These deliciously delicate chocolate lace cookies will be the hit of your next party – and they just so happen to be accidentally gluten-free!
Have you ever thought about trying a gluten-free diet?
Like Atkins in the 90s, the idea of “going gluten-free” has swept America (and beyond). If you haven’t tried a gluten-free diet, chances are you know at least one person who has.
There are people who adopt this diet out of necessity (Celiacs). And then there are those who try it simply because they’re curious. I have a friend who falls into the latter group: She’s been avoiding gluten for the past two months, and she swears it’s made her feel better.
I don’t know if my friend is really gluten-intolerant, or if it’s the placebo effect working the magic on her. But my job isn’t to judge; my job is just to be a supportive friend. And so I support her the best way I know: with lots of love… and food! (My Italian grandmother would be so proud.)
For more recipes: Over 100 Healthy Gluten Free Recipes
The following recipe is the definition of “experiment.”
I had absolutely no idea, when I threw a bunch of random ingredients together, what would come out of my oven!
Luckily, these gluten free cookies were a huge hit when I shared them this past Saturday night, and my gluten-free friend was so appreciative she wasn’t left out of dessert for once.
To be honest, the cookies aren’t my personal favorites. They turned out too crispy/chewy for my liking, and I much prefer softer cookies like my Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cookies.
But some of my friends loved the flourless chocolate cookies so much that I’m posting the recipe anyway. If you like your cookies to be chewy (as opposed to soft), this is a recipe for you!
Chocolate Lace Cookies
Very loosely based on my Fudge Babies Recipe.
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- scant 1/4 tsp salt
- level 1/2 tsp baking soda
- packed 1/4 cup pitted dates (45g)
- 1 cup chocolate chips (170g)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
Blend first five ingredients until almonds and dates are finely pulverized. In a separate bowl, combine vanilla, oil, and 3/4 c of the chocolate chips. Melt (I microwaved 1 minute, then stirred). Pour the dry ingredients, as well as the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, into the wet. Stir until evenly mixed, making sure to break up any big clumps. It’ll seem dry at first, but keep stirring until it all looks dark and shiny.
Bake at 355 F for 7-8 minutes. (Take out when still a bit undercooked, as these continue to cook as they cool.)
Link Of The Day:
Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies
What do you think of the gluten-free trend?
I know this is a polarizing subject: some people believe everyone can benefit from adopting a gluten-free diet, while others think the idea of eating gluten-free by choice is ridiculous.
Personally, I don’t think I’m qualified to judge. I don’t have Celiac Disease and I’ve never tried a gluten-free diet (nor will I, unless it becomes medically necessary to do so). But I do think that if someone wants to give up gluten and thinks it helps him/her feel better, all the more power to that person. It’s really not my place—or anyone else’s—to tell others what diet works best for their bodies.
These look so chocolately and rich…yummm!
I’m not gluten intolerant, but I do like making gluten-free recipes. Not just because all my GF friends go crazy over them, but because I like to get as wide a variety of grains (well, everything, really) in my diet as possible and it’s so so easy to just have wheat in everything. ;p
Hi Katie!
I have been meaning to write for a long time — probably for the last year or so I have been reading AND LOVING your blog! Being a dietitian, with similar health outlook, I recommend it all the time! I love how you make food, the ingredients — lack of sugar (as you prefer), combinations, creativity, you’re amazing! You’re super cute, kind, have a great personality — that is why everyone LOVES you! Knowing you were “just in college” (young), I was so proud of you and amazed after each post! You’re so organized and well-rounded. I kept especially telling my husband how great you are and that you should write a book, and now you get to do the blog professionally — congratulations! You certainly earned it, and I am SURE there will be MANY books in your future!!! …thus ends, perhaps, the love letter …lol. I think I put off writing because I have a website (www.fresh-you.com), as well as a blog, which I always wanted to improve before you took a look! Alas, I have 3 young children, and thus limited time, and so that has yet to happen, but I did at least begin a FB page which is starting to be sort of active, and fun, isn’t it great getting feedback?! You get hundreds of comments, but perhaps when you started, you were excited about the first few?! Though I am SURE you were really popular right away — you have such talent — you were born for this I think! Anyhow, I would love if you would check out my FB page, when you have a chance. I was so excited to tell you about my (I thought!) Skinny Balls recipe (“Larabar Ball” (that’s what we call them in my house) for Thin Mints (on the FB page), but after scouring your blog for PB fudge (which I guess you don’t have a certain page for, but that my children AND I love!) I saw an idea you had for the thin mints — mine’s a little different ingredients, but of course you thought of something like it! Longest comment ever, perhaps. Katie, THANK YOU for all the great ideas, smiles you’ve made in our house, and for sharing it all so kindly! Have a great day!!!
PS- these lcookies look delicious – and beautiful!!!
PS- I am not gluten-free or vegan, but we eat with mostly whole foods, so our diet is pretty similar to both!
I love the idea of going gluten free just to see how it feels, but the bf and I are dabbling in the vegan arena, and gluten just makes it so much easier (especially since he’s a big weight lifter).
These look delicious though!
We try to be GF (and casein free) for our son, who is on the autism spectrum. It really does help his symptoms and his behavior.
The cookies look nice, but one thing stands out: chocolate chips are not necessarily GF – you have to read the labels REALLY well to make sure that there is no gluten of any kind in them. My nephew (who doesn’t have celiac, but IS allergic to gluten) has to have specific kinds because most store brands have either milk (which he is ALSO allergic to), or some form of gluten in them. It sucks. I feel so bad for him. Fortunately, he can have chocolate! He’s not allergic to that 🙂
AHHHHH so pretty 🙂 I love that you call them lace! Girl anything with chocolate is a winner. I could use a hefty batch of those here at college where real food is a major rarity.
Katie,
These look amazing! They must be sturdy to be stacked like that!
I feel so much better eating gluten free and more recently grain free.
By the way, these qualify for that! 🙂
Since going gluten/grain-free nearly a year ago, I have not been sick once (beyond an occasional brief “fighting off a cold” feeling that goes away within 24 hours). I’ve lost 40lbs effortlessly, and now maintain at the lower end of my ideal weight range without effort (at my highest, I weighed 100lbs more than I do now – I’m definitely not “naturally” skinny). I’ve had a poochy belly, regardless of weight, since I was young. Now it’s pretty flat… and I’ve had three kids, the youngest just under a year ago. Relatedly, I rarely have gas at all anymore. I used to think farting all the time was just a part of life. I’ve always had a horrible sweet tooth. Two weeks after cutting out grains, my craving for sugar dropped dramatically, and while I haven’t eliminated sugar from my diet entirely, I eat much much less of it. My moods are more stable – I’ve been medicated for depression in the past, and now I honestly don’t need it. On the rare occasions that I do get down in the dumps, it’s very clearly tied to poor food choices and/or lack of sleep. Similar is true of my husband, and our marriage is happier now. We always used to get into huge fights after a nice dinner out.
So yes, I’m gluten-free by “choice”, in that I didn’t have the extreme digestive symptoms associated with celiac disease. But I do feel that my quality of life is much better if I avoid it.
And I think people who talk about how they couldn’t possibly give up bread regardless of any potential health benefit are literally addicted.
Mmm they look so good!
I don’t really have much of an opinion on the gluten-free diet, I personally feel that you should avoid cutting out whole food groups. Instead of cutting out something like gluten I feel that sticking to whole grains makes me feel much better 🙂
I don’t think gluten is the key to most people’s digestive problems, I think it’s much more to do with the sugar content in most glutenous foods!