Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Need a chocolate fix? Well hold onto your tastebuds, these chocolate pecan cookies will knock your socks off!! 

I got the idea for these cookies from a recipe for 'brownie cookies' that used wheat flour, but I decided to try ground pecans instead. I'm always looking for ways to make gluten free (or even grain free), dairy free treats that are even better than their original wheat and dairy counterparts... I love pecans and chocolate together, and I was hoping the pecans would give these a chewy 'brownie' texture. They did!  I also changed the sugar to Rapadura, which gives them a richer flavour, and is of course better for you than refined sugar.

I promised to post this recipe ages ago, but I needed some photos, so today my daughter Cassia helped me make these again. (She loves to use the Thermomix, and is always quite happy to pose for photos.) I also invited my Quirky Cooking Facebook friends to join in the baking fun! A few of us baked 'together' via the internet, exchanging hints and tips as we cooked. (Check out some of their tips and variations below the recipe.) We'll have to do some cooking together again via Facebook - it was a lot of fun!

So here's the recipe - please let me know how you like it in the comments below. Recipe makes about 40 cookies.

1. Chop for 8 seconds on speed 6:

- 220g dairy free dark chocolate, broken in pieces (I use Lindt 70% cocoa - it's dairy free; or you could make your own!)

2. Melt chocolate at 50 degrees for 3 minutes on speed 1.

3. Add and mix for 20 seconds, speed 8:

- 150g pecans

- 3 eggs

- 1 tsp dry, instant coffee (or raw cacao powder)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 120g Rapadura

- 1/4 tsp sea salt

- 1/4 tsp bicarb soda (opt.)

The mixture will be thick and sticky, not quite as thick as usual cookie dough. Try not to eat all the raw mixture - I know, it's hard!

The raw mixture is soooo yummy!

4. Drop by heaped teaspoonfuls onto lined baking trays and bake at 160 degrees C for about 11-15 minutes, until cookies have risen and cracked slightly. You don't want to overcook them, as they are supposed to be slightly 'gooey' in the centre - just barely baked through! Leave on trays for 5 mins, then remove to cooling rack. They will sink down as they cool and become flatter and chewy. 

If you can manage to keep everyone from scoffing them all straight away, store them in an airtight container in the fridge - they taste delicious cold!

P.S. I think next time I'd better double or triple this recipe!

Tips and Variations:

Phiazy used a mixture of almonds and hazelnuts instead of the pecans - her cookies were a little firmer, and puffed up a little more. She also used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, and sugar instead of Rapadura (because she didn't have any). Actually, she forgot the sugar in the first batch, but she said they were still yummy (since she didn't use 70% cocoa chocolate, so they were pretty sweet already) - they were just a little flatter. So if you don't use dark, 70% cocoa chocolate, make sure you cut down on the sugar!

Raelene made these the old-fashioned way - she doesn't have a Thermomix (yet!)... She chopped the chocolate, melted it in a double-boiler, got water in it and had to start again, ran out of chocolate and had to go to the shop again, used 100g pecans plus 50g almond meal (but found she needed more almond meal because the mixture was too thin), and used raw sugar because she'd run out of Rapadura - but they still worked! She decided next time she'd use Rapadura plus add some raw cacao powder to make them richer and more chocolatey. Despite her setbacks, Raelene decided these were definitely worth making, and even worth the extra trip to the shop!!

Jessica made these using macadamia nuts instead of pecans - yummo!!

Flourless Choc Hazelnut Brownies

Here's a brownie recipe I made up the other day in honour of my little brother who was visiting from the big city - this one's for you, bro!  These brownies are especially nice eaten with fresh strawberries, and they're even better if they're shared with those you love :)  Enjoy.

Gluten free, dairy free, naturally sweetened, easy and delicious!

1. Preheat oven to 190° celcius.

2. Weigh all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and process on speed 9 for 30 seconds.  Scrape down sides of bowl, and process again on speed 9 for another 20 seconds.

