Could this be the BEST grain-free chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe ever? Made with Cassava flour and avocado, this cookie will surprise you in both flavor and taste! They are SO easy to make, and best of all, you’d never know they’re gluten-free, made without nuts and totally vegan!
I come to you with an unconventional recipe that will totally surprise you including using chickpea brine (juice from a can of chickpeas) as an egg substitute! BOOM! In fact, you may look at the list of ingredients, and pardon my french say “what the Heck, how is this cookie going to taste good?”. In fact, I expect this response. But what you don’t know yet, is that once you take a bite, ALL of your judgments and skeptical concerns about this cookie will disappear. Because that ONE BITE is going to send you over the gluten-free cookie moon, into gluten-free cookie heaven where only gluten-free cookie dreams are made.
These cookies are the perfect amount of chewy if you are the chewy cookie type. And the sweetness is just the amount of perfect sweetness. And these cookies are super chocolatey just the way I like it. The texture is spot on, and the flavor is oh so wow. Like mom just made a batch of homemade cookies wow, like they just taste like the cookies I used to eat before I went _____________ – free wow. (fill in the blank with your allergy, sensitivity, intolerance or autoimmune disease)
Getting serious for a second…
Half of my taste testing team are NOT gluten-free. And I have it this way for a reason. If my taste testers who love gluten, dairy and sugar can devour these cookies, close their eyes and swoon, then babes – I know these cookies are golden.
My plan with this cookie was for it to be delightfully and sinfully delicious. Like swoon delicious. O-M-G I can’t believe how good this cookie is delicious! So delicious, I’m just going to grab the whole batch and stuff them into my pockets for later-delicious. My only requests to my creative brain were to create this amazing, delicious and scrumptious cookie without gluten (duh), grains, dairy, nuts, and eggs. I bet you are wondering what’s left right? LOL! It was a tall order for someone who isn’t creative in the kitchen but for me a challenge that supported my cause.
You see, my world is all about eating a healthy gluten-free clean diet to beat Celiac Disease, fight and heal inflammation. So I aim to create sweet treats that are suitable for people like myself with multiple food sensitivities, and allergies on top of the gluten-free diet while maintaining the definition of healthy and without sacrificing TASTE. Is that too much to ask for? I know what you are thinking! Santa Claus doesn’t exist, right? It’s too good to be true right? WRONG! As Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it”. He also said “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible” and “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them”. And I agree! While for some this might be daunting to create in this way, I find it relaxing. I really love to be able to use my creativity for the greater good. It creates a magical energy.
And my magical energy was really rooting for chickpea juice to work as an egg substitute. And my magical energy was all about using avocado as a butter replacement! I only hoped that my cookies wouldn’t turn green. These cookies may come out of the oven looking a bit flimsy or have a slightly duller tint because of the avocado, (but by far NOT green as you can see) BUT that’s totally okay! Because the taste makes up for the appearance in a MAJOR way!!
So before I give you this AMAZING recipe, I want to chat about benefits!
Cassava Flour, my latest obsession because it is certified paleo, certified gluten-free, nut-free and totally grain free because it is made from the Yucca Plant and no it’s not tapioca either. It’s a starch. It’s vegan. It’s non-gmo, corn-free, soy-free and all that good stuff. And what I love about it most, is that in most recipes (not bread) it’s a 1 for 1 substitute from wheat flour. Which means, if you have a cookie recipe or a recipe (not bread) that isn’t gluten-free like tortillas, pancakes, waffles, cookies, crackers etc, you don’t have to worry about switching ratios. Just replace the cassava flour, where it asked for wheat flour! And it’s a great thickening agent too in raw desserts, sauces and anything else you can think of that needs thickening.
Chickpea Brine -What’s SO crazy is that using chickpea juice as an egg substitute has been around for a LONG TIME! Like 1967 LONG. Before I was born LONG. So, since it’s been around for a long time then you and I both know – it must work! Besides, I was madly in love with this idea so I had no choice but to try it! If you are going to go with this option which I highly recommend as an egg sub, then I also highly recommend that you use a BPA liner-free and organic can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) like the Eden brand. That’s the brand I use.
Maple Syrup – Please, please do not use artificial maple syrup like Aunt Jemima! Go for the good stuff. The organic or local real maple syrup. It will make a HUGE difference.
