Double Dark Chocolate Doughballs
30 Apr
I know…it’s a sickness. I get fixated on things. Beans. Hummus. Doughballs. But in my defense — I think such obsessions really make one exercise some creativity; at first you only think there are so many ways to make hummus. And then you realize that beans and chocolate and peanut butter really do just *work*. And while my doughball flavors might not be the most unique (I haven’t really researched this, but feel it’s a fair assumption in the case of chocolate chip and peanut butter), the fact that they are vegan and gluten-free is. So. Here is one more (I’m not going to say, “one last,” because obviously that would be a lie) doughball variety to add to the growing collection. The best part? I have thrown these together twice in the past two days, and both times it took me about 15 minutes total. As in, mixing, shaping, baking. And at both gatherings, they were a hit!
Do you need further convincing? Let me break it down: chocolate + chocolate + fun shape + super fast + protein = … YES — that’s what it equals! Now go make these and enjoy your Saturday : )
Ingredients
2 C almond flour (you can easily make your own — yay!)
1/4 C cocoa powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt (feel free to use less)
1/3 C agave (or honey)
1/4 C coconut oil
1 1/2 Tb vanilla
1/2 t almond extract
1/4 C (if desired, vegan) dark chocolate (I used chips, but a bar works just as well), finely chopped, or grated
Recipe
1) Mix dry ingredients.
2) Mix wet ingredients.
3) Add wet to dry and stir with fork until thoroughly combined.
4) Shape dough into 12-14 small balls. (You may need to wet your hands, but for the most part I didn’t.)
[Avoid making joke about step 4]
5) Place onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350* for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
More persuasion…
I don’t even actually like chocolate much (and never, ever, ever, evvver milk chocolate — sorry folks), but these. These I love. (And even my picky-eating dad hearted them. That is a feat, if I’ve ever seen one!) Speaking of parentals, mine kindly came to celebrate a big, special day with us (before you ask, no, I’m not pregnant), so I am off to soak up all the joy and love and laughter I can before they have to head home.
And maybe even more doughballs.
I hope you are having an equally wonderful, thankful weekend! Cheers friends!
P.S. I showed my out-of-the-technological-and-pop-culture-loop mom and dad one of my favorite youtube videos… We had such fun laughing with them. If you haven’t watched it, and need a smile (or snort), go to the end of this post. : )
What are you doing this weekend?
Oooh! I am not a big chocolate fan, but I am tempted to make these. I just accidentally ordered far too much carob and carob buttons. Maybe a double carob version??
One word: YES!
Katie these look delicious!
This weekend — running 18 miles and going to the big Minneapolis Farmers Market. If I get those 2 things done I’m a happy girl!
You are amazing — 18 miles! Enjoy the Farmer’s Market!
Wow, those cookies sound amazing!
This weekend I am getting caught up on a million things today, and then tomorrow hanging out with the fiance.
I’m hoping to relax today and then get a really good run in tomorrow since it sounds like the weather is going to be great.
Your weekend sounds fantastic! The balance of productivity with fun
Those look amazing! I can taste the melty chocolate through the picture!
I love that! Just wait ’til you taste ‘em in real life
Mmmm those look so good.
They are, my friend. They are.
Look at all the gooey chocolate! I’m craving some of these!
Mmm…goo.
Well they do look mighty delicious indeed!
I’m curious – aside from being GF, does almond flour have any other benefits in baking / is it one of those things where you have to add or take away extra liquid or something to use it? I’d have to sub it out if I made these :/
Have a lovely day!
Hm… other benefits. Well, it’s higher in protein and fiber, lower in glycemic index (messes with your blood sugar less), and tastes awesome. It doesn’t usually sub 1:1 with wheat flour, but I think it would definitely be worth some test trials! Are there any GF flours you could use instead? If so, let me know and I’ll experiment and report back
Okay, let’s make a deal. I am heading out for a 20 mile run at 10AM. It will take me approximately 3.5 hours. Think you can make up a batch of these for me and have them in Iowa before I get home?!
Hmm… How about we compromise: you move over to CO, and I’ll bake you doughballs 24/7!
That sounds win-win to me! 
your chocolate doughballs have made my poppy seed muffins seem kind of irrelevant. Ah how your blog always challenges me to make new things.
Hahaha
I am unworthy of your praise.
Oh wow, those look so good. I think I might have to make those today. I LOVE that they are vegan and gluten-free. That’s my favorite way to bake!
Try them! It takes so little time to throw it together…there’s just no reason not to
mmmmm! you can NEVER have too many dough balls!
Agreed!
Right now, my Saturday has consisted of doing practically nothing, but it’s sort of enjoyable. Tomorrow is going to include some sort of sweat sesh and tackling my last few to-dos!
