Cacao Powder – Paleo-Approved Chocolate Ingredient
Having access to ingredients like cacao powder is a real blessing when following a paleo diet. Thanks to cacao powder, I can still indulge my chocolate sweet tooth without worrying about how much sugar or how many calories I’m eating every time I crave for dessert. When looking for healthy dessert recipes, you will come across a lot that require the use of dark chocolate, which is fine when used in moderation. However, dark chocolate is still heavily processed and as such, is stripped of many nutrients which is why I prefer using cacao powder when possible. It contains nearly four times the antioxidant content compared to dark chocolate, which if you think about it, is worth making the switch if you find yourself making a lot of chocolate-based desserts. (1)
Cacao powder isn’t just good for its antioxidant properties though. It’s also a great source of calcium, magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, and other essential minerals. It even contains a good amount of protein and essential fatty acids. All in all cacao powder is truly a superfood that lives up to the hype. But best of all? It lets me still enjoy delicious baked sweets like these chocolate brownie cookies. They’re so easy to make as well. All you need is the cacao, some almond flour, baking soda, coconut oil, and honey.
Paleo Chocolate Brownie Cookie… à la Mode?
Take your chocolate brownie cookie to the next level and serve it à la mode. We’re not talking about commercially made dairy ice cream, either. Try this classic paleo vanilla ice cream made with almond milk and coconut milk flavored with fresh vanilla bean and sweetened with raw honey. It’s an incredible alternative to sugar-laden ice cream without sacrificing taste and texture. Just mix it all up and throw it in an ice cream maker and wait. An ice cream maker churns and freezes the ice cream at the same time, which makes it fluffy and airy. However, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can still use our ice cream recipe. The final product will be a little denser and thicker, certainly not a bad thing by any means.
Paleo Chocolate Brownie Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich
Now that you have your cookie and your ice cream, you may want to make an ice cream sandwich out of it. That way, you don’t need to go through the trouble of taking out your cookies and ice cream separately. Compose your ice cream sandwiches and store them in the freezer in single serve packets. This recipe yields 18 cookies so that makes out to 9 ice cream sandwiches.
It’s really that easy to make deliciously decadent chocolate brownie cookies. Five ingredients, 10 minutes to prep them, and a short time in the oven makes for an incredibly good paleo-friendly baked treat. They are so good that most people who try them are barely able to notice a difference when compared to regular homemade brownies. Once you try out this recipe, I’m sure you’ll feel the same way.
PS. There are actually a few different ways to enjoy paleo brownies if you’re looking to try other recipes. Here are a few of my favorites that I can recommend off the top of my head:
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 4 tbsp honey
Directions
- In a bowl place the almond flour, cacao powder and baking soda. Mix to combine.
- Add the honey and coconut oil and mix to combine.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter into the prepared baking sheet for each cookie.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the sheet.