I have these wonderful cookies to share with you all. I really wish there was some way to program the smell of these cookies into the post so you all can smell and drool over these rich little guys, but pictures will have to do 🙂
These cookies were a breeze to make! They are also grain-free, egg-free and can be made dairy-free by using coconut oil instead of butter (I used half and half). I topped these guys with fresh homemade shredded coconut & chocolate chips. So rich, crumbly and SO YUMMY! I also love the fact that these guys are so healthy and nutritious. A great sweet snack in the afternoon with a glass of fresh, raw milk!
I just realized that these cookies can also be vegan simply using coconut oil instead of butter. Didn’t try to do that on purpose :o)
Anyway, arrowroot powder is one of the main ingredients in these cookies. It is a white powder used as a thickener and actually a nutritious food (more so than potato starch or cornstarch). Let me share with you what I learned about this wonderful, yet uncommon, powder.
Arrowroot Powder
Arrowroot flour (powder), the only starch with a calcium ash, is a nutritious food, obtained from the fleshly root stock of a tropical American plant. It is an easily digested food well fitted for infants and the convalescent.It resembles cornstarch in being white, fine and powdery. When heated in water in certain portions, it thickens to form a jelly, an excellent thickening agent. It is also considered more desirable for gravies, sauces and pastries than some of the more common starches and flours. It is used primarily for food in dietetic use, where it enjoys a reputation for smoothness and palatability.Arrowroot was once widely used in baby formula as a superior carbohydrate, experience having shown it agreed with babies better than any other starch or sugar. We now find the reason. It is the only starch product with a calcium ash. In this regard, the calcium chloride, in the form of calcium found in arrowroot starch, is very important for the maintenance of proper acid and alkali balances in the human body.Arrowroot only thrives on tidal flats where the sea minerals are available. Its known health-building properties may be due to trace minerals from the sea, as well as from the calcium it gets from the sea water. If it is used in ice cream formulas in place of cornstarch, arrowroot imparts a vanilla-like flavor, a smooth texture. Arrowroot as it comes to you is not a refined product; it is simply the dried and powdered root. -Royal Lee, DDS Journal of the National Academy of Research Biochemists
I use this stuff in my ice cream all the time and love it. I am planning to make more cookies and snacks using arrowroot powder. I will share them with you as I go along, of course. You can purchase Arrowroot Powder on Amazon. They have good prices and different brands.
Flourless Chocolate Almond Cookiesmakes about 20
- 1 1/2 cups dehydrated almonds (regular raw almonds can be used too)
- 1/2 plus 1/8 cups butter and/or coconut oil, softened
- 1 cup arrowroot
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup raw sugar (coconut sugar, rapadura, etc..)
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- extra almonds
- coconut flakes (optional)
- chocolate chips (optional)
Place almonds in food processor and process to a fine meal.Add remaining ingredients, except extra almonds, and process until well blended.Form dough into walnut-sized balls and place on buttered cookie sheets.Press an almond into each ball and top with coconut flakes. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes.After 5 minutes in the oven, press cookies down lightly with a fork and top with chocolate chips. Let it bake for the remaining 15 minutes. Let them cool completely before to an airtight container. Store in refrigerator.NOTE: I left them out for 3 days (that’s how long they lasted) and they tasted great. If you are not using coconut oil, then put them in the fridge right away. Coconut oil naturally preserves the cookies.
Please let me know what you think when you whip up a batch!
YUM! These look amazing!
-muffy
Wonderful alternative for those who can’t tolerate gluten, I think I’ll try swapping different nuts too!.
these cookies are amazing considering that there isn’t any flour, eggs or even dairy! They look really yummy. I think I would add peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips as well. 🙂
Healthy cookies? Can’t believe it but thanks to you, it exists!
Wow, those do look really good. Never would guess they are healthy.
These look amazing. Will have to make! I’ve saved to my recipe box on foodbuzz!
Hey Mare! I love your blog and have had great fun with your recipes. This recipe looks amazing as well, but is there supposed to be cocoa powder in it somewhere? I can’t figure out how it is chocolate without that :).
SORRY EVERYBODY! I totally forgot to add the cocoa powder! Thanks to StayingFree… I fix the recipe. So, now you can enjoy :o) LOL!!!
Yay! Thanks Mare. BTW, I love your heart for the Lord and bless what you and your family are doing in Costa Rica.
This is so cool. As I’ve been learning more how to bake, I’ve been trying to learn more about arrowroot. I didn’t realize you could substitute it even for flour. (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) I’ve seen some flourless cookie recipes on Nourishing Gourmet also. So why do you add it to your ice cream? Am about to make some and would love any info you can send! Thanks for sharing!
Diana – you can’t really replace flour with arrowroot, especially if you need the gluten for rising purposes. BUT it is great for cookies and such. I add it in my ice cream to make it thick. I use whole milk, not just cream and it really helps my ice cream to get creamy and thick. It also gives a slight vanilla flavor it to (read above about arrowroot). I mostly use the Nourishing Traditions ice cream recipes as a base for making my ice creams. EASY!!!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! My husband is allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs and yeast and it’s a great feat to find any baked goods that taste good and are allergen free, not to mention I’m new at baking allergen freeso thanks for the tips! I’m so excited to try these!
The cookies look sooo good. I don’t have any arrowroot flour but I do have some tapioca flour. Do you think it will do??
I keep wondering about arrowroot, thanks for the info. This is a great recipe. I am so excited to try it 🙂 Will let you know how it turns out. Speedmum
thanks for the info about arrowroot powder. i just learned about it recently and am looking forward to cooking with it.
These are pretty good! A nice texture that crumbles/melts in your mouth. I made these for a family gathering that my gluten-free mom would be at, but EVERYONE was eating them!
These are pretty good! They have a nice texture that kind of crumbles/melts in your mouth. I made these for a family gathering that my gluten-free mom was going to be at, and EVERYONE was eating them!
Hi. Two questions for you if you don’t mind. How many cups did the almonds give you after you ground them up and could you substitute honey for the raw sugar? I am just wondering because I have almond meal and honey at home but no raw sugar or almonds.
🙂
Hello! Honestly, I don’t remember how much “flour” I get after grinding up my almonds. I really should make a note to remember to do that and add it into the recipe for those who have only almond flour.
I don’t think raw honey would be good to use because it can make the batter too wet. You could try and simply add more arrowroot to make sure the batter stays thick and holds together.
If you do use honey with success… PLEASE let me know!! I would love to put a note on my recipe if there’s success with using honey.
1.5c of almonds = 240g, which for me was almost exactly 2c of pushed-against-the-side-of-the-bag Honeyville almond flour (it came out to 240.8g).
Thank you Nej!!
Thank you Nej!!
I dont have raw sugar but I have stevia can I use that instead of raw sugar? Also, dehydrated almonds? I have unsalted raw almonds is that what you mean?
Brenda, I do not know how it will turn out using stevia. You will have to experiment and hope that is comes out good! If it does… let me know!
Here’s a link explaining what dehydrated nuts are: http://just-making-noise.blogspot.com/2009/09/soaking-nuts-seeds.html (I will add it on to the post above. I thought I did that!).
Yes, use unsalted raw almonds, but soaking and dehydrating makes them more flavorful and digestible. Enjoy!!
Looking forward to using this recipe. Do you use organic almonds? I’ve read nuts are SO sprayed .
When I can, I do. Its challenging though because they are pricier and not always in our budget!