Chocolate Coftea Cookies for #RecipeRedux

Are you a coffee or a tea person?

Our house is, in general, one of teaophiles. My sister and stepdad are diet hard Orange Pekoe drinkers, ignoring any other varietal as a rule, but my mom, stepbrother and I enjoy exploring the world of flavours and strengths out there. When I discovered the emporiums of Teaopia (later Teavana), and DAVIDsTEA a few years ago, it felt like I hit the jackpot. Now I have a cupboard of flavours and varieties, ranging from black to green, maté and 100% herbal - so I can have a cuppa any time of day, regardless of my mood.

Recently I received a bag of chocolate and cinnamon flavoured yerba maté called Cocoa Canela from a friend who wasn't a fan of the Mexican chocolate flavour. As a tea, I wasn't too sure about it myself, but I kept it hoping that I'd come around to the flavour eventually. Then a few days ago the power of Twitter provided the answer in the form of a YouTube link to one of RAWRKatelyn's tea recipes - vegan tea cookies! Katelyn used the "Forever Nuts" blend in her cookies, but I figured I could take that basic recipe and change it around, making chocolate tea cookies instead.

Given that I was using a Mexican cocoa flavoured tea, I amped up that element with a little plain cocoa, and used ground Coffee Bean Brittle along with Pyure Bakeable Blend Stevia Sweetener as sweeteners. A little melted coconut oil kept things nice and soft, even though I used 100% whole grain Kamut® flour. Just for looks (and because I had some leftover chocolate from school baking hanging out in the fridge), I smeared the top of each baked cookie with a dollop of vegan semisweet goodness. The combination of coffee, chocolate, "popcorn" (from the genmaicha's brown rice) and tannin-y tea worked incredibly well - I was shocked to say the least!

This month's #RecipeRedux is all about showers - with all the weddings, engagements and babies that seem to spring up as the weather gets nicer, it's only fitting to bring a little something healthier to the party!



Chocolate Coftea Cookies
Makes 12
1 ¼ cups Kamut® flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
¼ cup ground Coffee Bean Brittle (or dark brown sugar mixed with ½ tbsp ground espresso)
½ cup Pyure Bakeable Blend Stevia Sweetener
⅓ cup David's Tea Cocoa Canela, ground in a spice grinder
¼ cup David's Tea Genmaicha, ground in a spice grinder
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
⅓ cup warm water
1 tbsp vanilla

Vegan semisweet chocolate, for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line a cookie sheet with parchment.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, Coffee Bean Brittle, stevia, teas, salt and baking soda.
3. Add the oil, water and vanilla, mixing well to form a dough.
4. Make balls of the mixture and place on the lined sheet. With damp fingers, flatten them slightly (they don’t spread at all).
5. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
6. When cool, melt chocolate and spread over the top of each cookie. Allow to set.
7. These are best eaten within a few days.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 111.1
Total Fat: 5.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 4.9 mg
Total Carbs: 16.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
Protein: 1.8 g