Doing practically nothing is practically awesome
Any recipe that begins with the words “Double Dark Chocolate” and contains almond flour gets placed on my “to try” list immediately. Great job!
Thanks!
Hope you <3 them!
a little piece of heaven right here…love this recipe! We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with our parents too
Hurray for parents!
Katie these sound awesome!!
Thanks Samantha! They are so good!
Just made…delish! Thank you Katie!
So glad you liked them! Thanks for letting me know, Philis
JUST made these and ohhhh my goshhh they are DELICIOUS!!
Mine didn’t stay in ball form after baking though…are they supposed to? And they also came out crunchy so were more like cookies…are they supposed to be soft? Ahh nevertheless these were amazing
YAY! I am so happy that you like them
They usually have a crispy outside and soft inside. I’m not sure why they didn’t stay in ball form… Did they go flat as a pancake? If that’s the case, I would either refrigerate the dough first (it might affect things that it’s summer and hot), or add a little extra cocoa powder to bind things a little tighter. Maybe just a tablespoon or two. Still, I think your best bet is to fridge or freeze it first! 
Hope they turn out better (i.e. in true doughball shape) next time, but so glad you enjoyed them! 
I’m making these today!! Yummy…..
These are amazing. The first time I followed the recipe and they were incredible, but since then I’ve tweaked them to my taste – doubled the cocoa powder, use 1/4 cup coconut sugar as the sweetener, and added some coconut milk for liquid. Delicious!
Thanks for your comment Suzanne! I always appreciate hearing feedback on how the recipe went. Your variation sounds wonderful! I have yet to try baking with coconut sugar, but I am excited to try it out. Maybe I’ll give your adaptations a go as the test run!
xo.
These sound too good to wait till I can get my hands on some almond flour. What proportion of whole wheat flour or all purpose flour could be used instead? Gotta use what I have in the house until I can buy the almond flour. Thanks!
Hi Mar! I’m afraid that almond flour is extremely unique, and substituting wheat flour (or any other flour, for that matter) just doesn’t work.
I hope you can find some almond flour soon — let me know if I can help track it down for you!
xo.
Thanks Katie. I live in Orlando but the challenge seems to find almond flour at a reasonable price. And also to find small quantities for testing and trying it out first.
Which brings me to my next question, how to substitute almond flour in recipes that call for other flours? How did you make the switch? I think you said it’s not a 1:1 ratio, right?
Hi Mar! Do you have a Whole Foods nearby? It’s true that to buy it at a store is much pricier, hence why I purchase mine in bulk from Honeyville. But sometimes Whole Foods has a bulk bin of blanched almond flour, in which case you could buy just enough for a recipe so that you can try it out. Otherwise, you’ll probably be stuck buying a $10/lb Bob’s Red Mill brand bag from grocery stores. Not ideal, but I guess at least then you could try it.
I honestly don’t think there’s a ratio or method that works across the board (or at all) for substituting almond flour for wheat (or any grain) flours, unfortunately. I made the switch cold turkey (out of necessity — my health was quite poor when I found out that I needed to start eating gluten-free immediately). I first relied upon the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle and its recipes, and then used Elana Amsterdam’s blog (elanaspantry.com) to get my footing in totally new baking territory. She even has two almond flour cookbooks out now that are really wonderful for someone beginning to experiment. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
That is very helpful info, Katie, thank you.
I recently made for my daughter (27 year old athlete) a giant chocolate chip cookie using white beans instead of flour so it’s totally GF, and she liked it so much she’s asked me to make it again.
Hi Katie,
I think that I read somewhere in your blog that by using almond flour, you don’t need to add gums or other stuff when you bake? That almond flour behaves just like regular flour? Or do you need to add stuff to it? Thanks!
Hi Mar,
No, you don’t need gums or anything with almond flour. It does not, however, behave like regular wheat flour — it is much more moist, and will require a unique recipe to account for that, so be sure to only use recipes that are designed with almond flour, rather than substituting it for wheat flour. Here is an introduction to almond flour: http://nourishingflourishing.com/2011/10/the-lowdown-on-almond-flour/ I think it may help answer some your questions.
Katie
Thanks for all your help, Katie.
I bought Elana’s book and a bag of Bob’s Red Mill almond flour – which I know it’s not ideal for these recipes.
So far I’ve made the sandwich bread from Elana’s book, it was good and dense but a bit salty for me.
And I made your chocolate doughballs. I might have overbaked them because they were a tad dry but the flavor was good. Different but good.
I do want to try more recipes with a different brand of almond flour to see if I get better results. Other that the price, I’m really looking forward to learning more about using almond flour in my baking. Thank you for your help, it’s so nice to be able to ask questions of someone who knows her stuff!