It’s already almost a month after the holidays and usually about that time when our resolutions start to falter. I’m certainly no dieter but I do rejoice when I find a healthy recipe I’m crazy about, especially when it comes to desserts and sweets. Stumbling upon that gluten-free, salt and pepper chocolate chip cookies in Sarah Britton’s beautiful cookbook “My New Roots” was definitely my January savior and allowed me to satisfy my sweet tooth ‘almost’ guilt-free.
You’ll learn a few wonderful and healthy tips such as how to make your own oat flour (blitz some gluten-free oats in a food processor – that’s it!) and how to replace refined sugar with even more flavor by substituting it with natural sweeteners like brown rice syrup or date syrup as I’ve used here with amazing results. Coconut sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, salt and the addition of a surprising amount of freshly grounded pepper form the base of these exciting and unusual cookies.
Fold in a generous amount of dark chocolate, essential to balance the nice heat from the pepper and create that wonderful combination of flavor somewhat reminiscent of a Mexican hot chocolate.
Sprinkle some flaky sea salt as a final touch before a quick turn into the oven – you’ll see how much they expend when baking!
Voila! An incredibly satisfying treat with no flour, eggs or refined sugar and enough punch to keep your cravings at bay for a little while.
I honestly never thought adding pepper would bring such an interesting dimension to this childhood classic, and now I’m addicted!
Chewy yet slightly crunchy at the same time, they’re the perfect wholesome answer to your eating resolutions gone awry. Welcome this new classic in your repertoire and start February on the right track!
| Cook Time: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 16 cookies |
2. Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Whisk in the brown rice syrup, water, and vanilla. Remove from the heat.
3. Blend the oats in a food processor until you have a rough flour. Transfer it to a large bowl and add the coconut sugar, salt, pepper, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir to combine. Add the coconut oil mixture to the dry ingredients and fold to combine. Fold the chocolate into the batter.
4. Spoon out balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches / 5cm between them (they spread a lot!). Garnish each cookie with a few flakes of sea salt. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven, let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Store the cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
1⁄3 cup / 80ml brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons water or milk of your choice (nut, seed, rice, goat)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
21⁄2 cups / 250g gluten-free rolled oats
1⁄2 cup / 75g coconut sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 cup / 70g chopped organic dark chocolate (80% or higher)
Flaky sea salt
