I’m About To Introduce You To . . .

Your favorite indulgent snack! Everyone, meet “Ganache Filled Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites.”

Let me tell you something about these little guys: You know how you have those friends who just get you? They know all your idiosyncrasies; they’ve seen you at your best and loved you at your worst. They don’t mind the 2am phone calls and they’re more than happy to just hang out watching ‘Friends’ reruns right alongside you. No matter what situation you find yourself in, they are the perfect companion and always seem to know exactly what you’re thinking, sometimes even before you do.

That’s how I feel about these babies. Warm cookie goodness with sweet molten ganache literally melting in your mouth. They’re the perfect companion for a dinner party or a night in alone. And they’re so easy to make that you’ll never have to worry about it taking too long to whip something up again. So get out your cookie sheets and cue up the Netflix, tonight is gonna be awesome.

(Dairy Free) Chocolate Ganache Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ganache

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, liquefied but not warm (where to buy quality coconut oil)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa (where to buy cocoa)
• 1/4 cup raw honey (find really raw honey here)
• 1-2 tablespoons full fat *coconut milk, depending on how thick or thin you like it. Make sure to check the label for guar gum if you’re on GAPS or another restricted diet (where to buy coconut milk, how to make your own coconut milk)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the first three ingredients. Using a whisk or a hand mixer, beat the ingredients till thick and there are no lumps of cocoa left. Slowly add the coconut milk and continue beating till the ganache becomes smooth and glossy.

Notes: Because this is such a small batch, I like to use only one of the beater attachments when using my hand mixer. Chill ganache for a bit if your house is over 90 degrees, than re-whip the beaters.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (and assembly instructions)

• 2 cups fine ground blanched almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (where to find mineral rich salt)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, or oil of choice (where to buy quality coconut oil)
• 1/4 cup honey (I like clover honey for its mild flavor)
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free vanilla
• 1 tablespoon canned full fat coconut milk. Make sure to check the label for guar gum if you’re on GAPS or another restricted diet (where to buy coconut milk, how to make your own coconut milk)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free versions can be found at some health food stores or you can make it yourself. Here’s another recipe you might want to try, too!)

Want to know more about baking with almond flour? Read Here.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. (Note: A very fine ground almond flour works best here. Coarser grinds may result in a coarser cookie crumb. Also, be sure to ‘scoop’ up the almond flour with the cup and ‘sweep’ over the top with a flat edge. If you spoon almond flour into the cup, you are likely to not have the right ratio of almond flour for the recipe.
2. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the liquid ingredients. Blend well.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing till just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be wetter than your average cookie dough and pretty sticky. Let it rest while you get the cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. This will give it time to thicken up.
4. Scoop level (measuring) tablespoon amounts of cookie dough and tap it out of the spoon. (I tap it on the bowl a few times). Form a smooth, round, lightly packed ball with the dough. Place them on the cookie sheet at least two inches apart. Using two fingers, just barely tap down on the tops of the balls of dough. REALLY, you barely have to press at all for the ‘pudgy’ style cookie, just enough to flatten the top a little. The cookies shouldn’t be much bigger than 1 /12 inches around.
5. Place another cookie sheet under the one with the cookies. (This will help keep the bottoms from browning too fast.)
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about about 12 min. Keep an eye on them though, as baking times will vary from oven to oven, as well as thickness and size of cookie. Do not over bake or the bottoms and the outsides of the cookie will become tough. They should be light in color as shown in the picture, with some amount of browning on the bottoms.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Makes 15-17 small cookies.

Assembling:

First, if you want the ganache to be runnier like in pictures above, use two tablespoons of coconut milk instead of one when making the ganache. It also helps if your house is unusually warm, like mine is during Texas summers. If you want a thicker ganache that stays in the confines of your cookie and holds it shape, use just one tablespoon of coconut milk in the recipe.

Spoon the ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip or just use a spoon to pipe/scoop small amounts of ganache onto to half of the cookies. Place the other cookies on top and press down slightly to let the ganache spread out to the edges of the cookie.

Now you can eat up and enjoy!

Cookies sandwiches are best eaten within a few hours but can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for a few days. (like that’s going to happen……)

About The Author

Jenni Hulet (aka The Urban Poser), is a yoga teacher, mother and for 12 years now, a natural food chef for two crazy monkeys and one hungry gorilla! She specializes in grain/gluten/dairy & refined sugar free recipes that make you go YUM, and thinks that Winston Churchill was oh-so-right when he said:

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

This post is shared at Fight Back Friday