These Almond Joy inspired grain-free treats are almost too cute to eat, but you can’t say no to chocolate and coconut!
So I wrote a whole post and then it deleted itself…so I snacked on a couple of these instead and started over. I think most of the writing was just me rambling on about how much I love chocolate and coconut. Blah blah chocolate on its own, coconut on its own, chocolate and coconut together - probably for the best that it’s lost in cyberspace. We had a bunch of Almond Joys around after Halloween, and after scarfing most of them I realized that I could probably create my own treat with similar flavors, just no processed sugars. Also, do you know how hard it is to type thumbprint?! I must have used three variations of that word throughout this post. Thumpbrint sounds like the next big dance move. Anyways, I feel like my eating has been quite decadent recently with lots of holiday parties and birthday soirees so I needed to make something to satisfy a sweet tooth and bring me back on track.
The basic paleo cookie dough batter is really simple, and I think that’s why I often gravitate towards paleo baking when I want to whip up something sweet and healthy. I like that I usually have the ingredients that I need on-hand already, and then I can step up the recipe with any other items that I may have in my pantry at that moment. Like for example, my Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Cherries. I think (I know) the dried cherries were an afterthought. But back to the dough - all it is is almond flour, eggs, baking powder, coconut oil and maple syrup. I usually add some cinnamon for warmth, and this time, I added a ton of shredded coconut.
I think these look particularly festive, and you can even change up what you place in the thumbprint spot to have a variety of cookies. Any types of jam would work great here, or if you wanted to melt different kinds of chocolate and filling these up before letting them set. I even thought about sprinkling additional coconut on top of the dark chocolate, for a “snow effect”. Unfortunately, my dark chocolate didn’t melt well. I used Lily’s brand of dark chocolate, which are sweetened with Stevia. Either I messed up the double boiling process (definitely possible) or this chocolate doesn’t melt well. Didn’t matter, because these still tasted delicious.
You can let these beauties set in the fridge, but since the chocolate melted so funky I just let them stay on the counter and they hardened up very fast. We enjoyed these on my birthday, the day after Osteria Mozza’s decadent meal for a lighter dessert option. Although it’s hard to have just one!
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 bag of chocolate chips (use Enjoy Life or similar brand if strict paleo)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Mix all your ingredients but the chocolate in a large mixing bowl
- Form dough into little balls on a cookie baking sheet
- Press your thumbs down into each ball to form thumbprints
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your cookie. They should look golden brown in the oven!
- Double boil your chocolate
- When the cookies have cooled, fill each thumbprint with chocolate
- Let set and enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by! 
