Decadent Dark Chocolate-Dipped Chocolate and Almond Cookies (Thermomix Instructions)
A very decadent dark chocolate-dipped chocolate and almond cookie. This is true indulgence; a “grown-up” cookie – bitter and sweet at the same time, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and rich and chocolatey. To top it off, these cookies are vegan and gluten-free so they can be enjoyed by everyone no matter what their dietary restrictions.
1tablespoonground flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoon water
70gcoconut oil, soft buttery consistency (cool in the freezer for 10 minutes or warm in the microwave for 15 secs)
50galmond butter
3tablespoonwater, (45g)
50gcoconut sugar, (or soft light brown sugar)
50gcaster sugar
50gbrown rice flour
25gtapioca starch
25gcoconut flour
¼teaspoonfine salt
½teaspoongluten-free baking powder
½teaspoonvanilla essence
50gdark chocolate (vegan), at least 70% cocoa, chopped into small chunks
50galmonds, each sliced into 2-3 pieces
For chocolate-dipped cookies:
100gdark chocolate (vegan), at least 70% cocoa
Instructions
Prep:
Set the oven to 180°C/160°C(Fan)/350°F and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Weigh the coconut oil and put it in the freezer if it is too runny (10 minutes) or in the microwave if it is too hard (about 10-15 secs depending on how cold it is).
Mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds with 2 tablespoon water and set aside for 10 minutes.
Chop the chocolate and the almonds and set aside in a bowl (they can be together).
Making the cookies:
Once the flax seed mixture has gone gloopy and the coconut oil is at the right soft butter consistency, you can start making the cookies.
Put the flax seed mixture, the softened coconut oil and the almond butter in the TM jug. Set to 5 secs. / sp. 5, scrape down the sides with a spatula and whizz again for 3 secs. / sp. 5.
Add the sugars, flours, salt, baking powder and vanilla essence and set to 10 secs. / sp. 6. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and set to 5 secs. / sp. 6.
Add the chocolate and almond chunks and set to 10 secs. / sp. 3 REVERSE. Do one final mix with a spatula to ensure the chocolate and almonds are evenly distributed.
Dollop the mixture onto the lined baking tray leaving a little space around each one. I like a fairly small cookie and the tablespoon measurer gives the perfect size for the dollops for my liking. It is quite a sticky mixture, so I find the easiest way to do this is to get a little jug or cup with a tiny bit of oil in it and occasionally dip the spoon into the oil and shake it off so that it is just slightly coated. This makes it much easier to measure out the dollops onto the baking tray as they just slip off the spoon.
Pop the baking tray in the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 20 minutes at 180°C/160°C(Fan)/350°F. All ovens are different so check the cookies at around 15 minutes and gently press the top to see how soft they are. Take the cookies out once they have browned and feel slightly firm on top (still a little soft).
Once out of the oven, carefully move them to a wire rack to cool.
Meanwhile, if you want chocolate-dipped cookies, you will need to melt the dark chocolate. I am lazy so I don’t bother with tempering. I just break the chocolate into pieces in a glass jug then put it in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, put on for 30 seconds again, stir again, then about 15 seconds more and it is the perfect melted consistency.
Alternatively, for Thermomix tempered chocolate, you can put the chocolate in the TM jug, set to 5 secs. / sp. 9 to grate it. Remove half of the chocolate to a bowl then set the TM to 2 mins. / 50°C / sp. 2. Scrape down the sides with a spatula then set again to 2 mins. / 50°C / sp. 2. Then add back the remaining grated chocolate and set to 1 min. / sp. 2 (no MC). This brings the temperature of the chocolate down and will leave you with lovely melted chocolate for dipping. You will need to pour it into a small jug or cup though for dipping the cookies.
Once the cookies are cool enough to handle, take them one at a time and dip half into the melted chocolate then lay on a piece of baking paper to dry. .
Notes
The texture is massively affected by the size of the cookie, the oven temperature and the consistency of the coconut oil. Check the blog post for expert tips to get the texture you want.
Don’t be tempted to try to whizz the chocolate and nuts in the TM instead of chopping them. Lazy as I am, I realised that this just creates too much bitty powder with the broken up chunks that gives the cookie a less than desirable texture. Unfortunately there is no short-cut, you just have to chop them by hand. Luckily it’s not too much so doesn’t take long!