Gluten-free chocolate peanut butter chip cookies

Quick-and-easy double chocolate peanut butter chip cookies: gluten-free, dairy-free and added refined sugar-free -- with a little salty crunch.

Sometimes you just need a cookie. Am I right? Can I get an amen?

But -- SIGH -- it is still Detox January, so I'm resisting the urge to go mental and make Moonpie cookies or something. I'm trying to keep my healthy-ish hat on.

Behold: double chocolate peanut butter chip cookies -- which just so happen to be gluten-free, dairy-free and added-refined-sugar-free.

Booyah!

I don't need to eat gluten-free, thank goodness, but I've been finding that I enjoy many of the substitutes that make recipes gluten-free. For instance, this recipe uses almond meal (read: pulverized almonds) instead of traditional flour. I love me some nuttiness and I certainly don't care about the flour, as long as the cookie tastes great.

Which is does. Dark cocoa powder gets a double chocolately boost from bittersweet chocolate chips, both of which are made more completely awesome by the peanut butter chips. And the whole thing is goes to 11 with the addition of crunchy salt: given that the cookies don't really spread and change their consistency as flour-and-butter-based cookies do, the salt stays crystallized. Which means you can really taste it -- and it crunches! (You know how The Ninj feels about salted cookies, right? ERMERGAHD. Tip: If you, too, are a salted cookie junkie, use Maldon sea salt flakes in place of the kosher salt for even more crunch.)

Oh, and did I mention these cookies are EASY TO MAKE? (Yes, I'm screaming.) Yep, start to finish, you'll be eating cookies in less than 30 minutes -- no stand mixer required.

The easy-peasy factor means that when you have that cookie craving, as I did, you can just whip up a small batch. And if you're nicer than I was, you might even share them.

Do you eat gluten-free? If you don't, do you still have some go-to gluten-free recipes? Or do you simply love chocolate and cookies? (snort) Leave a comment: The Ninj wants to know.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

(adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie)
Makes approximately 16 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup dates
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt flakes
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mini food processor, process the dates with 2 tablespoons of the almond flour until finely ground. Mix the dates, the remaining almond flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, coconut oil and vanilla. Microwave for about a minute or so and stir until completely melted. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the dry mixture and blend well with a rubber spatula. Fold in the peanut butter chips.

Drop the dough into tablespoon-sized mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten each mound (they don't really spread) using the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake for about 12-13 minutes (they don't look much different) then remove the sheet. Cool the cookies directly on the baking sheet.

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