"Guilty As Charged" Chocolate Cookies

Just like pretty much everyone, I have a pretty undeniable sweet tooth; chocolate in particular. But as a dancer, pigging out on processed, artificial chocolate is not going to make me look nor feel good wearing that leotard, especially when I have to stare at myself in the mirror for countless hours within the day. Yet what if I told you, that you could eat loaded chocolate cookies, stay energised and burn fat during the process? Well you can - welcome to my "Guilty As Charged" Chocolate Cookies!!

Over the past few weeks, my eyes have been opened and mind has been blown after reading Dave Asprey's book "The Bulletproof Diet". After drinking his infamous concoction of Bulletproof Coffee every morning; which is butter, MCT oil and coffee (yes, butter in my coffee) I have felt unstoppable, better yet bulletproof! The diet or rather lifestyle is focused on "biohacking" your body for it to perform at it's best, and as a dancer and athlete what more could you want? This is done by upping your daily fat intake drastically, eating moderate protein and lower carbohydrates. Grains, dairy and most importantly sugar are all off limits to push your body into a state called 'ketosis". Ketosis when your body starts to not burn off sugar, but rather that stubborn fat, meaning your body burns fat rather than sugar. Thus, by removing almost all sugars from your diet and by increasing your fat intake your body learns that fat is easier to sustain and to burn off, rather than simple, unstable sugars which cause you to have that "3pm crash" or crazy cravings. But if your anything like me when I think of no sugar I go into panic - no chocolate how am I going to get through the day?! Well one of the brilliant things about the Bulletproof Diet is it doesn't frown upon healthy sweets (and this doesn't include fruit, but I'll describe this more in a later blog post) but actually encourages it! 

Theobroma Cacao, the Latin name for chocolate, literally means "Food of the Gods" and for good reason. Raw cacao is high in antioxidants, an appetite suppressant and a high pressure mood improver; and these are only some of the many benefits. In my eyes it's one of the most versatile, accessible and tastiest superfoods out there. Thus, raw, dark chocolate is perfectly bulletproof and a great daily (yes, I repeat daily!) indulgence if used in the right way. All those sugary, milky chocolate bars will not only make you feel sick and guilty after eating them, but in the long term they are actually doing a lot of harm to your body. Your body cannot break down the processed, artificial sugars causing an excess in glycogen. When we have an excess in glycogen it is stored within the body, and we all know where that goes... But, organic, unsweetened raw cacao on the other hand hosts all these amazing performance improving qualities whilst also satisfying the cravings for sweets.

Which brings me to my  "Guilty As Charged" Chocolate Cookies. These cookies are filled with healthy fats and proteins to stabilise your blood sugars and to satisfy your sweet tooth - and the best bit is they taste so good you'd think they'd be bad for you! 

"Guilty As Charged" Chocolate Cookies

Cookies:

1 cup Coconut flour 

1 serve of Chocolate Protein Powder (I used “The Super Elixir - Nourishing Protein Chocolate*) 

1/4 tsp Baking Soda3 Tbsp Xylitol 

1/4 tsp Himalayan Salt

A good dash of cinnamon 

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 

2 Tbsp Grass-fed Butter or Ghee

2 Tbsp Bulletproof* Brain Octane Oil

1 Egg

Frosting:
4 Tbsp Full-fat Coconut milk (chilled)

1.5 Tbsp powdered Xylitol

1 Tbsp Raw Cacao

pinch Himalayan Salt

Method:

Frosting:

1. First, make sure that you put your coconut milk in the fridge so it has the chance to harden and the cream rises to the top. The cream is what you are going to use for the frosting. Once you’ve opened the can, discard the water from the can and scoop out 4 Tbsp of the coconut milk cream. 
2. Place all the ingredients for the frosting into a mixer, and whip together until combined. If you don’t have an electric mixer you can either use an Immersion blender or hand stir with an added teaspoon of the discarded coconut liquid or a teaspoon of water.
3. Place the frosting into a plastic bag and place in the fridge to cool.

Cookies:

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC (325º F), and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Place all the wet ingredients (oil, butter, egg) into a mixer and beat together until smooth. 
3. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients together, and then add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir together until just combined.
4. The dough should be on the sticky side - don’t fret, this a desired consistency. You should be able to push the dough together into a large ball. 
5. Then break of Tablespoon sized amounts of the dough, and roll into small balls. Place the balls on the baking tray, and flatten slightly so they resemble disc shapes.
6. Place the cookies in the oven for roughly 10-15mins (cooking time depends on your oven). The cookies should be ready when they are somewhat soft to touch and browned on the edges. 
7. Let the cookies cool in tray, then transfer to a wire rack and wait until completely cooled before frosting. 
8. To frost the cookies, take your plastic bag out of the fridge and cut the corner off the bag (voila instant piping bag!). Now you can pipe squiggles or dollop the frosting onto your cookies.
9. Dig in and devour these bulletproof, protein-filled, fat burning cookies! Yum! 

Enjoy!
Chelsea xo

Notes:
*Xylitol - is a sugar replacement. It is plant-based, zero-sugar, low-GI and can act as a prebiotic which is really important in feeding good gut bacteria.

*Bulletproof Brain Octane Oil - is a MCT oil (medium-chain-triglycerides oil - the good "stuff" which is in coconut oil) which is an essential chain of fats and important for pushing your body into Ketosis*The Super Elixir Nourishing Protein Chocolate Powder - is my protein powder of choice. It is a vegan pea and rice protein, filled with all 9 essential amino acids, aids in tissue repair and growth and also has digestive enzymes to boost metabolism for a lean body.
*For an added hit - add chopped up sugar-free dark chocolate for an extra-kick!