- 170g raw hazelnuts (no need to remove skins)
- 60g dates
- 40g raw cacao powder or organic cocoa powder
- 60g Rapadura
- 4 large eggs
- 50g coconut oil
- 30g macadamia oil or light olive oil
- 60g coconut cream
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3. Pour into a greased or lined 7" x 11" (18cm x 28cm) rectangular oven dish.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

4. To serve, you can dust with cocoa or powdered Rapadura if you like.

Gateau au Chocolate - Flourless French Chocolate Cake

One of my favourite things to do is to create healthy desserts that taste really decadent. The kind of desserts you can serve to your nine year old boy and your sugar-addicted friends, and they'd never know it was healthy! This cake is a rich, dark, moist 'gateau au chocolate' which I found on Debra Lynn Dadd's website, http://www.sweetsavvy.com/. A serving of one-eighth of the cake has only 12 carbs, but don't worry, it doesn't taste like it!

This recipe has a dark, bittersweet chocolate taste which I love. But if you prefer a sweeter cake, just add more Rapadura (evaporated sugar cane juice, available from health food stores).

I use a Thermomix for most of my cooking - an amazing cooking machine that is a food processor, grinder, cooker, steamer, and much more. (For more information, go to www.thermomix.com.) If you don't have a Thermomix, you will need an electric mixer and a blender.

In case you get confused, you'll need five eggs for this recipe, but two of the yolks won't be used. Store them for later and use in custard or when making your own pasta.

1. Preheat oven to 150° C (300° F).

2. Grease a 7" springform pan with butter, and set aside.

3. Mix on high speed in blender or Thermomix until powdered:
- 1/2 cup Rapadura Tip into a bowl and set aside.

4. Melt over low heat (either on stove in pan, or in Thermomix ):
- 10 tablespoons of butter

5. Remove from heat and add the Rapadura, and:
- 9 tablespoons organic cocoa (or the best dark cocoa you can afford)
Stir until blended, then set aside to cool for 15 mins.

6. Crack and separate:
- 4 eggs
Place the whites into a mixer bowl, and place two of the yolks in a storage container and place in fridge for another recipe.

7. Beat the 4 egg whites in mixer bowl with electric mixer (or Thermomix with butterfly attachment) until they form stiff peaks. Tip into another bowl and set aside.

8. Tip two egg yolks into the mixer bowl (or Thermomix). Add:
- 1 whole egg Beat the yolks and the whole egg together until they are light and foamy. Slowly add the cocoa mixture, beating the whole time, until it's well mixed.

9. Pour the butter/cocoa/egg mixture into the egg whites in the large bowl, and fold together with a spatula until well incorporated, but don't overmix!

10. Pour batter into the springform pan and bake for about an hour. The cake usually rises high, cracks open, then deflates a little. The centre should be set, but doesn't need to be dry.

11. Allow to cool completely on a rack, then remove sides of pan.

You can serve this delicious cake plain, but it tastes absolutely amazing if you pile it with Berry Nougat... this is my favourite way to serve it! (Besides, if it deflates too much, no one will notice if it's covered in berries!)


Berry Nougat
This recipe is one I know from memory, but it was originally from a raw cookbook by Serene Allison - the amounts can vary to taste, so don't stress too much about measuring.

1. In a big mixing bowl, tip in:
- about 300g of frozen mixed berries
- a handful or two of raisins or sultanas (for chewiness)
- a handful of raw almonds (or your favourite nuts), roughly crushed in blender or Thermomix
- a few splashes of pure maple syrup (to taste - make sure it's still tangy, not too sweet)
- a few blobs of almond (or mixed nut) butter

You can let the berry nougat thaw a little, or have it still mostly frozen - I like it thawed, as it's juicier and has more flavour. Berry nougat is delicious on it's own too, thawed or frozen, or on cheesecake (if you eat dairy).

This is making my mouth water - I'm off to make some berry nougat for a snack!