These paleo mint double chocolate cookies have fresh mint in them and are super rich and gooey! They’re also grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free.
Sonia, the creator of these grain-free chocolate mint cookies, is a genius. I actually made her recipe less healthy (added 2 tbsp of honey + an extra tbsp of coconut oil + waaay more chocolate) and added fresh mint. And After Eights in the middle. If you want to keep these mint chocolate cookies paleo, omit those or use these, which look paleo-compliant to me. Each cookie is like an individual brownie. And not just any brownie, but a totally fudgy, decadent and sinful one. Healthy tasting? No way.
Although, I do have to admit, they lose their ooey gooey magic when they’re not warm. When they’re not warm, you can indeed tell that they’re not “normal” cookies. Just pop one in the microwave for a few seconds and all will be solved. But they’re still pretty flippin’ awesome at room temp!
And even with my changes, they’re still super healthy. There’s a whole avocado in there! Dates to sweeten (and the little honey I added) and hazelnut meal. But you can’t taste any hazelnut flavor.
When I bit into one, I almost cried. They are glorious. One thing to note is that you have to use the chocolate chips and eat them warm if you want them to taste like normal cookies. And I know you do!
I figured out last year that I don’t like fresh mint, but because mint extract doesn’t exist here, I thought I’d try these anyway using the fresh stuff. And I thought it made the batter taste like dish soap (not that I’ve ever tried eating dish soap). I stuffed the cookies with After Eights and everything turned out dandy.
I left some of the dough plain, meaning no chocolate and no After Eights and I highly recommend not doing that. Lots of chocolate, okay?! And if you prefer using extract, that’s no problem. Use about 1 teaspoon. Or just leave out the mint entirely.
Paleo Mint Double Chocolate Cookies (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 14 large cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup (168 grams) hazelnut meal
- 1 cup (104 grams) extra dark or Dutch-process Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- the meat of 1 ripe avocado (about 160 grams of meat, my whole avocado was 260 grams)
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup (150g) pitted dates
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (40 grams) honey
- 7 grams (~ 1/4 cup loosely packed) fresh mint leaves, cleaned and patted dry
- 2/3 cup (120 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (make sure to use paleo / dairy-free chocolate, if necessary)
- 12 - 15 After Eights or Peppermint Patties or these for the paleo / dairy-free version
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C). Mix the first four ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of your food processor, add the rest of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and After Eights. Process until very well combined. It should be smooth and creamy, but there will still be little specks of dates. Add the dry mixture and pulse until combined. Take out the blade and stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Form the dough into about 30 balls and place half of them on a Silpat or piece of parchment paper. Flatten the balls and then break each After Eight in two so that it'll fit in the center of the cookie. Place each After Eight centered on top of each dough disc. Flatten the remaining balls of dough and place on top of the After Eights. Seal the edges so that the After Eights won't ooze out.
- Bake for 8 minutes and then immediately remove the Silpat or parchment paper from the cookie sheet (with the cookies still on there). I did this to make sure that they didn't bake even longer.
Adapted from The Healthy Foodie - Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
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68 comments on “Paleo Mint Double Chocolate Cookies” — Add one!
Hi Erin! Over a year later, and I’m going to finally try to make these. Silly food sensitivities – I could not have eggs for all that time and now I’m ok with eggs but have a problem with vanilla. Do you think they would be ok if I left the vanilla out and used regular cacao powder (the good organic kind)? I also have some “chocolate mint” I’m going to use out of my mother in law’s garden. Can’t wait to finally try these!
P.S. I found a brand of mints that are GAPS-friendly: http://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Organics-Pattie-Chocolate-Patties/dp/B00FKNC2JO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1437936138&sr=8-8&keywords=heavenly+organics&pebp=1437936154080&perid=0F956ZGVKV9XGHV4B390
Hi again! You can definitely omit the vanilla and I imagine regular cacao powder would work fine. The cookies may taste a little different but since I haven’t tried it, I can’t say for sure (but everything I just read said that they’re interchangeable). Thanks for linking up to the GAPS-friendly mints! They sound great as does your mother-in-law’s chocolate mint. :) I hope you’ll enjoy the cookies!
