Who loves cookies? Me! I used to be a real cookie monster when I was little (being able to devour a whole packet in one sitting!). I gave them up as I got older and realised how unhealthy they were. With this in mind, I thought, why not recreate a healthy version of my childhood favourite, chocolate chip and nut cookies? (Best served with a glass of milk!)

These chocolate chip, nut and oat cookies are a delicious treat. They are soft, chewy and crumbly with melt-in the mouth sugar-free dark chocolate chips. They are easy and quick to make and appeal to kids as well as grown-ups (I think it must be the chocolate chips!). By shaping them into little cute domes, I think they look a little like ladybirds or spotty igloos!

They are so much healthier than shop-bought cookies, containing only wholefoods including oats, protein powder, hemp seeds, and they can be made sugar-free by using only stevia (see below).

By using coconut flour and gluten-free oats, these cookies are suitable for coeliacs. The coconut flour also gives these cookies a crumbly texture and impart a mild sweet coconut flavour. (If you have run out of coconut flour, you can substitute for wholemeal flour).

These cookies can be made vegan by using flaxseed or chia eggs (simply use 1 tbsp. of seed of choice to 3 tbsp. of water and leave for 10 mins for the seeds to plump up). If non-vegan, standard eggs can also be used as the binding agent.

These speckled cookies make a welcome treat to packed lunch boxes, picnics and afternoon tea. They also freeze well, making them super convenient for batch cooking.

Makes: 24 small cookies

 Preparation time: 25 mins

Baking time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 80g instant oats (gluten-free if required)
• 70g coconut flour*
• 30g protein powder (soya bean, pea or whey varieties work well)
• 30g coconut sugar
• 10g stevia (If using only stevia, use 30g)
• 20g hemp seeds
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• Optional: 1 tsp. maca powder
• 2 large eggs, beaten or vegan alternative: flaxseed of chia eggs
• 65g coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 40g raw hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 50g dark chocolate chips (I use sugar-free ones)

*Wholemeal flour can be substituted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line and grease a large baking sheet
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut flour, protein powder, coconut sugar, stevia, hemp seeds, baking soda and maca powder, if using.
3. Add the eggs or egg substitute, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Mix to combine and form a dough.
4. Using a 3cm ice cream scoop or a 1 tbsp. measuring spoon as a mould, compress moundfuls of the cookie dough into the mould and release onto the prepared baking sheet. These cookies do not expand on baking and so you can pack them quite closely on the sheet.
5. Bake at 180°C for 10mins until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Enjoy!

Don’t forget you can find my favourite recipes in my FREE eBook here.