Zero Cookies

Gluten-free | Sugar-free | Dairy-free | Grain-free | Egg-free 

Makes 1 dozen cookies

Why It’s Delicious

Who doesn’t love a crunchy cookie, especially when those cookies consist of only four ingredients, a quick mix and bake, resulting in a tasty cookie whose crunch lasts for a week? 

Helpful hints + tips 

To help maintain a sweet taste without adding refined sugar, I use my Zero as Sugar Pure Erythritol. You’ll find this ingredient in many reduced-calorie and sugar-free foods and drinks. If you want to purchase my Zero as Sugar Pure Erythritol, which is 100% natural, has zero calories, and registers zero on the glycemic index, you can find out more here.  

Make sure to use good quality, sugar-free dark chocolate. Real dark chocolate is made from cocoa powder and cocoa butter (the fatty portion of the cacao bean), making it naturally dairy-free. Some brands add dairy to their dark chocolates, so be sure to read the ingredients list if you decide to buy some. Alternatively, you can use my Sugar-free Vegan Dark Chocolate. 

If you would like to watch me make this recipe, click here for a replay of our live Zero Cookies cooking class.

Ingredients

• 20 g (0.7 oz) chia seeds soaked in 20 ml (0.7 oz) of water for 5 minutes
• 90 g (3 oz) almond butter or you can use walnut, pecan, pumpkin or sunflower seed butter
• 100 g (3.5 oz) Zero as Sugar Pure Erythritol
• 3-5 drops of pure peppermint oil (food grade) or 1 tsp natural peppermint essence
• 30- 60 g (1-2 oz) sugar-free dark chocolate chips, optional

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C (320F) and line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. 
2. Into a mixing bowl, place the almond butter, soaked chia seeds, zero as sugar and peppermint essence. Stir with a wooden spoon until a soft cookie dough forms. 
3. Roll the cookie dough between clean fingers to form 12 even-sized balls and space them onto the baking sheet, leaving a 2 cm (½ inch) gap between each cookie to allow them to spread. 
4. Flatten the top of the balls a little with the palm of your hand and then bake in the oven for 23-25 minutes, turning the tray once while cooking to ensure they bake and colour up evenly. 
5. Remove the cookies from the tray and allow them to cool completely on the tray on a wire rack. They will significantly harden as they cool. 
6. If you would like to add some chocolate, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave by heating on high at 10-second intervals, stirring between each blast until the chocolate is smooth or melt the chocolate in a metal bowl over a gently simmering saucepan with 5 cm (2 inches) of water. Stir with a spatula till the chocolate is melted and smooth. 
7. Once the cookies have cooled, you can either drizzle the melted chocolate on top using a teaspoon or you can dip one side of the cookie into the chocolate. If you are feeling adventurous, you can pipe zero on top of the cookie with a small piping bag. 
8. Store the cooled cookies in a jar or tin in the pantry for up to 1 week.