Cacao Nib Cookies

I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, but I only had some organic cacao nibs on hand. Would they work? It turns out they did. Cacao nibs are not at all sweet, but have a strong chocolate flavor. Someone wondered what the little nuts were in these cookies. I thought they meant the rolled oats, but they showed me the little brown nib. I pulled out my foil package of Frontier Cacao nibs to show him what they were.

These roasted bits of the whole cacao bean are full of flavonoids and antioxidants, which, not to bore you, are just generally good for you. They help in the release of serotonin and endorphins in your body, which will improve your mood, and they are a good source of A, B, C, E, beta-carotene, magnesium, zinc, iron, and calcium. They also taste good, along with the other ingredients in these CACAO NIB COOKIES.

Dry Ingredients

2 cups — whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup — rolled oats

½ cup — Sucanat

½ cup — cacao nibs

2 tsp — baking powder

½ tsp — salt

½ tsp — cinnamon

 

Wet Ingredients

¾ cup — sunflower oil

¼ cup — maple syrup

2 Tblsp. — water

Method

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Stir together the dry ingredients. Add in the wet ingredients. Adjust the wetness until everything is moistened, but it is still a thick moldable mass. Form into eighteen balls and bake on two cookie sheets for fifteen minutes. You could also try pressing them down, instead, but I liked the little round balls. They would cook faster if they were flatter, keep in mind.

Cacao nib cookies are a good alternative to chocolate chip cookies if you don't have chocolate chips or are looking for a healthier alternative.