Hi Erin, just wanted to get back to you and let you know that I made these yesterday (sans vanilla and with regular organic cacao powder). They are SOOOO delicious! I can’t stop eating them! Thanks so much for the fabulous recipe – will definitely be making them again.
(I also used homemade chocolate chips and the Heavenly Organics patties – made quite a mess on the parchment paper but I just scooped it off. Is that normal or was it maybe the chocolate I used?)
I’m so happy that they came out well with your changes! I haven’t tried those patties but I think homemade chocolate chips often don’t do well once baked. Which recipe did you use? Thanks so much for the feedback. It’s awesome that you finally got to try them out! :)
Hi Erin! Baaaack again. I love these and they are part of my regular rotation. But now I’m trying the blood type diet and have to find an alternative to avocado. Any thoughts on a good substitute? Thanks so much!
Hey there! :) I have no idea as to a substitute but you could make these paleo peppermint cookies instead. :) I like them even more!
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I made these one last time, because I really had to, but I will check that other recipe out. :-)
“Because I really had to.” Haha. I have that issue right now and have been for the last 3 weeks. “I’m just going to cook with XYZ one last time!” ;) Good luck with your diet!
Wow, these look amazing! If I wanted to use mint extract or oil n place of fresh, could you tell me how much I should use? (I do have fresh mint growing in the front bushes, though… Ha!)
Thanks! And I haven’t tried it but I’m guessing you could do 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp mint extract. I’m not sure if leaving out the mint leaves will have an effect on the cookies. It’s only 1/4 cup but you never know. Good luck and let me know how they come out! :)
These look amazing! I have two boys that allergic to many foods… (peanut,treenut, egg, wheat, soy, strawberry, tomato soy and dairy) can I substitute anything for the hazelnut meal?
Does a treenut allergy mean that all nut flours are out? Any nut flour should work here! If they can’t have any nut flours, you could check out this article: nut free almond flour replacement. Good luck! :)
Thank you so much for your response. Because of my son’s peanut and tree nut allergy, yes, all nut flowers are out of the question. But sunflower seed flower is something we can definitely use!! Thanks so much again! I cannot wait to try this recipe!
They look crazy amazing dense, rich, thick, gooey, wonderful…and cannot believe they're 'free' of anything! You outdid yourself! It's not always easy to cook GF but clearly not a problem for you!
Hi Jessica! For a lot of the recipes, you could use normal butter. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature so I don't think canola, vegetable oil, etc. will work. Like with these, I'm pretty sure normal butter would make them even better. Good luck! Feel free to ask about specific recipes and I'll try to get back to you quicker than I did today. :)
Hi Texan in Germany! I'm in Houston and allergic to coconut…I found you through pinterest and would love to make the recipes I found so far but there is coconut in so many of them. Can I substitute another oil for coconut? Please advise, Thank you! Jess Catani
You made me crave After eight now… :-P I haven't seen them here anywhere. I guess Peppermint Patties will have to do. These cookies look incrediblyyyy delicious!
Really?! That stinks. I used the generic ones from Aldi. :D
Oh my gosh these look so gooey and wonderful! Yum! I love how dark the actually cookies look :D
Thank you! And yes… they're wonderfully dark and, powerful looking. If that makes sense. ;)
these are killing it on foodgawker, Erin! I have to tell you again how amazing they look :)
Aww, they actually went down. Boo! Oh well. I saw *someone's* cookies on that first page, though. ;)
OMG wow…loving all of the chocolate coming out of the cookie. If only I could get my hands on a couple of them…
Liking the lately creations you are coming with!! Another winner but first I have to try that almond cranberry cake :-)
Yes, I'm a sneaky one. People seem to like gooey chocolate. :) Hope you'll like the cranberry cake!
Cookies look amazing! But I can't believe that you don't like fresh mint. I love it! Try it with a boiled water and a teaspoon of honey :)
Ok, but just for you! We'll try it at our next baking day. :)
That melted chocolate…. oh yummmmm! So perfect:D
Thanks! :)
After Eight centers? Sounds amazing! Glad you are finding so many good grain-free recipes for this month :)
Yeah! It's easier than I would have expected. :)
These look wonderfully gooey and fudgy! Love that you used fresh mint!
Thanks! :)
These cookies look perfect, so rich and delicious!
