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.
I just wanted to throw out a bit of information on wheat. I’m doing a masters in the field of agriculture and have colleagues who are working on wheat projects – so many wheat projects, tons of wheat projects!! The problem with wheat now is that the amount of gluten has been drastically increased through selective breeding and genetic modification. Wheat used to be diploid like us, with 2 sets of chromosomes, now they have varieties that are hexaploid with 6 sets of chromosomes. It used to be about 4 feet at maturity, now we have dwarf wheat that’s 2 feet tall with crazy big reproductive structures. And most of this has happened in the last 50 years, which is why your grandparents never knew anyone who was celiac, it didn’t really exist back then! Gluten levels have increased 80 to 100 fold. Objectively you can’t change something that much and not expect it to cause a change – maybe negative, maybe positive, but a change for sure!
Thanks Katie! These are incredibly yummy!!! Next time though, I think I will omit oil because the cookies are a tad too oily.
Everyday I visit your website and have been making some recipe of yours.
Next I want to make cookies by slightly modifying your German chocolate fudge bites (probably add some almonds to the food processor). Will let you know how they turn out.
So. . . what do you do between the stirring and baking?
Squish them down flat? Roll them?
Form cookie dough balls, but no need to flatten.
Read ‘Wheat Belly’ by William Davis, MD. The wheat grown nowadays has been so modified to increase yield and resistance to disease that it’s molecular structure actually makes it addictive. it’s why we’ve got such high percentages of diabetic, obese, insulin resistant population. Quite dangerous, actually, as these conditions lead to other serious health issues and shorten lifespan. Many who cut out wheat have clearer thinking, more energy, lots less gas and bloating, and more.
Hi Katie!! 😀
I loooooooove your blog! Unfortunately I’m allergic to almonds and nuts (coconut works though) and I’m wondering what I could possibly use instead in your recipes? Sunflower seeds? Pumpkin seeds? 🙂
Hope you get a nice christmas!
Unfortunately, it very much depends on each recipe. I’ve only tried all the recipes as written, so anything else will have to be an experiment :).
Om nom nom… these are amazing!!! Yummyyyy! 🙂 I don’t like crispy cookies either, but mine were soft because I accidentally melted the whole cup of chocolate chips because I din’t read the directions carefully enough and they were great! So yummy and they had little crunches from the almonds! Thank you so much for so many amazing recipes! 🙂
Thank you so much for trying them!
I really appreciate you adding the GF recipes.. As for our lives, it’s not just a “thing to try” or new “health food craze”. My husband was diagnosed with Celiac Disease back in 2008, but we now know he has had it way before them, once we realized the symptoms. “cheating” on his GF diet is NEVER an option. The effects of gluten when he is even cross-contaminated are horrible, not to mention the long term effects to whole body on various levels.
Keep the healthy GF recipes coming! WE LOVE THEM and appreciate them very much!!!
The gluten free diet has defininetly helped me. It wasn’t that I would get stomach pain after eating wheat, I would get after eating the meal after, sort of like the wheat ruined my stomach and then my stomach freaked out and thought it was my salad or whatever. I got tested and I do have an inflammatory reaction. I think everyone would be better off not eating wheat! Did you know that eating a slice of whole wheat toast raises your blood sugar more than a tablespoon of sugar? There’s a load of reasons to not eat wheat, including the fact that heirloom wheat has less than half the chromosomes of traditional gm wheat. There is also some sort of reason why wheat makes you age faster. If you’re really interested you should read the book wheat belly, it’s really dense though so I don’t understand everything lol
I tried to make these without chocolate chips. I make my own chocolate, with cacao, coconut oil and honey. Well, they didn’t bake up well, but they did taste yummy. I put them in a rectangular dish – thought maybe they would be like brownies. I ended up eating them with a spoon but boy did they taste good. 🙂 So, I tweeked the recipe. I left out the baking soda and added 1 cup of cacao powder, about 1/2 cup of honey and 1/2 cup of coconut oil then put them in molds in the frig. They are sooooo good this way. I actually crave them … haha I do want to try to make the actual recipe, but i didn’t have chocolate chips at the time.
Thanks Katie !
Hey! I just wanted to let you know, that my friend made these for me and hers weren’t crispy or chewy. They were nice and soft and delicious. She made hers a bit thicker than yours in the picture, so that might have been the secret to getting them more like you like them. These are one of the best cookies I have had in a LONG time! Thank you SOOO much!!!
We went gluten free when my husband developed Crohn’s disease. We found that gluten put him into a flare. For the sake of convenience I just got rid of all gluten in the house. I had been suffering from severe heartburn/GERD and been on Rx meds for several years and would still have breakthrough heartburn. It totally went away when I went GF. I’m now off the meds and only have issues when I “cheat” and eat gluten containing foods.
These cookies are so delicious!!! We are addicted to them.Can you tell me how many calories they have per cookie?
Tks, Patricia
I tried gluten-free eating a couple of years ago because my throat had been chronically swollen and someone suggested the diet change might help. It did. After three weeks, I ate flour again just once. Oh my! Two days later my brain was so foggy you would think I had swallowed a full bottle of Benadryl… and my nightly abdominal cramps were back.
Ever the skeptic, I continued gluten free for a few more weeks, then tried wheat again. Suffice it to say I have been gluten-free ever since! My throat is fine, the chronic abdominal cramps and headaches gone.
So, thanks for the great gluten-free recipes!
MD
Does anyone know what the equivalent of 1 cup of whole almonds are after pulverization? I have almond flour on hand and would like to use it. Thanks!
What a delicious looking experiment! I love that this recipe uses dates–it seems like lace cookies always just call for sugar, sugar sugar.
My mom went gluten free about a year ago, just because of the fact that wheat that we have now isn’t the same wheat in history. It’s a GMO version. Since coming off of it her arthritis has disappeared. She’s 70 and has more energy than people half her age.