Oh my goodness. Paleo cookie dough fudge. Need I say more?
I think my love for baking started with cookie dough. Even at age 5, I realized if I baked brownies, cake, or cookies that at some point I could sneak a taste of the batter. So although I wasn’t great at measurements and I made a huge mess in the kitchen, baking became a hobby.
I was never too fond of hot fresh cookies, I just really liked the part that came before it was actually baked. I remember calling up my best friend and saying “Let’s go get cookie dough, and rent movies”. I mean we needed to vent about crushes and friend drama. I think we were 12. But I’m pretty sure this lasted for a few years… Okay, who am I kidding? We still have these nights.
This recipe is fabulous because it’s gluten free, Paleo, and just straight delicious. It comes from a new cookbook called Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind by my very own friend Vanessa Barajas. The cookbook is gorgeous. It’s worth buying just to flip through the pages. I made this Paleo Cookie Dough Fudge because well… it’s cookie dough, and it’s pretty simple to make! When I have a bit more time, I’m going to tackle the Salted Caramel Ice Cream recipe.
If you like cashew butter, you are bound to love this recipe. The base is cashews, but I’d bet you could make it with other nuts as well. I think next time I’ll try half cashews and half macadamia nuts. Or something crazy, like that 🙂 I also think it’s probably okay to use 1/2 maple syrup, 1/2 honey. These are just options if you are trying to work with what you have in your pantry! Enjoy!
- 8 tablespoons (4 ounces/115 g) salted butter OR ghee
- 3 cups (465 g) raw cashew pieces
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup (40 g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) melted raw honey
- 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (7 ounces/200 g) chocolate chips
- Line a 9 by 5-inch (12.75 by 23-cm) loaf pan with parchment paper, set aside.
- Brown the butter if using, OR melt the ghee, set aside.
- Put the cashews in the bowl of a high-powered food processor and process until they turn to meal. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process for another 5 minutes or so, stopping to scrape down as needed, until the nut oils start to release. With the processor on, slowly drizzle the melted coconut oil into the cashew meal and continue to process until it turns into a thick dough bull or attains a doughlike consistency (it will be much thicker and drier looking than peanut butter).
- In medium-sized bowl, combine the cashew butter, browned butter OR ghee, and coconut flour using a hand mixer or whisk. Add the honey, salt, vanilla, one cinnamon one stir until combined one smooth. Press plastic wrap across the surface of the dough and freeze for 20 minutes.
- Remove the chilled dough from the freezer and fold in the chocolate chips. (If the chocolate chips are added before freezing, they will melt and sink to the bottom.) Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined pan and press it down evenly. Place back in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up and set. Cut into 15 pieces before serving. Store any remaining fudge in the freezer; remove from the freezer a few minutes before serving to thaw slightly.
WHAT??!!!??? This is healthy AND Paleo??? As soon as I’m off the Whole 30 plan, I’m making this fudge. Love that it’s made with cashews instead of almonds too. I would like to take your suggestion and make it 1/2 cashew and 1/2 macadamia nuts but only have roasted macadamia nuts on hand. Do they need to be raw or could I do it with roasted ones? Thanks for another great recipe!!
Haha that’s how I felt Karrie! I haven’t used them roasted but I’m sure it won’t make much of a difference! This recipe actually came from Vanessa from Clean Eating With a Dirty Mind so I will pass the compliment to her : )
Which chocolate chips are you using to keep this Paleo? Thanks!
For this specific recipe I used a dark chocolate brand I found at whole foods. A lot of times I use Lindt dark chocolate bars and break them up into chunks.
The brand ‘Enjoy Life’ has mini chips, chocolate chunks, and dark chocolate chips that are all paleo and only have 3 ingredients.
Thanks Olivia!
These are amazing. It looked like a lot of steps at first, but the instructions are detailed enough that my 15 year old daughter made them. They were sooooo tasty! Thanks for publishing.
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them! Thank Vanessa Barajas for creating an amazing recipe.
Would I be able to use almond flour if I just doubled the amount of flour considering Coconut flour absorbs more moisture?
You could try, I can’t promise it will taste the same.