Oh, Nutella, it was a great idea but the delivery sucked.  I don’t mean the taste–they were pretty on point with that–but the ingredients are, well, subpar.  Sugar is the first ingredient on the list… followed by oil, skim milk powder, reduced fat coco powder (stop taking the fat out of whole foods, Food Industry!) and then some preservatives. Ew.
I was inspired a a recipe a friend shared on my Facebook. I’ve been getting so many fun recipe ideas since Leif has gone grain free!  Thanks, Friends.  Since we’re celebrating Leif’s 3rd birthday this weekend, I thought it was a perfect time to whip of a batch on these “nutella” cookies.  Super simple ingredients.  Super delicious.
Ingredients:

• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1 cup hazelnut butter
• 1 Tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 Tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup raw cocoa powder
• handful of vegan dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Process all ingredients except chocolate chips in food processor unit a sticky dough forms
• Form 1 inch ball with your bands and squish them a bit on a lined cookie sheet
• Bake for about 10 minutes
• Before they cool, press a few chocolate chips into each cookie