Almond flour and cocoa bound with almond butter, maple syrup and melted coconut oil into a thick dough, rolled into about eighteen bites and kept in the fridge.
Fifteen minutes, one bowl, and no oven. Gluten-free and paleo ingredients throughout.
Why This Recipe Works
- Almond butter is doing two jobs — it is the fat and it is the binder. Three quarters of a cup against a cup of almond flour is what lets these hold together with no egg and no baking.
- A third of a cup of cocoa against a third of a cup of maple syrup. That is a lot of unsweetened cocoa for the sweetness available, which is why these taste like dark brownie rather than like fudge.
- The quarter teaspoon of salt is load-bearing. Unsweetened cocoa without salt reads as flat and slightly bitter; with it, the chocolate comes forward.
- Espresso powder is marked optional and does what it always does with cocoa — it deepens the chocolate without tasting of coffee at a teaspoon.
- Coconut oil is melted before it goes in, then firms up again in the fridge. That is part of why the bites set rather than staying soft.
The Only Judgement In This Recipe
Eight steps, no heat, and one thing that cannot be written as a fixed quantity: how much water the dough needs. The recipe gives a range because the answer depends on the jar of almond butter in your cupboard.
You have stirred the almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla into the dry ingredients. Does the mixture hold together when you press it?
It holds when pressed
Add no water at all and go straight to rolling.
A freshly opened, well-stirred almond butter carries enough oil to bind the dough on its own. Water added to a dough that is already right makes bites that will not hold their shape.
It is dry and crumbly
Add water one tablespoon at a time, up to three, until it holds when pressed.
Almond butter from the bottom of a jar is much stiffer than from the top, and almond flour varies in how fine it is milled. One tablespoon is usually enough; three is the cap the recipe sets.
It is already sticky and loose
Chill the bowl for fifteen minutes before rolling.
A loose dough is a temperature problem rather than a liquid one — the coconut oil is still melted. Chilling firms it without changing the recipe.
Ingredient Notes
- Fine almond flour
- One cup, finely milled rather than almond meal. Meal is coarser and gives a gritty bite that no amount of extra binder fixes.
- Creamy almond butter
- Three quarters of a cup, creamy rather than crunchy, and stirred through before measuring. The oil separates in the jar and the dough depends on it.
- Collagen peptides or paleo protein
- Half a cup, unflavoured. The recipe offers a paleo-friendly protein as the alternative; a flavoured or sweetened powder would change the balance.
- Pure maple syrup
- A third of a cup, and the only sweetener. Pure rather than pancake syrup, since there is nothing else here to hide behind.
- Dairy-free dark chocolate chips
- A quarter cup, finely chopped and marked optional. Chopping rather than leaving whole distributes the chocolate through a small bite.
How to Make It
Whisk the dry ingredients
In a mixing bowl, whisk the almond flour, cocoa powder, collagen peptides, salt and espresso powder (if using).
Stir in the wet ingredients
Stir in the almond butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla until a thick dough forms.
Adjust with water only if needed
If the mixture seems dry or crumbly, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it holds together when pressed.
Fold in the chocolate
Fold in the chopped dairy-free chocolate chips, if desired.
Roll the bites
Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into balls. Repeat to make about 18 bites.
Finish, if you like
Optional: roll the bites in extra cocoa powder or finely chopped nuts for a finishing touch.
Store
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 3 months.
Success Tips
- Stir the almond butter thoroughly in the jar before measuring it.
- Hold the water back until you have pressed the dough and know it needs some.
- Chop the chocolate finely — whole chips make a tablespoon-sized bite awkward.
- Chill the bowl briefly if the dough is too soft to roll cleanly.
- A small cookie scoop makes eighteen even bites much faster than a spoon.
Serving Ideas
Straight from the fridge, where they are firmest. Rolled in extra cocoa or chopped nuts if they are going on a plate for other people.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Airtight in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, which is the recipe's own guidance. They firm up considerably when cold.
Freeze
Freeze up to 3 months. They are pleasant eaten straight from the freezer and need no thawing.
Reheat
None — these are a cold bite. A few minutes at room temperature softens them if you prefer them less firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I do not have collagen peptides?
The recipe names a paleo-friendly protein powder as the alternative. Use an unflavoured one — a sweetened or vanilla powder shifts the balance against a third of a cup of unsweetened cocoa.
My dough will not hold together.
Add water a tablespoon at a time, up to three. It is almost always a stiff almond butter from the bottom of the jar, or almond flour milled coarser than the recipe assumes.
The dough is too sticky to roll.
Chill it for fifteen minutes rather than adding more flour. The coconut oil is still melted, and cold fixes it without changing the ratios.
Can I use peanut butter instead?
It binds the same way, though it is a distinctly different flavour against the cocoa and it takes the recipe outside the paleo ingredients the title describes.
