Searching for a gluten free and no added sugar cookie recipe? Look no further, this chocolate chip cookie will rock all others!
For some reason here lately, I have turned into Betty Crocker... not sure where the ideas are coming from, but I decided to try another cookie recipe. Do you ever get the hankering for chocolate chip cookies? On occasion I do... this week was one of those weeks. Work is chaotic, and I decided I was craving sugar, only I am not eating white table sugar these days...
I started thinking about how I could make my favorite cookie, but without adding the sugar to them... call me strange, but I get my best ideas when I am working on something else... the busier I am, the more the ideas flow. My brain must be wired wrong, I am not sure... but with this week being so overwhelmed in my day job, I was coming up with ideas left and right, now only to find the time to implement them!
As I sat there taking a break and eating a spice cookie, lol... I decided the dates and bananas were the way to go in sweetening cookies... and since it worked so well in the spice cookies, I decided I could give this a shot. So Thursday after work, I decided I was taking a little "me" time and working on my idea... good thing I did, because I cannot wait to share this recipe with y'all!
No Sugar Added Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 package of pitted dates
2 bananas
1 c cashew flour
1 c almond flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
3 T real butter (I used salted butter, it's what I had on hand)
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 bag chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
I used our food processor again, the more I use it, the more I love it! It has been collecting dust in the kitchen closet for a few years. When I decided it was the best thing to chop up the dates, I decided to begin using it more. Our small food processor cannot chop up an entire 8 oz package of dates in one go, so I got the larger one out the last time I made cookies. When I saw how easy it was to mix up cookie dough in it, I have been hooked ever since!
I poured the entire 8 oz package of dates in the food processor and hit the high button. I let it do it's thing until I decided the dates had enough chopping up. Then I added the bananas and let it smooth out the batter a bit. I decided to add the salt, baking soda, vanilla extract next. Then the flours (I had one cup of almond flour left so I decided to use it and made up the other cup with cashew flour, you can use one flour), eggs next, and lastly I decided they needed something else so I added the butter. I let the food processor do all of the work mixing all of the ingredients together. I added a few chocolate chips in and processed that on high for a few seconds, then I stopped it and stirred in the remaining chocolate chips by hand.
I like to use dark chocolate chips, I have a few family members who say they are too much for them, but once you get used to eating dark chocolate, it is hard to go back. I love it! I have purchased off brand and Nestle, they are all about the same, but I will tell you Nestle's has HUGE chips and they are a bit smoother than the off brands.
Can you tell this cookie sheet has had a lot of love over the years? I am glad I am getting back into baking, and I have to say you are the reason I am doing it. I like sharing recipes with you and I love hearing your feedback when you try something new with me. I am not always 100% sure my recipes will work out, but I do enjoy giving it a go. Of course my presentation skills are lacking, but hey, I try... I am hoping over time it will improve.
Some of my fondest memories of a child are baking with my Mom. She was a stay-at-home Mom until I was 15. We used to bake up a storm during the holidays. The year I got chicken pox was the best, and worst... I had to miss the Christmas party at school since I had chicken pox, but we baked so much that Christmas, it more than made up for it.
We made about every cookie she had in her Betty Crocker cookie cookbook. I remember the sugar cookies were my favorite since I got to ice them and decorate them any way I wanted. We added red hots on the cookies, and licorice, and sprinkles, and Santa faces, and buttons to his jacket, it was the best! I recall the satisfaction I got when I was excited about the things I made... memories are the things you will cherish forever... enjoy the time you can spend with loved ones... you never know what memories will stay with them over the years.
I will have to say I did not even miss the sugar in this cookie recipe. They were really quite fluffy too, I am thinking it may have been the fact I mixed them in the food processor and all of the air that was whipped into them? I plan to keep trying new things with it.
I am what I would call an experimental cook. I began making dinner for my family when I was 15. Dinner was whatever I made, I got pretty good at just putting things together over the years and I was never afraid to try something new. My Mom always called them my concoctions, and that they were. My Mom and sister were my guinea pigs, poor them, now Mr. Vintage has to step in and be the taste tester... he is usually fond of what I make, but there have been those occasions where he will not say much and say it's okay... I know then he is not fond of it and move on and try something new. He said these are GREAT when he had this cookie! I said hmm... I think I may be on to something here. I plan to make them again, and again, and again...
Are you cutting back on sugar or looking for a healthier cookie recipe? This is the one to try... I loved them! I am kind of excited to keep experimenting and sharing with you. Let me know what you think about this recipe... have a wonderful week!
