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.
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!
Louise says
Thanks, Elana! These cookies are so good, they disappeared on Christmas Day and I made a second banch by request of my gluten intolerant, diabetic, FODMAPs diet following husband. Tonight, for New Year’s Eve Dinner, the cookies, at last a double batch, will permit a daughter to take some with her. Happiness all around.
Continue to take the time you need to heal. We are blessed to have your great recipes.
Elana says
Louise, I’m so happy to hear these cookies were so good they disappeared :-)
Emily says
YUM! I just made these and can’t stop nibbling at them. I substituted honey for the maple syrup and almonds and macadamia nuts for the pecans. I also only had one 6 oz bag of chocolate, so I ended up using half the chocolate the recipe calls for, and it was still delicious. What a great recipe and so, so easy.
Elana says
Emily, I’m glad these were so, so easy and YUM :-)
Doug says
Sometimes I notice that too, Dorine.
Kate Battistelli says
Just made this this afternoon for the first time. Oh my goodness, they are FABULOUS!! Perfectly chewy, deeply chocolatey, loaded with nuts–the perfect cookie! I’m serving them for dessert this Christmas. I can imagine vanilla ice-cream sandwiched between two of these! Incredible! Thank you for this recipe Elana :-)
Elana says
Kate, thanks for letting me know these are FABULOUS and the perfect cookie!
Patril Southworth says
What a twist of fate! Last week for a holiday party, I decided, with grave misgivings, to go ahead and make a batch of Chocolate Decadence Cookies from an old, gluten/sugar-laden recipe a friend had given me years ago (source unknown). Having jumped on the paleo train only a few months ago, but with wild abandon and delight, I felt so guilty using wheat flour (I did go ahead and substitute palm sugar rather than white), but the cookies were, of course, yummy as always and everyone else gobbled them up. I kept thinking, surely coconut flour would work and assuage my guilt, but I didn’t have the confidence to try it for the party. Next morning, I’m doodling around on my paleo sites to research it, and featured front and center on your homepage are…Chocolate Decadence Cookies, paleo!! I am delighted.
I also want to tell you how much fun I’m having cooking with your recipes and using your suggestions and with this way of eating. I love to cook anyway, but now I feel like I’ve opened my very own version of America’s test kitchen. My friends drop by WAY more frequently, knowing my house will smell heavenly and there will be some new tasty treasures to munch on. I do wish sometimes, however, that I shared a neighboring fence with you for answers to my rampant curiosity; i. e., “I wonder if this would this work?!” Thank you, Elana, for your generous contributions to creative solution cooking and healthier fine dining. Happy holidays.
Elana says
Patril, you’re welcome!!!
Jeremy says
SUCCESS! Made these last night – and I loved them – and so did my partner and our friend, neither of whom require a gluten/dairy-free diet like I do. They were a hit, hands down, as well as easy :) I made one change to reduce sugar: I melted down 6 oz. of 100% baker’s chocolate for the batter and added 6 drops of stevia to help compensate a bit. I still used semi-sweet (65% cacao) chips. Loved it. Next time, I may even reduce the maple syrup and add a touch more stevia. Thank you!!! This is my first holiday with awareness of my gluten-intolerance, so learning some satisfying and easy recipes is very helpful!
Elana says
Jeremy, I’m so glad to hear you and yours loved these cookies!
elisheva nadler says
Dear Elana,
We have been enjoying your recipes for years! Thanks so much. I especially appreciate the sweetner-free ones, or those sweetened with dates.
Thanks also for including the photo of the boys lighting the menora for Chanuka! That was a special treat! Have loads of naches.
Elana says
Elisheva, you’re very welcome! Loads of naches to you :-)
Anita says
Elana, Well done! These cookies are AMAZING! I just made them and I cannot tell you what a gift they were to me. Thank you! You could not have given us a greater gift. :)
Elana says
Anita, you’re welcome! I’m so happy the cookies were AMAZING!
Kari says
Thank you Elana for this Christmas gift and all you do. These cookies were very yummy with chopped chocolate organic mint bar for the whole chocolate chips and chopped macadamias for the pecans. Gratefully, Kari in Texas
Elana says
Kari, that sounds amazing! Hope your Christmas is wonderful.
Nancy says
Hi. I’m wondering if the 1/2 cup amount of almond flour might be a typo? When I made these as stated in the recipe, the dough was the consistency of a thin cake batter. I feel like I had to add at least 1 1/2 cups more of the almond flour to get it to be of scooping consistency. I’m not really sure how much I added altogether because I just kept dumping more in to get the right consistency. They did turn out delicious, even with the extra almond flour.
Elana says
Hi Nancy, the 1/2 cup of almond flour is correct. Hope you enjoy these as much as we do, they’re a family favorite!
Mary-James says
The recipe is perfect as written….yield, cooking time, temperature….all of it. I think those who think they need to add more almond meal are not letting their chocolate cool a bit after melting. I used Nestle’s dark chocolate chips and they made a luscious cookie. Thanks for the post. I plan to share on my site with full credit given.