Chocolate avocado cookies

I could make you guess the secret ingredient... but I already wrote it in the title.

After a short absence (mainly due to me being busy/lazy in the evenings and weekends after writing all day, every day at work), I am back with another of my "pretend they're healthy because they have 1 healthy ingredient and that obviously cancels out all the unhealthy stuff" recipes.

Despite the sugar and chocolate in these, I guess they could be classed as relatively healthy as they contain an actual fruit(?) and no butter! As with many other bakes which involve a fruit or vegetable in an attempt to add some extra vitamins, this actually has the added benefit of making them super moist and soft.

Chocolate Avocado Cookies (basic recipe from here)

Makes 8

Ingredients:
2 baby avocados (or 1 large avocado), mashed until smooth
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp agave syrup or golden syrup (optional)
½ cup cocoa powder
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

⅓ cup self-raising flour

1 pack dark chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven 170°c fan.

2. Mash avocado in a bowl until smooth and there are NO lumps left (this is VERY important, even the biggest avocado fan doesn't want lumps of avocado in their cookies...)

Not the usual start to a cookie recipe...

 3. Add the sugars, egg and vanilla essence and mix well.

It felt slightly wrong adding sugar to avocado

This reminded me a LOT of Shrek

4. Once the mixture is incorporated (ignore how gross it looks), add the flour and cocoa powder. Mix well until the mixture becomes shiny and all ingredients are incorporated.

If it resembles a Halloween experiment you're doing it right!

 5. Now add the dark chocolate chips and stir in. At this point you can also give it a taste and add the syrup if you think it needs a bit more sweetness.

Much more appetising!

6. Finally, placed dollops/heaps of the mixture onto a lined baking tray (do not spread it out!) and bake for around 8-10 minutes. They will still be soft in the middle but the outside should be cooked!

These cookies are amazing warm out of the oven. They're almost like a cross between brownies and cookies, and I really don't think you can taste the avocado (my mum couldn't guess the secret ingredient!) Alice is currently away on holiday in Cornwall and isn't around to taste these... so you'll just have to trust me!

The only downside to this recipe is it only makes 8, and I don't think they're gonna last long...

Bella