Chef's Quick Tip: Healthy alternative to Hershey's Kisses cookies

<p>Christine Dunst, owner of Embody Wellness Company, shows how to make a healthy but still tasty alternative to Hershey's Kisses cookies.</p>

News 12 Staff

Oct 19, 2018, 3:01 PM

Updated 2,009 days ago

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Christine Dunst, owner of Embody Wellness Company, shows how to make a healthy but still tasty alternative to Hershey's Kisses cookies.

Ingredients:
Makes 10-12 cookies
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons almond flour
½ cup tahini
½ cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (we love Ceylon cinnamon)
1 tbsp white chia seeds
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
½ cup white sesame seeds
1-2 tbsp nut milk or water
Dark chocolate chips (dairy and gluten free) for the middle of the cookies. We love "Enjoy Life" dark chocolate and used a few chocolate chips per cookie
Optional: Add cocoa nibs after baking or a few goji berries or even fresh lavender to the top
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, chia in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Blend the tahini, coconut sugar, nutmilk/water, vanilla extract in a blender until smoothly combined.  Add the almond flour mixture to the blender and pulse. You can also do by hand. We tried both methods and each works. Especially if you want to get your kids involved, mix away. Add more water/nutmilk until dough is smooth.
Form the dough into 1-inch balls and sprinkle sesame seeds on each cookie and place on baking tray lined with parchment paper. Leave space between the cookies. Press a thumbprint into the center of each cookie and add the small amount of dark chocolate. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. If adding goji berries or cacao nibs add 6 minutes into baking so that they don't burn.
They will still look soft when you take them out of the oven, but they will form together well when you let them cool. When cooling use a knife to "swirl" the chocolate in the middle or even glaze it over the cookie! Cool for 10-15 minutes.
 


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