Probably the first thing people think goes out the window when you go grain-free is desserts. But, alas, it doesn’t have to be! I love my desserts. I make one dessert a week. And great desserts can be had when you’re on a grain-free, sugar-free, and processed-foods-free diet.
That brings me to today. Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Fudge Bars. Oh boy.
This recipe is a mash-up of two of my favorite dessert recipes: the Chocolate Chip Cookies over at The Food Lovers’ Primal Palate and the chocolate frosting in the comments section of this post on Comfy Belly. I did a little tweaking, a little adding, and I came up with something new out of these two staple recipes. By the way, if you don’t subscribe to those two blogs, you really need to. Right now.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
- 12 ounces of chocolate chips
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- Maple syrup, to taste
- 3 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
- 1½ cups chocolate chips
- First, we’re going to get the fudge layer going so it has some time to cool down in the fridge. Boil the cream in a saucepan.
- Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down to the lowest setting (or turn it off).
- Add the chocolate chips and stir until they’re all melted and the mixture is like a ganache.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and stick it in the fridge to cool. We want it to be cool throughout – but not in the fridge so long that it hardens. By the time you’re ready to add the fudge layer to the cooled cookie layer, the mixture will likely be ready.
- Now we’re moving on to the cookie layer. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Grease an 8X8 glass baking dish generously with coconut oil. If you don’t grease the dish well enough, these won’t come out – so grease that dish well.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat until they’re combined.
- Pour the melted coconut oil into the batter and mix well.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Press the dough into the baking dish with a spatula. Try to get an even layer.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 25-28 minutes, depending on your oven and the dish you’re using, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the entire layer is a golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool (they should be completely cool – so stick them in the fridge, or leave them on the counter for a little while).
- Once the cookies are cool, pull the fudge mix out of the fridge.
- Using a hand mixer, whip the mixture slowly until it just starts to thicken – like you would when making whipped cream.
- Add a little bit of maple syrup to sweeten the mixture (taste throughout mixing to make sure you have the right level of sweetness).
- Continue whipping until the mixture has the consistency of whipped cream.
- Then spread the mixture over top of the cookie layer with a spatula.
- Stick the entire dish in the fridge to harden the chocolate layer to the consistency of fudge – 30 minutes or so.
- When the top layer has hardened, cut them into bars and store them in the fridge. Enjoy!
About Lisa Morosky