Okay. Are you ready to go where only cookie dreams are made?
Let’s make beautiful music together!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
3/4 cup Cassava Flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt (I used Pink Himalayan sea salt, but you can use regular sea salt too)
1/4 cup date sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup packed mashed ripe avocado
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
6 tablespoons chickpea brime (juice from a can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans)
2 tsp. chocolate extract
1/2 cup + 1 handful of gluten-free dark chocolate chips ( I like Enjoy Life or Hershey’s Dark Chocolate baking chips or check out my favorite trusted chocolates for more options)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Line 2 cookie trays with parchment paper or tin foil and grease with cooking spray.
In a high rim medium bowl add all of the DRY ingredients, and mix with a hand mixer or fork so that it is well mixed.
Then add in all the wet ingredients and mix on high till well blended. (Note this mixture will be thicker because of the Cassava flour, but that is totally normal). Really beat the avocado into the mixture. If you see avocado particles, it’s not mixed enough.
Once well mixed fold in the chocolate chips and mix once more with a hand mixer to ensure that the chips are evenly spread throughout the cookie batter.
Take small spoonfuls of batter and mold into a ball and place on the baking sheets. With your palm, flatten each cookie. If your hands get stuck to the batter, simply dip your palm in water, and then flatten each cookie.
Put into the oven for exactly 8 minutes, on the middle rack and lower racks. At 4 minutes, swap the trays so that each tray is getting even amount of time on the middle and lower rack. At 8 minutes, take out of oven, and transfer cookies to a cooling rack (still on the parchment paper or tin foil) to cool in a non-heated area. You must let these cookies cool before attempting to eat. Let cool for a minimum of 10 minutes.
If you don’t eat all the cookies at once, store in the fridge for 1 week.
Makes about 16 cookies
TIPS:
Drain chickpeas out of the can into a strainer with a bowl underneath so you catch the chickpea juice. Put chickpea juice into a glass jar and store in the fridge. 1 can of chickpeas will give you 9 tablespoons of chickpea juice. For this recipe you will only need 6 tablespoons.
Store the chickpeas in a plastic bag for either a different recipe, or to add into your salads. You will not need the actual chickpeas for this recipe.
I have only tested this recipe using date sugar, so if you use a different sugar source the taste may slightly differ.
I personally love Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate chips because they are free of all the top allergens and made in a dedicated gluten-free facility. However, if .2% milk-fat isn’t an issue in your chocolate chip, then try the Hershey’s dark chocolate baking chips for these cookies. The cookies pictured use Hershey’s. My first batch used Enjoy Life.
If you cannot find chocolate extract you can use vanilla extract.
- ¾ cup Cassava Flour
- ¼ tsp. sea salt (I used Pink Himalayan sea salt, but you can use regular sea salt too)
- ¼ cup date sugar
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ cup packed mashed ripe avocado
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons chickpea brime (juice from a can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans)
- 2 tsp. chocolate extract
- ½ cup + a large handful of gluten-free dark chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Line 2 cookie trays with parchment paper or tin foil and grease with cooking spray.
- In a high rim medium bowl add all of the DRY ingredients, and mix with a hand mixer or fork so that it is well mixed.
- Then add in all the wet ingredients and mix on high till well blended. (Note this mixture will be thicker because of the Cassava flour, but that is totally normal). Really beat the avocado into the mixture. If you see avocado particles, it's not mixed enough.
- Once well mixed fold in the chocolate chips and mix once more with a hand mixer to ensure that the chips are evenly spread throughout the cookie batter.
- Take small spoonfuls of batter and mold into a ball and place on the baking sheets. With your palm, flatten each cookie. If your hands get stuck to the batter, simply dip your palm in water, and then flatten each cookie.
- Put into the oven for exactly 8 minutes, on the middle rack and lower racks. At 4 minutes, swap the trays so that each tray is getting even amount of time on the middle and lower rack. At 8 minutes, take out of oven, and transfer cookies to a cooling rack (still on the parchment paper or tin foil) to cool in a non-heated area. You must let these cookies cool before attempting to eat. Let cool for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- If you don't eat all the cookies at once, store in the fridge for 1 week.
Love & Delicious Deliciousness!
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