Guilt-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, whatever guilt-free means.

Because I don't know about you, but I feel some sort of low-level guilt ... well ... pretty much all the time. I've already confessed to my imperfect-mummy guilt, but trust me there's more. Facebook guilt. Missed workout guilt. Inefficient working guilt. Procrastination guilt. 3rd glass of wine guilt. Forgotten birthday guilt. Not phoning yet guilt. Guilt guilt.

(not really, but you get what I mean).

So if I could make a cookie that would erase all guilt? Make my life guilt-free? I'd eat it 3 meals a day, for sure.

I might just anyway.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes ~16 small cookies

"The best cookies you've made in a long time" - my Dad. (Um, thanks?)

The time
15 min prep + 12 min baking + 5 min cooling


The ingredients
1 cup wholemeal spelt flour - you can sub in w/meal wheat, kamut or unbleached plain flour*
2 big pinches of sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 c coconut oil
1/2 - 3/4 c rapadura sugar or raw sugar
1 organic egg
2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
70-100 g of your favourite dark chocolate bar, chopped into little pieces

*I did try this recipe with gluten-free flour, and it still tasted great but crumbled a lot.

**As always, try to use organic ingredients when you can.

And what makes them 'guilt-free'? I used organic ingredients, low-gluten spelt, and incredibly-good-for-you coconut oil.

The process
1. Preheat the oven to 160 C (325F). Grease a cookie sheet, or line it with baking paper.

2. In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients - sifting the baking soda if it's clumpy. In a separate bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients. Then, add wet to dry and stir until well-mixed. If your dough looks a little dry (which will depend on the size of the egg and the flour you use) just add another dash of coconut oil or water to get it into a heavy dough consistency.

3. Using your hands, form the dough into small balls (~1 + 1/2" or 5 cm in diameter) and place them about 2" (10cm) apart on the cookie sheet. When you're all done, use a fork to gently flatten each cookie ball out. Put the sheet in the oven and bake for ~10-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown and pretty much solid to the touch.

4. Remove from the oven and finish cooling the cookies on rack. You can store them in an airtight container for a week or so - but they'll never last that long.

The cost
Around $3 per organic batch.

Take that, Guilt.
Amanda xx