Double Chocolate & Sea Salt Cookies
Ingredients
- 50 g quality dark chocolate - I used 85% Green & Blacks
- 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts or other nuts
- 1/4 cup Trade Aid cocoa
- 1/2 cup nut butter or peanut butter
- 1 free range egg
- 1 cup dates*
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of sea salt + extra for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven 180C [160C fan-forced]. Line a cookie tray with baking paper. *If using dried dates cover with boiling water and soak for 15 minutes to soften. Drain well.
- Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a food processor, pulse to cut into small pieces. Add the remaining ingredients and blend for a minute until combined. Shape into walnut sized balls and arrange on a baking tray with space between each cookie. Flatten with fingers or a fork and sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of sea salt. Bake in batches for 12 minutes. Cool on the tray then store in a cookie tin.
Notes
Nut-free - instead of ground hazelnuts use buckwheat flour or flour of choice + use tahini or sunflower butter in place of nut/ peanut butter.
Egg-free - Replace the egg with 1 Chia Egg = Mix 1 Tbsp chia seeds with 3 Tbsp warm water and set aside for 10 minutes to thicken.
I have a schedule for the recipes I share here that is planned about a month ahead. This way I can organise the ingredients, test the recipes, find props if needed etc. I am used to working with planned deadlines for magazine articles and book projects so it kind of suits me to run things this way. I truly believe consistency is the key to a good website and this way I know what I am doing each week and can plan ahead. However, every now again I create something in the kitchen that just needs to be shared RIGHT AWAY, most definitely not in a months time.
These cookies are a case in point. The result of a cooking afternoon with my 4-year-old girl, just me and her in the kitchen chatting, weighing ingredients and cracking eggs. Admittedly – and I am sure I am not alone here – it is not easy fitting in one-on-one time for this part-time working Mum with 2 children who makes virtually everything we eat from scratch. But I know how important it is, and if I have to leave my blog post for another day so I can make time, that is my priority. Family is something to cherish and nourish with time and love.
These cookies are gluten and dairy-free. I know I have shared quite a few recipes in this vein recently [I promise something savoury next week!], a sign of the times I suppose as I am packing lunchboxes most days for Kindy. I love being able to pop in a home-baked cookie that is low in sugar and high in protein for sustained energy.
They sound very yummy Nicola. Something to try. Thank you.
Thanks Margaret, very yummy and adaptable. Enjoy!
I’m very impressed by your organised approach to blogging Nicola…and it certainly shows in your beautiful & professional results! I’m not sure that I’d ever manage that myself, as blogging is something that I only seem to squeeze in after everything else, but am inspired by you once again anyway. Keep treasuring those precious moments with your little ones 🙂
Thanks Sam, it just suits me to do things this way but I know that isn’t everyones cup of tea. I probably wouldn’t keep it up if I didn’t have some system in place! I hope you are well x
Yes! Nicola, I can totally picture you and your four year old enjoying time in the kitchen together and making these delicious cookies!! I’m with you… time in the kitchen with my kiddos is one of the great pleasures in life.
xoxo
E
Thanks Erin! Yes it is indeed, I love being creative in the kitchen and being able to share that with my children is so special – and not being too caught up about the mess! Thanks for stopping by x
Hi Nicola, I just made a half batch in my mini whiz … although I forgot to halve the egg *oops*. The mixture was a bit wet but still worked perfectly. I made the tahini version and they are delicious. They really hit the spot on this beautiful crisp Nelson morning and filled our house with the smell of chocolate and hazelnuts. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Katie, I am glad they still worked out well. They are quite an adaptable cookie and the fudgey-ness means you can get away with the whole egg. Thanks for the reminder I must make a batch soon!
Hi, thumbs up for the Trade Aid cocoa. When you buy it in the big 2 kg bag it doesn’t work out more expensive than the supermarket, it’s guilt-free and I think it is noticably better quality.
Superbly delicious, these got the thumbs up from my four kids aged 8-16!
Just made these and they are delicious! The mixture was very wet though, not sure if that was because I didn’t drain my dates for long enough or if it’s meant to be? I threw in a little flour just to bind them together a bit more and they worked great! Also didn’t have enough peanut butter so used some coconut oil to make up the difference. Very very yummy!
Fantastic! You have just proved how adaptable this recipes is 🙂 And yes draining the dates well is recommended. Happy cooking 😉