Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate: Triple Chocolate Cookies

Growing up I was blessed with an amazing life. I had (and continue to have) an amazing family who showered me with lots of love..... and lots of food. My grandma showed love with boxes of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, Fudge Rounds and Oatmeal Cream Pies; my grandpa opted for Wendy's Bacon Cheeseburgers. My mom rewarded us for good behavior with trips to McDonald's for Chicken McNuggets and my dad was the finest Spam and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese chef in the contiguous U.S. My many talented aunts celebrated holidays with vats of bacon laden, cheese laden, butter laden deliciousness and to this day we still celebrate family gatherings with buckets of world famous, lard fried "Barberton Chicken."

It wasn't until many years later, during nursing school, that I had my first class in nutrition and became aware that this type of lifestyle wasn't the way to take good care of my heart or my body. Since then I have been on a continuous mission to educate myself about better food choices and take small but consistent steps to improve my diet.

Now, I won't delude anyone into thinking that these cookies are "healthy," however, they are "healthier" and if you're craving chocolate they absolutely fit the bill. Even better, you don't have to venture into the scary inner isles of the grocery store and pick up anything claiming to be "low fat, 100 calorie, sugar free, or whole grain" and walk away disappointed because everything is laden with disgusting chemicals.

So what makes these cookies "healthier" you ask!? The substitution of whole wheat flour and coconut sugar actually gives these cookies some nutritional value. You get fiber, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, Vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6 in addition to having an overall lower glycemic index from the coconut sugar! Pretty cool right!

The original recipe required very little modification and I'm happy to give credit to GoDairyFree.org for supplying the original recipe { http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/sweet-dairy-free-sundays-triple-chocolate-brownie-cookies }.  This is a great resource for those of you who are new to the diary free life style as well!

MILK FREE TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Makes a scant 3 dozen

• 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated organic vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the baking chocolate and shortening together and allow to cool slightly. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, espresso powder and salt. In a separate medium-large bowl beat the eggs and sugar together and stir in the chocolate mixture. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture being cautious not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

*Note, this is a 1/2 batch as compared to the original recipe and it required almost double the time to bake, however, if you want a super soft cookie you could try the original. Also, they look NOTHING like the picture in the original recipe. I even tried smooshing down the tops with a moistened glass; no dice.

These triple chocolate cookies are a great substitute when you're looking for a healthier alternative to traditional chocolate treats!

Peace,
Laura