From Lauren: This holiday recipe is a contribution from Michelle, who shares an autoimmune-friendly recipe each month.
The holidays are finally here, and that means it’s time to start decorating, planning, shopping, and of course… cooking! There’s no better time for an indulgent treat to share with family and friends.
Holiday meals and treats have always been one of my favorite parts of the season, but that got a lot more difficult when I transitioned to a Paleo and Autoimmune Paleo diet. What would I make if I couldn’t have boxed sugar cookies? Or just grab anything pre-made at the store? These standard treats are laden with white flour, refined sugar, inflammatory oils, and artificial colors that leave most of us feeling worse for the wear.
So, how do you get into the holiday spirit without dipping into the conventional cookie jar? These Paleo Mint Chocolate Cookie Bars are just the thing to satisfy your sweet tooth and are tasty enough to share with everyone!
About the ingredients in Paleo Mint Chocolate Cookie Bars
Tigernut Flour- Tigernut is actually a grain free, nut free, tuber that is similar to almond flour. It’s both paleo and AIP and makes for a great texture in cookies!
Tapioca Starch- You can also substitute arrowroot.
Coconut oil & coconut sugar- Coconut oil is the main fat source in these cookie bars, and coconut sugar helps to sweeten the recipe.
Dairy free chocolate chips- You can use a brand like Enjoy Life for dairy free chocolate chips, or if you’re on an AIP diet, you can also make homemade AIP carob chips.
Peppermint extract- Peppermint extract gives these that minty flavor, but it’s an optional ingredient if you’d like to just have cookie bars.
Egg (or a gelatin egg)- One egg will help to bind the recipe, but you can also easily substitute a gelatin egg. The instructions for this are below. Collagen will not work.
Coconut butter and matcha powder- These are for the optional drizzle. The matcha adds the green color that gives these that “minty” look!
- 1 cup tigernut flour, available here
- ¼ cup tapioca starch, available here
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cupdairy free chocolate chips (sub homemade carob chips for AIP, recipe here)
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 egg (sub ¼ cup water and 1 tbsp. gelatin for AIP... instructions below)
- FOR THE OPTIONAL DRIZZLE
- 2 tbsp coconut butter, melted
- ½ tsp matcha powder
- Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a 7x5" baking dish with parchment paper.
- Sift together the tigernut flour and tapioca starch and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the coconut oil, coconut sugar, peppermint, and baking soda. Combine the two mixtures and stir in the chocolate chips.
- For the gelatin egg (or sub 1 regular egg) add ¼ cup of water into a small sauce pan and place on the stove top. Slowly sprinkle the gelatin into the water (you don't want any clumps) and allow it to bloom for 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat on medium/low for 2-3 minutes to allow the gelatin to melt. Remove the pot from the heat and quickly whisk until it foams. Stir in the gelatin egg (or regular egg) into the mixture.
- Spread the dough evenly into the baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Once cooled, slice the bars into 8 slices.
- For the optional drizzle, combine melted coconut butter with matcha powder in a small bowl, and drizzle over the individual bars with a fork.
About Michelle Hoover
Michelle Hoover is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Blogger, and Podcaster at Unbound Wellness. After being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in her teens and living with gut issues and food intolerances her entire life, she started her blog to share her holistic lifestyle tips and paleo/AIP recipes that helped her heal and thrive. Michelle believes that real food doesn’t have to be boring and loves sharing recipes that are both nourishing and fun. You can follow along on her Instagram and Facebook.
So happy to have a coconut flour free recipe! Thank you 🙂
interesting ingredients like tapioca starch and tigernut flour and so nice to know that these bars have been autoimmunized! Thank you!
I am fond of reading this blog !Michelle Hoover is an amazing person, excellent blogger and caring mother who shares nourishing and fun recipes!