Healthy Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies (Paleo)

These
caramel chocolate chip cookie brownies will blow your mind. This
flourless dessert is gluten, dairy and refined sugar free, and yet it is
so incredibly decadent. The brownie layer is a fudgy chocolate taste
explosion, the chocolate chip cookie layer is buttery and crumbly, and
the caramel sauce… pure luscious naughtiness.

Ingredients
For chocolate chip cookie:

• 1/4 cup (60 g) coconut oil, not melted
• 1/4 cup (70 g) natural peanut butter, or almond butter to make it peanut free
• 1/4 cup (75 g) maple syrup or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg

pinch of salt

• 2 cups (200 g) almond flour
• 1.7 oz (50 g) chopped dairy free dark chocolate

For caramel sauce:

• 1/2 cup (150 g) maple syrup
• 1 cup (300 g) honey
• 1/4 cup (60 g) coconut oil, not melted
• 1/4 cup (60 g) coconut cream
• 1/2 tsp salt

For brownies:

• 2.6 oz (75 g) dairy free dark chocolate
• 1/8 cup (32 g) coconut oil, not melted
• 1/3 cup (35 g) cocoa powder
• 1/8 cup (38 g) maple syrup or honey (Note 1)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp instant coffee in 3 tbsp hot water (optional, can be replaced by 3 tbsp hot water or almond milk)
• 1/2 cup (50 g) almond flour
• 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder

You will also need:

• 8 x 8 inch square baking tin at least 2 1/2 inch deep
• cooking thermometer

Instructions
For chocolate chip cookies:

1. Line the 8 x 8 inch square baking tin with baking/greaseproof paper.
2. In
   a bowl, mix together all the chocolate chip cookies ingredients except
   the chopped chocolate until you get a homogeneous, slightly sticky
   dough.
3. Add the chopped dark chocolate and mix well.
4. Transfer the cookie dough into the lined baking tin and press it down with slightly wet/damp hands until you get an even layer.
5. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

For caramel sauce:

1. In a sauce pan, combine the honey and maple syrup.
2. Cook
   on medium-high heat until it reaches 130 ºC (266 ºF), or about 12 – 15
   minutes. It will start to give off a “caramel-ish” smell, get a bit
   darker in colour and get more viscous. I recommend using a deep saucepan
   as the honey-maple syrup mixture tends to bubble/foam quite
   significantly.
3. When the mixture reaches 130 ºC (266 ºF), add the
   coconut oil and stir well until dissolved. Cook for a further 2 – 3
   minutes. The sauce may appear to be split, but stirring it vigorously
   and cooking it for a bit will bring it together.
4. Add the coconut cream, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the salt.
6. Allow
   the sauce to cool down to warm (but still pourable) before pouring it
   onto the chilled cookie dough. (You can keep about 1/3 cup of the
   caramel sauce back for drizzling later on.)
7. Once poured onto the
   cookie dough, return to the fridge for at leat 1/2 hour. The caramel
   sauce will firm up and is therefore less likely to “disappear” by being
   absorbed into the brownie and/or cookie layers during baking.

For brownies:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 175 ºC (350 ºF).
2. In a bowl above simmering water, melt the chocolate and coconut oil.
3. Once melted, remove from hat and allow to cool until warm.
4. Stir in the cocoa powder and maple syrup or honey, and stir well.
5. Add the eggs and stir well.
6. Add the vanilla extract, salt and hot coffee and mix until you get a smooth mixture.
7. Add the almond flour and gluten free baking powder and stir well until you get a homogeneous batter.
8. Pour the brownie batter on top of the firmed up caramel layer. Smooth out the top with a spoon or spatula.
9. Bake
   in the pre-heated oven at 175 ºC (350 ºF) for about 25 minutes or until
   no longer wobbly in the middle. An inserted toothpick should not come
   out completely clean, as that would mean that the brownies have been
   overcooked.
10. Allow to cool before serving.

Serving:

• Enjoy
  on its own, drizzled with more caramel sauce or with a dollop of ice
  cream. (If the caramel sauce for drizzling firms up too much to be
  pourable, re-heat it slightly until it is the desired consistency.)
• Enjoy!

Storage:

• The
  caramel chocolate chip cookie dough brownies keep well in a closed
  container in a cool dry place for 3 – 4 days (if they last for more than
  a day, I’ll eat… a whole tray of them). They can also be kept in the
  fridge, just take them out about 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes
Note
1: If you use dairy free sugar free dark chocolate, I recommend
increasing the amount of maple syrup or honey in the brownie mixture to
1/3 – 1/2 cup (the precise amount depends on how sweet you want your
brownie to be).