flour

2 tablespoons flax meal

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/3 cup palm sugar (or grated Jaggery)

scant 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

Yields 25-30

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Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine almond meal, chickpea flour, flax meal,  cocoa powder and sugar.
In a small bowl, whisk together coconut oil and vanilla extract. Combine oil mixture with dry ingredients and. Between the palms of your hands, form cherry-sized balls out the dough. Then roll them in desiccated coconut. Place onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all dough is used up. Leave 2 to 3 inches space between the balls.
Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Let cool completely on wire rack.