AIP Carob Chip Cookies

Coconut sugar has a little more mineral content than refined white sugar, and it is sometimes reported to have a gentler effect on blood sugar, though the evidence there is thin. That is the entire nutritional case for this recipe and it is not much of one. What these are is a cookie.

Carob is its own ingredient rather than a stand-in. It is sweet on the pod and roasted for its flavor, where cacao is bitter and has to be sweetened, so a carob chip is not a chocolate chip with something taken out of it. Palm shortening is what holds the shape, solid at room temperature the way butter is, so the dough sits where you put it on the sheet instead of spreading thin. The 2 tablespoons of gelatin dissolved into warm coconut milk do the binding an egg would.

15 cookies, and you can eat one standing in your own kitchen without checking anything first. After months of reading every label in the house, that is worth something.

Ingredients

• 2 cups grain-free AIP flour blend (tapioca starch, cassava flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar combined; see verify flag for ratios)
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla powder (or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; see note)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons gelatin (acts as egg replacer and binder)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3/4 cup palm shortening
• 3/4 cup AIP-friendly carob chips (check label: no soy lecithin or dairy)

Carob note: Carob chips are the AIP-compliant alternative to chocolate chips. Cocoa and cacao are excluded during AIP elimination. Do not substitute regular chocolate chips.

Vanilla note: Vanilla powder (ground vanilla beans) is AIP-compliant. Pure vanilla extract is alcohol-based and excluded on strict elimination; swap one for one if using vanilla powder.

Gelatin note: Gelatin dissolved in the coconut milk replaces the eggs that a conventional cookie recipe would use. This is what holds the dough together.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, warm the coconut milk gently until just hot but not boiling. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface and whisk immediately until fully dissolved with no lumps. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, beat or stir the palm shortening and coconut sugar together until combined and slightly lightened.
4. Add the gelatin-coconut milk mixture and the vanilla powder to the bowl and stir well to incorporate.
5. Add the flour blend and sea salt to the wet ingredients. Stir until a cohesive dough forms.
6. Fold in the carob chips.
7. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Flatten slightly with your palm or the back of a spoon; these cookies will not spread much on their own.
8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the centers look just set. Do not overbake; they firm up as they cool.
9. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. The texture improves significantly once fully cooled.

Storage: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week.

*Adapted from Thriving On Paleo*