Favourite chocolate pecan cookies – vegan, gluten-free and perfect for morning coffee time!

Soft and chewy cookies packed with dark chocolate and nut pieces, these delicious chocolate pecan cookies are gluten-free and good for you! The perfect morning or afternoon pick-me-up.

Sometimes you just need a little something mid-morning, with a cup of tea. Well I do, anyway.

I don’t know about you, but I find that especially in Autumn and Winter, and probably most of Spring and Summer too, a cosy snack is called for somewhere between breakfast and lunch. Apparently I’m not alone in this as many countries have some sort of institutionalised snack-time.

What time is snack time?

Here in the UK, we have elevenses, which is typically a hot drink and a bite to eat at or around 11 o’clock, hence the name. It can be as simple as tea and a biscuit, or might include a hot buttered crumpet or a toasted teacake. The Swedes also enjoy elvakaffe – coffee at eleven – usually with biscuits, pastries or a small sandwich.

Other countries however have their morning snacks earlier. For instance in Australia and New Zealand, ‘morning tea’ is usually taken at 10:30am. And in Israel aruchat eser – ‘ten o’clock meal’ – is a fixture in schools and workplaces, and usually includes a drink and ougiot – cookies – or a sandwich.

The perfect snacking cookie

While I do enjoy a piece of toast or a savoury snack, there’s nothing like a chewy and indulgent cookie, packed with chunks of chocolate and nuts, to go with your cuppa! Unfortunately though, most cookie and biscuit recipes are not such healthy choices and should only be enjoyed occasionally, and not as an everyday eleven o’clock treat.

A typical cookie is high in refined carbs and sugars, and many ready-made options also include margarine and hydrogenated fats. Since I prefer to eat mostly healthier food – and I wanted to eat cookies more often! – I decided to develop a more nutritious cookie that could be a delicious everyday indulgence.

The perfect snacking cookie would be one that not only tasted great and felt like a real treat, but was also full of ingredients that would be good for me and my family’s health.

Nuts and seeds to the rescue!

Nuts and seeds are incredible, versatile ingredients, that bring a huge nutritional benefit as well as delicious flavours. This recipe uses pecans, almonds, peanuts (technically a legume) and sesame seeds in the form of tahini. Each brings something special to the mixture.

Pecans, almonds, peanuts and sesame seeds all provide healthy fats, fibre and protein. They also bring a host of B vitamins, plus calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc, among other vitamins and minerals.

Despite having a sweet flavour, nuts and seeds are naturally very low in sugar. Their unique composition of healthy fats plus complex carbohydrates means that they keep you feeling fuller for longer, and prevent big spikes in blood sugar after eating them.

In praise of dark chocolate

I used dark chocolate chunks in this cookie recipe. Dark chocolate contains only cocoa solids and cocoa butter, with no additional milk or other additives. It typically contains much less sugar than milk or white chocolate. I love its rich flavour, which complements the nuts in this recipe wonderfully.

Dark chocolate also has some serious health benefits! It contains many micro-nutrients such as minerals and polyphenols, which are good for vascular health and the immune system. Chocolate is rich in antioxidants, and can also contribute to maintaining a healthy digestive system.

Chocolate is also a great mood booster! Honestly, who doesn’t feel better after enjoying a square or two of delicious chocolate?

Ingredients in chocolate pecan cookies

These chocolate pecan cookies are completely vegan and naturally gluten-free. To make a batch for yourself, you will need:

• Tahini – made from ground sesame seeds. I prefer ‘light’ tahini for its mild flavour, but you can use any good quality tahini of your choice.
• Peanut butter – I use a smooth, 100% peanut butter with no added oils, salt or flavourings. You can substitute other unadulterated nut butters such as almond or cashew, although obviously this will affect the flavour of the finished cookies.
• Ground almonds – sometimes called ‘almond flour’, this is simply whole almonds that have been ground down to a powder. You can also grind the nuts yourself in a food processor. You can substitute other ground nuts such as walnuts or hazelnuts if you prefer.
• Honey – a natural sweetener, honey adds a delicious floral flavour to these chocolate pecan cookies. Eating local honey is also said to help alleviate hay fever!
• Pecans – can’t make a pecan cookie without them!
• Dark chocolate – chunks of rich, dark chocolate make these chocolate pecan cookies feel like a real treat.
• Baking powder – to help the cookies rise and spread out in the oven.
• Salt – optional, but a tiny pinch does help to elevate the delicious flavour of these chocolate pecan cookies. If you’re worried about your salt intake, just leave it out!

Making chocolate pecan cookies

This recipe for chocolate pecan cookies is one of the easiest recipes I know!

First, simply mix the tahini, peanut butter and honey. Then stir in the ground almonds, baking powder, and the salt if you’re using it. Mix through the pecans and chocolate chunks, then shape into cookies, bake and enjoy!

I like to hold back a few whole pecans to decorate the tops of the cookies, but you can just mix them all in if you prefer.

Birthday cookies!

While these delicious cookies are great every day, they’re also special enough to be a celebratory treat on a birthday or other special occasion. Knowing how much I like them, my daughter Kipper made a batch of them for my birthday. Here’s the one she presented me with after my birthday dinner!

Delicious Passover cookies

This cookie recipe naturally contains no chametz or grains. However it does use tahini (sesame paste) and peanut butter, which some people avoid on Pesach as they are ‘kitniot‘.

To make these delicious chocolate pecan cookies for Pesach, you can simply substitute almond butter or another suitable nut butter for both the tahini and peanut butter. Although this will affect the flavour slightly, you should still get delicious and healthy chocolate pecan nut cookies!

Since they are free from eggs and dairy, these are also a wonderful Pesach treat for vegans. For more delicious vegan Pesach recipes, take a look at the Vegan Pesach Survival Guide!

Time for a tea break!

Whatever the day, I hope you find time to have a morning break and enjoy these delicious pecan chocolate cookies as much as I do. (Also good for a mid-afternoon boost!)

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Chocolate Pecan Cookies FAQ & top tips