This scrumptious Chocolate Decadence Cookies recipe is my gift to you, dear readers! I’ve been making these healthy cookies for family and friends for a couple of years now and everyone loves them. A base of rich dark chocolate, studded with pecans and MORE dark chocolate, they remind me of my Chocolate Pecan Pie in a cookie.
Every time I make this easy cookie recipe I think of my mother-in-law. Why? First, like me she has celiac disease. Second, she loves dark chocolate. Third, she likes cookies with tons of nuts in them, and these have a lot!
The batter for this recipe is very runny. It’s more like brownie batter than cookie dough, but don’t alter the recipe, follow it, and the cookies will bake up into chocolate perfection.
Chocolate Decadence Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 ounces chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons palm shortening or salted butter
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 ounces chocolate chips
- 1½ cups pecans, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium pot, melt 6 ounces chocolate chips and shortening over very low heat
- Remove pan from heat
- Using a hand blender, mix in eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla
- Blend in almond flour, salt, and baking soda
- Stir in additional 6 ounces chocolate chips and pecans
- Scoop batter 1 tablespoon at a time onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Flatten dough with the palm of wet hands
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes
- Cool for 1 hour
- Serve
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator
Equipment
Chocolate Decadence Cookies are fantastic all year round, and make especially fabulous Christmas cookies! Since these healthy cookies are made primarily of luscious dark chocolate they’re also perfect Valentine’s cookies.
My Chocolate Decadence Cookie recipe is based on one by Alice Medrich. That one had loads of gluten and white sugar in it. While it was fabulous inspiration in terms of an idea, there was much work to be done in “Elana-fy-ing” it. So this recipe was entirely different when I was done with it. Still, I think it’s nice to give credit to an author even when a recipe is merely referenced, don’t you?!
Cookies are my favorite thing to make because they’re easy. Because my grain-free cookie recipes are extra simple, I can make the batter made in less time than it takes the oven to pre-heat. While the cookies are baking, I clean up. The entire process takes around 10 minutes. Writing quick and easy recipes is now second nature. I’ve been doing it since 1998 when I was diagnosed with celiac disease.
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Lately, though I’ve been focusing on creating healthy meals. If you are too, you’ll want to take a look at my easy Paleo Meals recipe page. And since the boys are getting bigger than big (look at this year’s Hannukah photo!), I’m focusing on making as many healthy snack recipes as I can! Though to be honest their favorite category of food may be my cake recipes, with my Paleo Birthday Cake and Cinnamon Coffee Cake topping that list!
I’m delighted that the boys bring so many of their friends home and that all of the guys are so great about taste testing for me. What an incredible tribe they have built, and I feel beyond lucky to be a part of it. So much to be grateful for this year!
Susan says
Batter keep coming out very liquidy. So I put the batter in mini cupcake cups and baked them a bit longer. I have tried the recipe twice and it is still to gooey to make into balls.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Elana says
Susan, the batter should be a little liquidy and you can scoop the cookies to form then as indicated in the instructions :-)
Marjie Morrison says
Amazing cookies, Elana! This is my “go-to” recipe when we need cookies in the house, which is pretty much all the time these days. The dark chocolate and the pecans are the perfect combination. I was able to convert them into a brownie-bite by taking out one of the eggs and adding an additional TBL of fat and cooking them for 6 1/2 minutes. They are fantastic eaten cold, out of the refrigerator. Thanks for another excellent recipe.
Elana says
Marjie, love your adaptation!
Judy says
Hello, these are CRAAAZY DELICIOUS! Would you have the nutritional breakdown? Especially for folks with diabetes. Thank you so much
Elana says
Judy, thanks for letting me know these are DELICIOUS! For more on nutrition info go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Have a fantastic day!
Elana
CHRISTINA says
These cookies are rich and delicious. My batter wasn’t runny though. It was rather thick.
Elana says
Christina, thanks for your comment!
Helene says
Oh wow another success
These are so nice
Just a bit moorish
Love them
Thank you Elana xx
Elana says
Helene, thanks for letting me know these are –wow another success :-)
Jenna says
So Good! Thanks for the great recipe, Elana!
Elana says
Thanks Jenna! Happy to hear these are so good :-)
Susan says
Hi Elana,
Can’t wait to make these for VDay next week! Did you know that Alice Medrich has a gluten free cookbook now? She’s in a foodie club that I belong to, and I’ve met her. She’s also teaching a gluten free class in my area next month. Anyhow…just thought I’d mention that to you, in case you want to check out that book. Thanks for all that you do!
Elana says
Susan, thanks for your comment! So cool that Medrich has gotten into gluten-free :-)