Double Chocolate Mint Paleo Cookies

Double Chocolate Mint Paleo Cookies are a healthy alternative to thin mints! They're gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free (without the candy canes) and made from wholesome, natural ingredients. The best part? They taste like Christmas in a cookie!

The best holiday cookie recipe you'll try

Who has been loving cookie week as much as me?! If you've been here for a while, you probably know that baking is my absolute favorite. But holiday baking? That takes the trophy for my favorite type of baking!

Feeling inspired by the annual cookie exchanges my mom used to attend, I knew I wanted to do a cookie week this year. There's no better time for it than during the holidays! So far, we've made gluten free snickerdoodles, gluten free gingersnaps, and healthy peanut butter blossoms.

So what's next, you ask? Double chocolate mint paleo cookies! These treats provide the classic chocolate and mint combo, making them taste similar to thin mints. The chocolate provides the rich, decadent flavor while peppermint extract and crushed candy cane provides that cool, refreshing mintiness!

Partly inspired by The Great British Baking Show

A Thanksgiving spent at Tom's house introduced me to my new favorite show: The Great British Baking Show. Now, I love playing it in the background while I bake!

Is anyone else watching it right now?! I am completely and utterly obsessed and cannot believe I wasn't watching it earlier.

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, The Great British Baking Show is sort of like MasterChef, but it's all baking, and the cast is British (as you could've probably guessed!). It's all friendly competition, so it's quite enjoyable to watch. I've learned so much about baking too! On each episode, they have to make three different desserts: one signature bake, one technical bake, and one "showstopper."

My favorite is either the technical bake (where they have to perfectly nail a simple recipe like a bread, cake, or tart) or the showstopper (where they get to let their creativity shine and make whatever they'd like).

All of this is to say, I highly recommend watching this show and letting it inspire you to bake some tasty holiday treats like these double chocolate mint paleo cookies!

Ingredients in paleo double chocolate cookies

The paleo diet consists of eating completely whole ingredients, with the goal of eating foods as close to their "original form" as possible. Essentially, the goal is to eat like the Paleolithic or cavemen people would have eaten.

So when it comes to baking, paleo treats require as many unrefined and unprocessed ingredients as possible. Here are the ingredients we'll be using to make these paleo-approved cookies!

• Nut butter: First up, you will need ¼ cup of nut butter. I recommend using almond — that's what I used, and it was delicious!
• Coconut oil: Next, you will need ¼ cup of melted coconut oil.
• Coconut sugar: Use ¼ cup of coconut sugar to sweeten up the cookies.
• Maple syrup: And to make things extra sweet, add ¼ cup of maple syrup!
• Vanilla: 1 teaspoon of vanilla makes a huge difference in these cookies.
• Egg: 1 egg will help the dry ingredients bind together. Make sure it's at room temperature before adding to the batter.
• Peppermint extract: ¾ teaspoon of peppermint extract will give us that signature minty flavor!
• Almond flour: First up for the dry ingredients is 1 cup of almond flour.
• Coconut flour: Follow that with ⅓ cup of coconut flour.
• Cocoa powder: Then, give the cookies their chocolate flavor with ⅓ cup of cocoa powder.
• Salt: ¼ teaspoon of salt is a must!
• Baking soda: Use ½ teaspoon of baking soda to help the cookies bake and rise properly.
• Chocolate chips: Last but not least, finish off the cookie dough by adding ½ cup of chocolate chips. Feel free to use a dairy-free type if you want dairy-free cookies!

Optionally top your cookies with extra flavor by using ½ cup of melted chocolate and ½ cup of crushed candy canes. These toppings make the cookies prettier too!

How to make these paleo cookies

I love trying paleo recipes, and these cookies make the list for one of my favorites (along with almond butter blondies)! On top of the clean ingredient list, these are very easy to make. Here's how it's done!

To begin, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a medium-sized mixing bowl to whisk together the almond butter, coconut oil, coconut sugar, and maple syrup.

Then, whisk in the egg followed by the vanilla and peppermint extracts.

Using a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir to combine.

Once fully combined, let the dough sit for 15 minutes to allow the flours to absorb the liquid.

When ready, roll the dough into balls and then flatten them with your hand onto the baking sheet.

Add chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly firm to the touch.

Let cool completely.

Once cooled, melt the chocolate and crush the candy canes. Dip one half of the cookie into the chocolate and then into the candy cane.

Let set and enjoy! Store at room temperature for up to one week.

What type of almond flour should you use?

When it comes to baking with almond flour, be sure to go for almond flour and not almond meal flour. Though they both come from almonds, the two variations will dramatically change the texture and appearance of your cookies!

Almond meal flour is made by grinding the almonds with the skins.

Almond flour, on the other hand, is made without the skins. This method creates a lighter appearance and texture.

A gluten-free cookie treat

In addition to being delicious, these mint cookies are gluten and dairy-free, and if you skip the candy canes, they're also refined sugar-free! This makes them great for sharing with a crowd.

If you make these paleo double chocolate mint cookies, please let me know! And be sure to tag #ELWCookieWeek on Instagram

Is chocolate paleo?

Chocolate is associated with a lot of health benefits. When you are trying to decide if something is paleo-friendly, the biggest question should be whether cavemen could eat it.

The cavemen didn't have access to chocolate chips. However, they did have access to cocoa beans!

This recipe uses a pretty loose paleo interpretation as far as the chocolate chips are concerned, but sticking with dairy-free or dark chocolate is a great way to use the ingredient in its most "whole" form.

Candy canes, however, are not paleo-friendly. They make a festive topping, but be sure to omit if you want to be strict on the paleo ingredients!

If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!

Looking for some more holiday-inspired recipes? Try these!

• White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Reindeer Chow
• Peppermint Brownies
• Hot Cocoa Cookies
• Holiday Cranberry Cocktail