Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
A few weeks ago JJ was fighting a bit of a yeast infection, so I was very careful not to let him eat very much sugar. He was getting pretty bummed about it after a few days, so I decided to make him a healthy dessert, that wouldn’t load him up with sugar. I thought paleo desserts would be a good option, because it is easy to make them low in carbs (nut flour is way better than refined grain flour). JJ, however, is the only one of my kids who generally won’t eat baked goods that are made with nut flours. He’s picky! We tried a couple different recipes for him, but it was to no avail. FYI, I should say the desserts we tried were MOSTLY paleo…I used xylitol, instead of the paleo approved sweeteners, because it is very low carb and I’ve read it can actually help fight yeast.
I’d like to take a moment to give you a little side note here about diabetic friendly baked goods. One of my pet peeves is when a recipe that is full of refined flour calls itself “diabetic friendly”, because the sugar has been replaced with aspartame, or some other sweetener. The flour is just as bad as sugar for diabetics (or anyone), and should be avoided! If you really want to make a dessert diabetic friendly, use nut flour and coconut flour! Look out for recipes that call for lots of coconut flour, though…yuck! I usually won’t use more than 1/4 cup of it in a recipe.
OK, back to the story. After I tried a few different desserts, big sister Emily stepped in and made these dairy and gluten free chocolate chip cookies for Mister Picky Pants. He loved them! These cookies are certainly not carb/sugar free, but they are WAY better than most baked goods. Only 1/5 of the total flour used is refined grain flour, and the sweeteners used are maple syrup
. The Glycemic Index value for maple syrup is 54, and xylitol is only 12. The chocolate chips are very high in cocoa content (72%), which means the amount of sugar in there is much lower than normal chocolate chips. Isn’t Emi a superstar big sister?!
We are careful about the amount of sugar our kids eat, but they do eat sweets in moderation…and they’re not always low glycemic. It’s important to train your children to eat a healthy diet, that is actually sustainable for them in the long term. If you take sweets away entirely, they’re quite likely to rebel at some point, especially when they leave home! If you’ve taught them how to moderate their sweet food, and how to make some healthy alternatives for baked goods, they’re more likely to continue that pattern into adulthood. Emily actually wants to start a gluten and dairy free café when she grows up, that serves healthy, clean foods. She’s gonna rock that!
Before we get to the recipe for the gluten free chocolate chip cookies, I want to invite you to join with others who are making healthy changes. I’d love to walk alongside you in your journey towards wholeness and health! Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!” Freedom from food addictions is part of having a truly full life.
Makes About 3 Dozen
- 4 Cups Almond Flour
- 1 Cup GF All Purpose Flour
(one that has xanthan gum)
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Cup Coconut Oil
(Melted)
- 2 Eggs
- 2/3 Cup Maple Syrup
- 1/2 Cup Minimally Processed Xylitol
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
- 2 Cups 72% Chocolate Chunks
(break up the candy bar with your meat mallet)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together dry and wet ingredients separately, then combine them in your mixer. Add in the chocolate chips at the end. Spoon cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet in 1-2 tablespoon clumps, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are starting to turn brown and the centers are set. Enjoy!!!
