The Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Maybe that's a bold statement. The healthiest?
I don't know.

But the healthiest I've ever personally come across, for what it's worth.

Like I mentioned in my last recipe, I've been on the anti-candida diet lately. And as I also mentioned, I've been really needing some desserts around the house.

I came across this recipe a while back, and used to make it often, back in the days when I could have peanuts (which I can't have because of my diet, and also because my nursing babe has a peanut allergy), garbanzo beans (which are a close relative of peanuts, and therefore my girl is also allergic to them), and honey (which...you know. sugar.).

It struck me yesterday, though, that I could make some substitutions, and with a little adjusting, come up with a completely sugar-free, peanut-allergy-friendly version.

So these cookies have no flour, no butter, no sugar, no dairy, no eggs, no garbanzo beans, and no peanuts. Making them vegan, anti-candida diet friendly, and gluten-free, to name a few.

But equally as important, they're really, really good. Not to mention you're getting 4 grams of protein, healthy fats from the cashews and coconut oil, and antioxidants from the cocoa nibs in every cookie- and 0 grams of sugar in the entire recipe!

I don't count calories when eating clean, but if you're into that, each cookie comes in at about 125-135 calories (depending on the size of your cookies).

They're more like a cookie dough bite, like the original recipe from which it was adapted. The texture, when the cookie is chilled, is very dough-like, which I, personally, prefer. 

The Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

makes: about 2 dozen mini cookies

1 1/4 cup cashew butter (cashews should be the only ingredient; I make my own.)
2 1/2 cups white beans, drained and rinsed well  (I used navy)
2 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
2 tsp gluten-free baking powder 
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 packets Stevia 
4 Tbsp pure Xylitol
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup cocoa nibs (or mini chocolate chips of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grind the cashew butter and beans on high in the food processor until a very smooth dough forms. Add in the coconut oil and baking powder and process well. Add in the remaining ingredients, except cocoa nibs, and process well again. Stir in cocoa nibs, and drop on a cookie sheet (I use an ice cream scoop to do this). Bake at 350˚F for about 12 minutes, or until the bottoms turn golden and the cookies look dry. They will not spread or rise like normal cookies. 
Eat warm, or chill in the refrigerator or freezer. I like them best cold (and they hold together better that way, too), but they are also delicious straight out of the oven.

Enjoy!