These Walnut Chocolate Cookies, also known in the Czech Republic as Bear Paws, are my family’s traditional Christmas recipe. It has been passed down for many generations. When going gluten-free and lectin-free I didn’t want to give up this traditional family Christmas recipe and just swapped regular flour for Cassava flour and regular sugar for Monk fruit sweetener. Everything else stayed as in the original recipe. Swapping the ingredients didn’t affect the texture or flavor of the cookies. They are very flavorful thanks to cinnamon and ground cloves and a little crunchy with the touch of dark chocolate.Â
To make these cookies you will need special cookie tins, I brought mine from home, but a madeleine pan works great too.Â
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Walnut Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp Cassava Flour (300g)
- 1 cup Powdered Monk fruit sweetener (180g)
- 1 cup ground walnuts (180g)
- 1 cup softened butter, ghee, or coconut oil for a dairy-free option (240g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- lemon zest from one organic lemon
- 1/2 cup finely grated dark (72% cocoa or more) or dairy-free chocolate
- 1 yolk
Directions
- Combine cassava flour, ground walnuts, powdered monk fruit, cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest, and finely grated dark chocolate.Â
- Add egg yolk and softened butter, ghee, or coconut oil.
- Using your hands knead the dough on a working desk until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Create a log of dough, transfer onto a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but best if refrigerated overnight.Â
- Prepare the madeleine baking pan or cookie tins by lightly spraying them with oil (avocado or coconut).
- Cut a piece of dough and knead with your hands, then cut into smaller pieces. Press the pieces of dough into the pan until filled.Â
- Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan until a little warm, then remove the cookies from the pan to a cooling rack to completely cool.
Note: You can dust the cookies with Powdered Swerve or Monk fruit before serving.