Are you a dark chocolate or milk chocolate person? I guess you can be both but most people prefer one or the other. I’ve always loved dark chocolate and I remember stealing pieces of it as a child when my mum would use it for baking. Good quality dark chocolate has a high cocoa content and it is actually quite nutritious and is rich in Fiber, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese and a few other minerals. It is made from the seed of the cocoa tree which is one of the best sources of antioxidants. Here is just one photo and if you want to see more of cocoa tree and fruit have a look here at my travel photos from St Lucia, a Caribbean island).
Quality dark chocolate is the one that contains 70-85% cocoa (I do however sometimes buy the one that has 65% cocoa) and some of the benefits are that it can improve blood flow and reduce blood pressure, may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, can protect the skin against sun damage, may improve brain function. There is considerable evidence that cocoa can provide powerful health benefits but still contains some sugar (the darker the chocolate, the less sugar it contains) so it should be enjoyed in moderation.
But now is not the time to talk about moderation because I have these delicious cookies that are full of dark chocolate so let’s leave moderation for some other time, ok!? š
The original recipe for these yummy bars are from the amazing food blog Half baked Harvest where talented young Tieghan never disappoint with her delicious recipes and beautiful food photography. I adapted slightly her recipe (here) to make it a bit healthier so I used spelt flour and coconut sugar but most of the other ingredients are the same.
Recipe in English:
- 2 cups oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup spelt flour
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup raw cane sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 g (1 cup) dark chocolate, chopped
- Note: 1 cup = 240 ml
- Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F).
- Line a smaller rectangular baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, melted coconut oil, eggs and vanilla and beat until it's all well combined.
- Add chopped dark chocolate and mix in using a wooden spoon.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and press it using your fingers.
- Bake for about 20 minutes (do not over bake!) and remove from the oven.
- Let it cool well (at least 1 hour) before slicing with the knife as they will be to crumbly to cut.
- Enjoy them on room temperature with a glass of cold almond (or other) milk!
Recipe in Croatian / Recept na hrvatskom:
- SASTOJCI
- 2 salice zobenih pahuljica
- 1 salica psenicnog brasna
- 1 salica pirovog brasna
- ¾ salice kokosovog secera
- ¼ salice kristal secera (po zelji)
- 1 zlicica praska za pecivo
- prstohvat soli
- 1 salica kokosovog ulja, otopljenog
- 2 jaja
- 1 zlicica vanilin ekstrakta
- 1 salica (200 g) tamne cokolade, isjeckane
- Napomena: 1 salica = 240 ml
- PRIPREMA
- Zagrijte pecnicu na 175 C. Oblozite manji kalup papirom za pecenje.
- U vecoj posudi pomijesajte zobene pahuljice, brasno, prasak za pecivo, secer, sol, otopljeno kokosovo ulje, jaja i vaniliju i miksajte dok se svi sastojci dobro povezu.
- Umijesajte kuhacom isjeckanu tamnu cokoladu.
- Rasporedite smjesu u pripremljeni kalup i pritisnite prstima.
- Pecite 20-ak minuta (nemojte prepeci) i izvadite iz pecnice.
- Ostavite da se ohladi barem 1 sat prije rezanja na kocke i serviranja.
- Servirajte ih na sobnoj temperaturi po zelji uz casu bademovog (ili drugog) mlijeka, dobar tek!
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