Chocolate Afghan Cookies

Step aside cornflakes - There's a new cereal in town!

Coming back to keto in 2021, I discovered the many products that had hit the market in NZ since my 2 year absence. There was sugar free caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, monk fruit sweeteners, honey substitute, sweet chili sauce, brownie and cake mixes, cereals and so much more! These were products I'd only heard was available in the US with crazy shipping prices! I was even more excited to find products in our supermarket, especially under well known brands like Vogel's. The Vogel's Café Style Muesli was one of the first products I got into and it immediately made me think of NZ's beloved afghan cookies - Just from the smell!

So one day during lockdown and after a few ideas swirling around in my brain, I decided I wanted to experiment.

I wanted something that would be similar to afghans, with the same texture that the cornflakes give us and that good chocolatey taste but obviously sugar free!

I'm beyond excited about this recipe and to share it with you!

Ingredients:

Almond flour:

Find me down the baking aisle, usually next to the gluten free flours or the nuts! This needs to be a finely ground almond.

Cocoa powder:

Feel free to use cacao powder if this is what you prefer - I love Donovan's Dutch Cocoa Powder, I'm not out here to get too complicated on ingredients!

Butter:

Any type is fine - salted, grass-fed, unsalted, vegan - Choice is yours!

Sweetener:

In this recipe I use Whole Earth 100% Natural with Stevia which is a 1:2 ratio with sugar - So if you're using a 1:1 like monk fruit, double the amount in this recipe.

Vanilla:

Vanilla extract or essence would be fine here, just be mindful of how much you use. 1/2 teaspoon for extract or 1 teaspoon essence would be fine - I've used vanilla paste, approximately 1/2 teaspoon.

Xanthan Gum:

Our binder - We're about to mix a bunch of nuts together with some butter, so we need something to stop our cookies falling apart!

Vogel's Café Style Keto Muesli:

Its not an absolute must to choose this product - You could try any of their other keto friendly granolas, or you might like to try toasted coconut flakes! Let me know in the comments if you try other options!

Preheat your oven to 160C conventional and line a cookie sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat.

Using an electric beater, cream your softened butter, sweetener and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Sift cocoa and xanthan gum into the butter mixture, followed by the almond flour. Stir to combine.

When your mixture starts to form a dough, add in your choice of "cornflakes" and stir until fully combined!

I just really love the crunch and the cacao blend from this particular Vogel's muesli, with the added nuts it just makes a nice well rounded chocolate cookie!

When your cookie dough is completely combined, roll out into balls onto your prepared tray.

You can expect to make about 14-15, depending on how big you want your cookies! I found in my last batch that the cookies did spread a wee bit, so space them about 2 inches apart, and flatten with a fork. These cookies will not rice so make sure you flatten them as much as you want your cookie to be.

Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, and when the timers up, pull the cookies out of the oven and leave them on the cookie tray for about 10-15 minutes, before transferring to a cooling rack. These cookies need to be able to cool down completely before you handle them, as they can be very crumbly while hot.

While you're waiting for your cookies to cool down, melt your chocolate in a microwave safe dish, 20 second bursts and stirring in between. Be careful not to overheat your chocolate!

Drizzle your chocolate on top of each cookie and top with your desired nut, we went for walnuts this time but I think I prefer pecans!

Allow to cool completely, I like to pop mine in the fridge to speed up the cooling process, once you taste these, I guarantee you'll be back for more.

Chocolate Afghan Cookies

Makes 14/15

Ingredients:

100g Butter, softened

2 tablespoons sweetener

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cocoa

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons almond flour

3/4 cup Vogel's Café Style Muesli (Or other substitute)

Topping:

50g 90% Lindt Chocolate

Desired nuts (Walnuts, pecans etc.)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C conventional and line a cookie tray with baking paper or a silicone mat.

2. Cream butter, sweetener and vanilla with an electric beater until light and fluffy.

3. Sift cocoa and xanthan gum into the butter mixture followed by almond flour. Stir to combine.

4. When mixture starts to resemble a dough, add Vogel's in and completely combine. Shape into balls and place approximately 2 inches apart. Flatten with a fork.

5. Pop into the center of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

6. When done, pull tray out of oven but leave the cookies on the tray for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cookie tray. Cookies will be very delicate until they have cooled down.

7. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 20 second bursts until melted and smooth.

8. Using a spoon, drizzle chocolate on top of each cookie and top with your choice of nut.

9. To help speed up the setting process, pop the cookies into the fridge until chocolate has set.

1 cookie:

Net carbs: 3g Protein: 6g Fat: 19g

Have you made this recipe?

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