Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies (Paleo, Vegan, Grain Free)

I must admit, I made these cookies look as much like a 'French Macaron' as possible.  As my kids would say...'French Macarons are my only weakness'. Sadly they are not on my prescribed diet at this time. 

These little heavenly morsels however, will suit me just fine. Made with organic, fair trade Dagoba cocoa, these cookies are SUPER chocolaty and filled with a rich creamy, melt in your mouth, peppermint dairy free 'butter cream'.

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

Chocolate cookie

(adapted from Elanas Pantry)

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 (3Tbls for a denser cookie) Tbls Almond flour (Honeyville Brand)

3 Tbls  organic cocoa powder (I use Dagoba)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut oil (liquified)

1/4 cup honey (agave for vegans)

1/2 Tbls vanilla extract

1 tsp peppermint extract

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, honey vanilla extract and peppermint extract

Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture

Pipe onto a baking sheet in 1/2 inch to 1 inch rounds at least 1 1/2 inches a part from each other. You want a uniform look The cookies will spread out some while baking. (If making the denser cookie you could roll the dough into balls and flatten slightly)

If you want a thinner cookie, just flatten them a little more (we call these 'thin mints'). I like mine small and fat though, so they are reminiscent of  French Macarons)

Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 min

Cool completely before piping the mint filling. Once cooled, pair the cookies with their like size.

The amount of cookies you get depends on the size of cookie you make. 

Recipe doubles easily.

Cashew/Coconut Butter Peppermint 'Butter Cream'

Ingredients:

1 cup  soaked and drained cashews

3/4 cups  Coconut Butter (not oil). I used 'Artisana' or make your own, by 'Rawmazing'

6 Tbls  raw honey/agave (a lighter colored honey will produce a lighter filling)

1tsp  vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1-3 Tbls  full fat coconut milk (for desired consistency)

In blender, blend the cashews, honey, peppermint & vanilla extract till it forms a very smooth paste. Add 1-3 Tbls of coconut milk. Only as much as you need to keep it mixing though.

When it is ready (smooth and creamy), transfer the cashew mixture to a medium size bowl. Add the softened coconut Butter to the cashew mixture, then whip them in a standing mixer/hand mixer till combined and smooth.

At this point check to see if the filling tastes right for you. Add more flavoring as desired. Now you may also add more coconut milk if you want a softer filling.

Filling can be stored up to 3 days in an air tight container. Let it soften at room temp for about 15 min before working with it.

Assembling the cookies

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a  1/2 inch plain round tip. Alternatively you could use a zip lock bag, cutting a hole into one of the corners for piping.

Pipe a mound of filling into the center a cookie. If the cookies are larger, you may need to apply the filling in a spiral pattern. Place the matching cookie on top, press down just enough to get the filling to spread out to the edge of the cookie. Smooth the edges if needed.

Chill the cookies. Store in an air tight container in the fridge. Be sure the container is air tight though or your cookies will taste like 'refrigerator' Serve while still slightly chilled.