Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These pecan chocolate chunk cookies have to be added to your holiday baking list. Just don’t expect them to last until the holidays. A healthy, simple recipe that is gluten free, grain free, paleo, vegan, and tastes decadent! These pecan chocolate chunk cookies will satisfy even  the biggest sweet tooth. Healthy enough to eat for breakfast these cookies are packed with protein, fiber, and even some hidden veggies! Curious to find out?

Chocolate and pecan is one of my favorite combinations. One year for Thanksgiving I made a chocolate pecan pie, it was literally to die for! .I’m pretty sure that was my favorite holiday pie I’ve ever made, but I also remember being on a crazy sugar high and binge eating half the pie in one night. So you might say I get pretty crazy with the chocolate and pecan combo.

So I have found ways to make healthier desserts. Desserts that actually fill me up, instead of just empty calories that cause me to just search for more and more sugar. Maybe you feel the same way around all the holiday cookies lately – out of control and difficult to say no or resist those cookies in the fridge or freezer? Well make yourself a batch of these pecan chocolate chunk cookies and I promise you will feel full and satisfied instead of empty and a tad bit remorseful for eating everyone’s cookies.

I have been teaching boot camp for the past 4 weeks and I have to tell you I have never been more excited to go to work. Well except for my job as a food blogger. Recipe testing, recipe creation, and of course getting to know so many of you through my recipe creation. My jobs could not be more exciting or fulfilling. Creating cookie recipes has been my break from creating healthy meal plans and testing recipes.

Speaking of meal plans, I just have to brag a little on the feedback I’ve been getting over the past week. It’s incredibly rewarding to hear how much the meal plan has helped people get a healthy dinner on the table every night. I think my favorite comment so far was “My husband even gave the veggies a thumbs up, and said I should make them again”. Comments like that seriously make my day! Interested in trying the meal plan? Sign up here for a free week and let me know how it goes!

I hope to inspire you to try something new with this pecan chocolate chunk cookie. The cookies have a hidden vegetable in them – if you couldn’t tell from the pictures, they are full of pumpkin! What pumpkin? Well it’s one of my favorite bases for cookies, it’s low carb, it’s pretty neutral (meaning it doesn’t overpower a recipe) and it’s in season right now so I almost always have a half used can of pumpkin puree in the fridge.

Knowing my tendency to eat all the cookies, I decided to keep the ingredients in these cookies as healthy as possible. Almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, pumpkin, mashed banana and a little bit of coconut oil. These cookies seriously could be enjoyed for breakfast, and are probably healthier than the average toaster strudel or pop-tart, I’m just sayin!

I was sent the new Vega Sport Performance Protein to review. Please know that all opinions and thoughts are my own. I was not compensated in for this review and regularly buy Vega products as one of my go to protein powders of choice. I regularly bake with vegan, plant based protein and today is no exception.

One of my favorite new protein powders is Vega Sport Performance Protein. Have you seen this in the store yet? First of all I have to say this is probably the best tasting vanilla protein powder I’ve had in awhile. Dave might have eaten half of the container in less than a week. Yup that’s more than a serving a day. Why do we love this new Sport Performance Protein? Well for starters there are 30 grams of plant based protein in every scoop. The plant protein is from non-gmo pea, pumpkin seed, organic sunflower seed and alfalfa protein, talk about plant power! And perhaps my favorite feature of this new sports performance protein, it helps with muscle recovery! Each scoop contains gut friendly probiotics as well as anti-inflammatory ingredients like turmeric, tart cherry, black pepper, and bromelain. If you haven’t had a chance to try the new Vega Sport Performance Protein, may I recommend adding it to your list to Santa, you won’t be disappointed! You can find Find Vega Sport Performance Protein at local stores with Vega’s store locator or online at MyVega.com.

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Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These simple pecan chocolate chunk cookies are not only easy to make but also healthy enough you could even have them for breakfast! Vegan, gluten free, grain free, diary free, paleo and packed with protein and fiber these are the ultimate cookies!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

Total Time 27 minutes

Servings 16

Calories 73 kcal

Author Bites of Wellness

Ingredients

• 1 large banana mashed
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tbs. unsweetened coconut flakes
• 3 tbs. almond flour
• 2 tbs. coconut flour
• 1 scoop Vega One Performance Protein vanilla (or 1 1/2 scoops of vanilla protein of your choice*)
• 2 tbs. chia sees
• 1/2 tbs. cinnamon
• 1/2 tbs. coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips chopped into chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In a large bowl, mash the banana, then add the pumpkin puree.
3. To the banana and pumpkin mixture, add the chia seeds and unsweetened coconut flakes.Stir to combine.
4. Next stir in the almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder and cinnamon. Mix well to combine, the dough will be thick.
5. Melt the coconut oil and add 1/2 tbs along with the vanilla extract to the dough. Mix well.
6. Add the baking powder, pecans and chocolate chunks. Stir to distribute and combine.
7. Using a tablespoon (I spray mine with coconut oil), scoop out 16-18 cookies on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake at 375F for 15-17 minutes until firm tot he touch.
9. Allow to cool for at least 20-30 minutes before enjoying. These cookies are amazing warm, so be sure to get at least one before putting them in the fridge for storage!
10. *To make this recipe truly grain free, you may want to use a whey protein,a hemp protein, or a pumpkin or a sunflower seed protein all of which would be grain free.

Nutrition Facts

Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 73 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g 6%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Sodium 12mg 1%

Potassium 125mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 2g

Protein 2g 4%

Vitamin A 16.9%

Vitamin C 1.7%

Calcium 4.9%

Iron 3.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

What about you?

• Do you ever have cookies for breakfast?
• What was you favorite dessert you have ever made?
• Do you make holiday cookies for gifts?