Cacao nib cookies

So much has happened since I last wrote here. In a nutshell though, I bought a house, sold a house, quit my job, left Nelson, embarked on my OE (read about it here), Covid19 hit and now I’m back in Christchurch – where it all began. All with my husband in tow of course. 

Feels somewhat odd as I am now job hunting again. The last time I could actively keep up with this blog was when I was job hunting for my then graduate job. Time has certainly pass but one thing that hasn’t changed is my love for cooking. 

In line with my increasing waistline and need to be healthier due to the increasing years of wisdom, I have been trying to bake and cook better. I’ve been doing this by cutting down or swapping ingredients that don’t provide much nutrition in favour of those that do. Sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn’t.

One of my favourite things to bake are cookies. I’m actually surprised that I never shared a recipe because I make them so often. I live with a cookie monster so it became imperative that I make more wholesome cookies.

Problem with wholesome cookies are that they don’t usually taste great. I still want it to taste like a cookie you know – after all, it is a treat so it should still be a bit naughty. 

After much trial and error, I think I’ve finally perfected it using ingredients I always have on hand. The cookie monster approves too!

Cacao nib cookies

Recipe by Chai NinjaDifficulty: Easy

Delicious cookies packed with fibre and antioxidants

Ingredients

• 2 cups white flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• pinch of salt

• 225g softened butter

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (essence or whatever)

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup cacao nibs

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Directions

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Sift flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder into a bowl – set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar (both types) together until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beat together till mixed.
• Add sifted ingredients from step 2, cacao nibs and oats, to mixture in step 4.
• Mixed until well combined. Your mixture should be slightly sticky but firm enough to roll into balls.
• Spoon tablespoon sized dough onto a baking sheet and roll into balls.
• Bake until golden brown.
• Transfer onto a cooling rack and enjoy!

Notes

• If the dough is not firm enough to roll, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it reaches desired consistency.
• Remember to leave enough space in between for spreading.
• You can adapt this recipe to become an oatmeal raisin cookie! Simply swap out the cacao nibs for 3/4 cup of raisins.

Just in case you were wondering how light and fluffy a brown sugar mix can get, here is a picture where you can see the transition.

It does take awhile to get it to this point and I usually set my stand mixer to med-high speed. The end product should look like this.

Ah, beautifully lush and whipped butter. Heaven.

So, have I convinced you to make these yet? If I have, let me know how you get on!