About the Recipe
December is the time for holiday parties, cookies, cakes, heavy food, and sugar, sugar, sugar...or shall I say; inflammation, inflammation, inflammation. It is hard to escape it and sometimes even harder to resist.
I always say, most things are okay in moderation, but refined sugar is one of the worst things you can put into your body. It takes about 75g of sugar to seriously weaken the immune system for 6-8 hours...and it is not that hard to get 75g of sugar in a day, especially around this season. That can easily be done with a "healthy" granola, barbeque sauce, soft drinks, sports drinks, ketchup, canned items, protein bars, a couple of donuts and candy here and there from the Christmas party, and more. Not to mention the inflammatory effects refined sugar has on the GI tract and the body as a whole. R.I.P. your digestive system, your skin, your hair, your weight, and bring on the disease.
This recipe features all-natural sweeteners from dates and maple syrup that have both been shown to REDUCE inflammation via their anti-inflammatory effects. I personally think these sugars taste better than refined sugar but I have also been doing Ayurveda for a long time so my tastes have changed :).
This recipe is good for all doshas...especially if we are comparing it to the Reese's Double Fudge Deep Fried Cheesecake covered in powdered sugar that is sitting at the other end of the table. Enjoy your cookies, your digestion will thank you :). Double the recipe to make enough for the whole fam!
Ingredients
1/2 cup dates (soaked in warm water for at least 30 minutes)
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp coconut oil (melted) (add an extra tbsp if you want them extra gooey)
1/4 cup maple syurp
1/2 tsp ground cardamom, freshly ground
2 finger pinch of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (70-85% dark chocolate chips preferably)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees farenhiet.
Add the soaked dates to a food processor. Blend until the dates are soft and broken up but not fully pureed.
Add the almond flour, vanilla, coconut oil, maple syurp, cardamom and salt to the food processor. Blend until the ingredients are well combined.
Add the mixture to a mixing bowl and fold in the chocolate chips.
Dollop 1 tbsp of the mixture at a time on an ungreased cookie sheet (should form 10-12 1 tbsp cookies). Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Allow to cool before transferring them to a serving tray. Enjoy!