Chocolate-Nib Coconut Cookies

The main thing that I don't like about the SCD is that chocolate is not allowed and I love chocolate!   I looked on the SCD legal/illegal list and it says you can't use cocoa powder which makes sense since it is likely they add additives and the no chocolate rule also makes sense because it all has milk and sugar, but other bloggers have suggested using cacao nibs. These are the raw form of chocolate, the beans before they've undergone major processing. I tried this recipe and  it turned out great. I've since seen other comments that even the beans may have a compound that some people react to and so may not be technically SCD legal for everyone, but we have had no ill effects and they are delicious! I modified the recipe I found here by decreasing the liquid to compensate for using honey instead of sugar (and by adding chocolate of course!).

A Note About Cacao Nibs: These are actually surprisingly healthy for you, according to the package they contain beta-carotene, zinc and magnesium and actually contain more antioxidant flavonoids than blueberries, red wine or even green tea! I found mine at a local health/organic food store but if you can't find them there they are also available online. While they are  pretty expensive, they are worth a try, they have a really unique flavour, dark chocolate mixed with something more complex and they go really well with the coconut flour.

A Note About Coconut Flour:  Coconut flour is  different from other kinds of flours for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it has much less carbohydrates per serving which is why people often eat it to lose weight. For example,100 g of whole grain wheat flour has 76 g of carbohydrates while the same amount of coconut flour has only 65g. The fiber content of coconut flour is also the highest of any other type of flour! This means that just 1 tbsp. contains about 3 g of fiber. It is low on the glycemic index so it won't spike your blood sugar levels quickly and it is also very high in protein: it contains 19.3g of protein per 100g. If you want more interesting facts about how healthy it is see here. However, there is one downside, because of its high fiber content, eating too many baked goods made with coconut flour at any one time can give you a stomach ache. These cookies in particular are very filling so make sure to pace yourself!

Cookie Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP honey*
•  3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
•  3/4 cup Coconut flour
• 4-5 TBSP Raw Chocolate (Cacao) Nibs

*Note: These cookies are not super-sweet, which in my opinion is good because they make a great snack but you are not tempted to eat too many, you can add more honey if you want but you may need to add more flour to compensate*

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Beat eggs together with honey, vanilla extract and melted butter.
3. Take Cacao nibs and grind in blender/ food processor 10-20 seconds to make a coarse meal.
4. Add coconut flour, salt and ground nibs to liquid batter stir well to mix all ingredients in, let sit 3-4 min to make sure coconut flour absorbs all liquid, the cookie dough should be of a consistency that is easy to shape into little round balls.
5. Grease baking sheet and  scoop batter and  form small balls and flatten on baking sheet as shown above.
6. Bake cookies in oven  for 10 minutes or until brown on bottom.
7. Cool and enjoy! They don't need to be refrigerated unless they don't get eaten in 2 weeks..which in my house is highly unlikely :).

YUM!