Low FODMAP #27: Best day in Paris and Best Nut & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Making friends with restrictions, surviving happily on a low FODMAP diet #27: Best day in Paris and Best Nut & Chocolate Chip Cookies

The night before leaving for our vacation, Yogesh and I went on a baking spree. Yogesh ended up making the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Not only are they low in FODMAP, they are gluten-free and vegan. Once you eat these cookies, you wont be able to go back. But before I pour out the secret of these cookies, I have to talk a bit about our third day in Paris.

Our last day in Paris was THE BEST day in Paris. Yes we spent the day at the Louvre and all that amazing stuff but most importantly, I found Low FODMAP Crepes that I can eat and they are everywhere!!! Can I move to Paris, like tomorrow? I really like Crepes.

Somewhere on Boulevard Saint Germain, close to the Latin Quarter, we saw a little crepe stall on the street that had a sign saying “Buckwheat Crepe”. My heart jumped when I saw the sign – wheatless, low FODMAP crepe?? I confirmed that it was pure buckwheat with no wheat flour. The super friendly Crepe man made me a dark chocolate crepe. I gulped it down in like 10 seconds and went back to the stall for a second one, this time with butter and sugar. The second was even better. I wanted to go back for a third one, but Yogesh put his foot down…..probably for the best.

And its not only crepes. Our cousins from Finland recommended a restaurant called “Le Danton”. I went there with Yogesh and Katha suspecting that I would spend my time there staring at them eating. But defying all odds, there were multiple things on the menu that was low FODMAP. I ended up having a steak with sautéed potatoes – so good, SO GOOD! Yogesh and I put down Paris on our “next city to live in” list.

Okay, now lets get back to the best chocolate chip cookies on the face of earth. Here they are at the Louvre this morning.

The  following recipe has been adapted from the Oh She Glows blog, with minor changes. Yogesh used a mix of peanut butter and almond butter, instead of all peanut butter. Also, our magic bullet stopped working in the middle of making the almond meal, so ~20% of the meal was basicaly coarsely chopped almonds. I love the chunks of almonds in the cookie and wont change a thing next time.

Ingredients

1 flax egg: (1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup oat flour
1 cup almond meal (with chunks of almonds)
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the flax egg and set aside for 5 minutes so it can thicken up.
2. With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the buttery spread and peanut butter until combined. Add both sugars and beat for 1 minute more. Beat in the flax egg and vanilla extract until combined.
3. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients (baking soda, baking powder, salt, oat flour, and almond flour) one by one. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Shape 1-inch balls of dough (smaller than golf balls) and place on the baking sheet. There is no need to flatten the balls as the cookies spread out a lot. Place balls 2-3 inches apart.
5. Bake for about 11-13 minutes until lightly golden. The underside will also be a rich golden brown shade. The cookies will be very soft coming out of the oven, but they will harden as they cool. Allow to cool for 5-10 mins. on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.

Yes, it is indeed a lot of ingredients, but I am telling you, the final product is worth it. However if you are on the Low FODMAP diet, do not have too many at the same time/day – it has a lot of almonds!

I brought a bunch of these cookies with me and everytime I have one, both Yogesh and Katha want a bite.