So, you know how I've been saying that I'm #shreddingforthewedding. Well, that was all talk and no walk. I mean, some effort was being put in but I wasn't giving my full potential. NOW, I'm really going hard. I am T-minus 3 months away from the big day so it's crunch time! I've decided to take on a 30-day challenge of no bread, pasta, or rice AND I'm doing an hour of cardio 5 times a week at the gym. I even tried Spinning!
And because I successfully made it through one whole week, I am celebrating today with these no-bake cookies that totally meet my challenge's guidelines :-)
Since we're in the middle of Girl Scout Cookie season, I figure this recipe will be beneficial to many of you who are finding it hard to resist those sweet temptations! It's better for your wallet, and better for your belly!
The base of these cookies is made out of walnuts, shredded coconut, maple syrup, and just a bit of vanilla extract. It comes together super easily in a food processor. The "caramel" filling also comes together in the food processor and it's made out of medjool dates, lemon juice, and water. That's all! The cookies are dolloped with the caramel filling and dipped/drizzled in dark chocolate, and voila! A better for you samoa cookie!
Yield: 12 cookies
Paleo No-Bake Samoa Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups raw walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup maple syrup
pinch of vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
For the "caramel" center:
1 cup pitted medjool dates, soaked in hot water for 2 hours
1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
Juice of one lemon
4 ounces dark chocolate, for dipping
Directions:
To the bowl of a food processor, add walnuts, coconut, maple syrup, and vanilla. Process until well-combined and mixture starts to come together. Test the mixture between your fingers to see if it sticking together well. If so, use a cookie scoop to scoop out mounds of dough. Roll the mounds into balls, then flatten slightly. Place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and transfer to freezer.
In the meantime, prepare caramel center. To the bowl of a food processor, add dates, water, and lemon juice. Process until a date paste forms and no tiny bits of dates remain. Add additional water as needed to create a smooth paste.
Melt dark chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Remove cookies from freezer. Dip the bottom of cookies into the dark chocolate and return to wax-paper lined cookie sheet to allow chocolate to harden.
Spoon date paste into a Ziploc bag with the tip cut off. Squeeze a mound of date paste onto the centers of the cookies. Drizzle cookies with remaining dark chocolate.
Serve immediately or store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Slightly adapted from Neurotic Mommy
No comments
Post a Comment