Chocolate Avocado Cookies

Chocolate avocado cookies? Yes! You read that right. The avocado in these cookies, along with some coconut oil, takes the place of the butter that you'd find in a traditional cookie recipe. So if you're looking for a slightly healthier option, definitely give these a try! And these cookies are also vegan - another added bonus. Although I do not eat vegan, I have a few friends who do, so it's always nice to have options for dessert recipes I can make for them. :)

This recipe is from Two Peas and Their Pod, an awesome blog.

Ingredients:

-1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. sea salt

-2/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder

-1/4 cup coconut oil

-1/4 cup mashed avocado

-1/4 cup granulated sugar

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/3 cup almond milk (or cow's milk - but they won't be vegan)

-1/2 cup chocolate chips (vegan ones, if desired)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder; set aside. In a stand mixer or with a hand-held electric mixer, beat the coconut oil, avocado, and both sugars together until creamy and smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add half the flour mixture, followed by the milk. Add the remaining dry ingredients and incorporate until well-combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Place dough by the tablespoonful on prepared baking sheets, placing balls of dough about 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten the cookies with your hand or a spatula. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until set around the edges but still soft in the center. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for about 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack to cool completely. Makes about 20 cookies.

These cookies turned out to be very chocolatey, which I loved. And they were quite dense, chewy, and fudgey also. Score! A very good cookie. Definitely a keeper.

 I have to say though, that although you could not taste the avocado, I do think that if you were looking for a difference in these cookies, you might be able to detect that they don't have butter in them. But honestly, if you weren't trying to figure out what's different, I don't think you could tell! Also, you can't taste the coconut oil either in case you were wondering.

If one of your resolutions is to bake healthier...or to be more "daring" in your baking, then add this recipe to your list. Although I didn't make any official resolutions, in general I am trying to bake and cook more often with ingredients that are less familiar to me. Coconut oil is an ingredient I've been wanting to try but hadn't until recently. So far so good! I used it in this cookie recipe and in another homemade granola recipe I made last week also. I have a feeling coconut oil may become a staple in my kitchen! I've read so many great things about it and am glad I finally gave it a try.

Have a wonderful start to your week, all!

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