These cookies.

Oh. Em. GEEEEEEE….

I want you to take a moment (maybe even close your eyes) and imagine the most chocolate-y, buttery, chewy, melty, ooey-gooey, brownie that you’ve ever tasted and now form it into a perfect cookie. Now add a halo and wings because this cookie must have been sent from above (cue choir of angels).

These hybrids are the perfect marriage of a chocolate-y, dense brownie and a crisp-edged chewy cookie. The rich, buttery flavor comes from the raw pecans, while superfood cacao adds a healthy dose of antioxidant-packed chocolate. Not only do they taste heavenly, they are free from refined sugar, flour, butter, and dairy, so they make you feel divine as well.  No yucky sugar crashes or refined-flour belly woes from these little treats.

These pictures really do not do these cookies justice. I photographed these cookies weeks ago and when I finally sat down to edit them, I was confused as to why 50% of them were blurry, un-centered, and genuinely terrible. Then I remembered. During most of the photo shoot, I had a silly little toddler monkey literally hanging off my back trying to get her hands on these cookies! As I continued scrolling through the photo stream, the cookie quantity slowly dwindled from about half a dozen, to one lone cookie. Around here you gotta work fast. Especially when the subject is so darn tasty.

Give these magic melt-in-your-mouth cookie-brownies a try! Just don’t be surprised when they pull a disappearing act before your eyes 🙂

Double Chocolate Pecan Brownie Cookies

Make about 8 small cookies

See notes below for substitutions and alternative methods

• 1 cup raw pecans*
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
• 4 Tbsp date sugar (I use this brand) or coconut sugar**
• 2 pinches of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 squares of a dairy free dark chocolate bar, chopped or dark chocolate chips (handful)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Add all ingredients except baking powder and dark chocolate to a food processor. Process ingredients until everything sticks together and no large pieces of pecans remain. It should look like a sticky dough. Remove blade and add  in baking powder, stir into dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Then, fold in the chocolate chunks or chips.

3. Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out dough and form into a cookie shape. I used my hands to roll into balls and then flatten onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Yes, my hands got sticky! Then pop into the oven and bake for 8 minutes, keeping an eye on them. The bottoms should look slightly browned.

4. Take the cookies out, they will still look a bit soft and underdone. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes and they will firm up perfectly.  Enjoy!

Notes:

If you don’t have a food processor, you can still make these cookies! Either purchase pecan meal, or use a straight, grinder blade on a bullet type blender and grind your pecans that way. Then mix everything in a bowl. I used this method the first time I made them, and just used my clean hands to mix everything together…it’s kind of fun. I just figured out eventually that a food processor would be more efficient 😉

*I’ve successfully subbed half of the pecans for almonds, and I’m *fairly* certain you could substitute all of the pecans for almonds or another nut, if you wish. Pecans and almonds will yield a sweeter cookie as they are less bitter than say walnuts, though, so keep that in mind when substituting.

**If you sub coconut sugar for the date sugar, you may not need as much. Start with 3 tablespoons. Coconut sugar is a bit sweeter than date sugar. I like to try to use as little sweetener as possible to still achieve a yummy result. Even unrefined sweeteners are still concentrated sweetener, always aim to use less! Eventually you’ll want/need less.