These cookies taste great (a lot like a macaroon), are low in sugars and starches, gluten-free, and a great source of energy.  They are also fast and easy to mix up; clean-up is easy, too.

 

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), very soft or slightly melted and creamy

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 t stevia powder*

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

1/2 cup sifted coconut flour**

2 cups unsweetened grated coconut: fine, coarse or combination***

 

optional:  72 semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 50 grams) or up to 1 cup ( for really chippy cookies)

 

Makes 24 cookies

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Grease cookie sheet (I use a Silpat silicone mat instead of greasing).

 

Mix together soft butter, sugar, and stevia.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.  

 

Add coconut flour and grated coconut; mix well.  

 

Drop cookie dough by spoonfuls or dough scoop onto pan one inch apart (cookies don't spread).  I can fit 24 cookies on one sheet pan.

 

Inside-out chocolate chip version:  

 

I like to drop a half portion of dough for 24 cookies, then go back and push two chocolate chips into center of each cookie (point side down first, then point side up), then top each cookie with a bit more dough, patting into place with spoon back or buttered finger to adhere.  Top each cookie again with a chocolate chip in the center.

 

Bake 375°F for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.  Remove to wire rack immediately to cool.

 

* Stevia powder is increasingly available, but if you can't find it at the grocery store near the other non-sugar sweeteners, you can usually find it at health and natural food stores, with diabetic sweeteners at drug stores, or online.  There are lots of variations from liquid extract drops, pure stevia extract powder, and bulked up stevia with maltodextrin for measuring more like sugar.  Stevia is an herb with a sweet taste, but it is not sugar.  It works well with some things but not others (such as a cup of coffee) so for other uses you may need to experiment.  A little goes a long way (too much can taste very bitter) so the container will last a long time!  I like stevia in recipes like this, as part of a sweetening combo (the original recipe called for 1 cup of sugar).  Some sugar is necessary for the other qualities sugar provides (bulking, browning, keeping the dough together and moist, etc.).  I think I figured the sugar grams to be about 7 grams per cookie, but don’t rely on me for that figure.  Adding chocolate chips will change the sugar content, too, so keep that in mind if you go for extra chippy.

  

**Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour is available in a 1 lb. bag at Jimbo's and Henry's.  At $6 and change per bag, it isn't cheap compared to wheat flour (heavily subsidized by the stinkin’ Farm Bill, but that’s another topic), but at only 1/2 cup per recipe, one bag will make at least 4 batches of cookies.

 

Coconut flour is also a good option for dredging chicken, making meatballs, pancakes, waffles, or anything else that uses a bit of flour, etc.  It has a neutral taste, which may be surprising.  Coconut flour can be substituted for regular flour in baked goods up to about 1/2 the total flour content.  More than that and other adjustments need to be made, such as additional eggs, etc. (Bruce Fife’s coconut flour is great for all coconut flour recipes instead of experimenting yourself).  Gluten-free flours do not hold together well on their own without some other binder, like eggs.

 

Being gluten-free, this is a great recipe for parties with gluten-intolerant guests or pot-lucks, and it is low in sugars/starches (carbs), high in fiber, and is a good source of medium chain fatty acids, which are easy on the digestive system as well as a good source of energy (MCFAs are also great for brain function).

 

***Unsweetened grated coconut is available at Jimbo's (be sure to get the regular, not the reduced fat version).  It might be available at Henry's and/or Whole Foods.  Trader Joe's has carried it in the past, but I don't remember seeing it recently.  

 

 

Butter is a good source of the fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, K, & E, and butyric acid, a great brain nutrient as well as beneficial for strong teeth.  There is some evidence that compounds in butter are good for combating arthritis and joint stiffness.  Additionally, butyric acid is a prebiotic, a nutrient for beneficial intestinal bacteria, or probiotics.   Keeping a healthy population of probiotics is important for a healthy immune system.

 

 

 

Recipe adapted from Bruce Fife's coconut flour cookbook, a great source for low carb, low sugar, and gluten-free recipes using coconut flour and other “real food” ingredients.