Thanks! They really are rich, which is weird, but I guess it's all due to the chocolate. :)
Looks Yummy!!
Thanks!
Oh my – a lightened up brownie cookie? Where do I sign up?!
But not light in taste or texture! They're super heavy and dense. Like someone else said, stone cookies. Yeah!
These look anything but boring. Oh, that gooey center is calling my name. Yum!
Maaake meeee…. maaaake meeee, Jennie… ;)
Woah! Those are amazing! I'm loving all that oozing chocolate and I'm pretty sure these would be dangerous to have in the house, healthy or not! Although that never seems to stop me…
Haha. Doesn't stop me either. I wish I had some kind of stop-eating-the-cookies switch!
These look amazing! It is a great idea to combine chocolate with mint in a cookie and it looks like a chocolate-stone ball, just makes me want to take a big bite! :)
A chocolate stone ball. I like that! They were big suckers. Each one was 65 grams or so. :)
The avocado is such a surprising ingredient! Next week, my gluten-intolerant friend is coming for a visit so I plan to try these cookies. Since we don't have hazelnuts, I plan to substitute almond meal. Thank you! Looking forward to sinking my teeth into these chocolatey cookies!
I have to say… I love your name. :) I hope you and your friend enjoy these cookies! I'd love to hear how they come out with almond meal.
This looks SO yummy. I am going to try them. And will probably once again become obsessed, like with your chickpea things. Yummm. LOVE that you almost cried when you tried them ; )
Haha. These beat the chickpea things, I think. Hope you like them! And remember, they're another weird warm cookie. :)
I love your enthusiasm for these biscuits! They're a must try now!
Yeah! Try 'em! :D
Oh my, these look so chewy and delicious! I love that you made them gluten free :)
They kind of were already so I can't take credit for that. We have Sonia to thank for that one! :)
I am totally going to have a go at this with some almond meal… and you best believe I'm loading it up with chocolate :) thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Haha. Good girl. :) Load 'em up. Hope you like them! Let me know how the almond meal works out.
Holy cow those look insanely good! You can't get anything better than all that ooey, gooey melted chocolate!
Thanks! And I agree. Melted chocolate is the way to go. :)
oh my goodness, girl! I could eat these all day long.
Yes, they have green stuff in them, which counts as veggies, and therefore is totally a-okay. :D
HOLY MOLY. "When I bit into one, I almost cried." – honestly feel like that would be my same reaction. I mean, look at them. All of that melty chocolate makes me want to skip dinner tonight and faceplant into dessert. amazing photos and great job with these Erin!
Haha. Thank you! :) You should come over and we can faceplant into desserts together. It'd be fun! :D
I am so, so, into these. They look awesome!
Thanks! :)
These look wonderful! And there are lots of cookies that I much prefer warm to room temperature, so I know exactly what you mean. =)
Thanks! And I think everything is better warm. Except ice cream. That is nice cold. :)
I've noticed most chocolate cookies kind of taste a little dry when they aren't warm. Someone needs to invent a homemade chocolate cookie that stays soft and chewy and delicious at room temperature… but then again I don't eat my cookies cold either.
And I had no idea fresh mint tastes like dish soap. Whenever my mom puts a mint leaf on my dinner I usually just pick it off and leave it on the side.
These don't taste dry at all when room temperature, not just as gooey because the chocolate isn't melted. But not dry. :) And I'm not sure if fresh mint tastes like dish soap but it did make my dough taste dish soapy (which went away once baked). You try a plain leaf and let me know, okay? :D
AWESOME!!! OMG, what a lovely surprise! I'm so happy you liked them, Erin! This is like the best compliment EVER! I have to admit that the added chocolate chips make them look so much better, with all that extra gooeyness. YUMMERS! What I wouldn't give to taste one right now. Well, two, to be honest. I wouldn't mind having a taste of the raw one either! Looks scrumptious!
Thanks a bunch for this, Erin. You totally, but totally ROCK!!! :D
But you remember I made them back around Easter, right? (I left a review, of course :D)) It was right before a trip and I had no time to take pictures. But that was without mint. I was craving something chocolatey yesterday and these were the perfect solution! Sooo good. And so filling! Each one is a whopping 65 grams. Yummy. Thank you so much. :)