Walnut Coconut Cookie Cake
“By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the California Walnut Commission and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time, however, I received free samples of California walnuts mentioned in this post.”
Shakespeare once said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” ~ so am thinking it wouldn’t really matter if I called this a “cookie cake” or a “dessert pizza” – right?
As I sat pondering, I figured I’d Google the difference between the two and Google got all upset and started spewing out cookie cake recipes and dessert pizza recipes and surveys of which pizza chain was better than the other.
I made it to page 10 of that Google search, when my daughter came into the kitchen, grabbed a slice of this (then naked) cookie cake-dessert pizza and asked me what I planned to top this cookie cake with and that, my friends, is how I settled on naming this a Walnut Coconut Cookie Cake!
But, this cookie cake wasn’t part of my initial plan at all. When the good people at California Walnuts sent me a generous sampling of their walnuts, I figured I’d make some Cardamom, Cinnamon, and Ginger Spiced Walnut Butter by first roasting them and then blending them. Y’all – this nut butter smelled soooooooo incredibly good, it felt almost like a sin to keep it in a jar with a lid on it so I figured I’d use it to make a cookie cake-dessert pizza because then I could custom-size those slices when I cut them!
Jam-packed with 4 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, phosphorous, magnesium, and 2.5 grams of Alpha-Linolenic Acid (Omega-3), each ounce of walnuts are a nutritional treasure trove! A friend of mine sang their praises to me over other nuts and ever since I have come to recognize how versatile and delicious walnuts are.
After 2 failed attempts where I worked with different quantities of the same ingredients, I ended up with the crust you see here.
This totally gluten free crust has equal amounts of homemade, spiced, walnut butter and coconut flour – in addition to a couple of eggs, coconut sugar (or brown sugar) and vanilla essence baked together. The crust alone is like a spiced, rich, dense, sugar cookie. If you are not a fan of coconut, no worries, because the walnuts and spices jive so well with it that you don’t even taste it. No lie.
In pulling this together, my daughter suggested the melted chocolate layer. I threw on some dairy-free whipped topping on top of that, and dropped some berries and pomegranate arils on top because we eat with our eyes right?! That and all the berries and chocolate simply pair so well together with that spiced Walnut Coconut Cookie Cake crust!
[Tweet “Walnut Coconut Cookie Cake #ad #glutenfree #thereciperedux @CaWalnuts”]
This gluten-free, cookie cake just happens to be perfect for any 4th of July shenanigans as well! Throw some more melted chocolate on top and it will be a must try for chocoholics everywhere – anytime!
For more recipe ideas and inspiration, I urge y’all to check out California Walnuts on:
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Ingredients
For the Spiced Walnut Butter
- 4 cups California Walnuts roasted I roasted them at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes
- 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons honey
For the Walnut Coconut Cookie Cake
- 1/2 cup Spiced Walnut Butter
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 cup melted chocolate of your choice dark, semi-sweet, or milk
- 1/4 cup dairy free whipped topping or coconut whipped cream
- blueberries blackberries, pomegranate arils, chopped walnuts
Instructions
For the Spiced Walnut Butter
- Place the roasted California Walnuts in a blender and pulse till they change from whole to powder to butter consistency. Now this will take a lot of scraping down the sides but it is so worth it.
- Once the walnuts have reached a butter-like consistency, add the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and honey and blend till well incorporated.
- Store unused butter in a glass jar
For the Walnut Coconut Cookie Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a bowl, add the Spiced Walnut Butter, coconut flour, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla essence and mix well till "dough" begins to form.
- Dough will be a bit sticky but spoon it onto a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely (I let mine cool overnight)
- When cooled, top with melted chocolate, whipped coconut cream or non dairy topping, berries, pomegranate arils, chopped walnuts and drizzled melted chocolate and enjoy.
I’d love to know if you happen to make this recipe (or any other on here) so pretty please tag me @RunninSrilankan and #RunninSrilankan on Instagram,Twitter &/or Facebook. And, if you haven’t yet, then please make sure to subscribe to my mailing list to have all sorts of eats and treats delivered to your inbox! Thanks Y’all!
This is the BEST kind of cookie cake. So many flavors of deliciousness, PLUS packed with protein and all of these amazing nutrients? Who would think that from looking at this droolworthy dessert? ๐
Shashi–I was right there with you, eyes-glazed and burning at the same time, ready to click to page 11, mind-boggled at the difference between cookie cake and dessert pizza. Lol. Well, you picked the right one. Now, let’s step away from the computer… ๐ Let’s head to the back porch with three slices each of this? Also, I hope you won the contest! xoxo
OK, this looks even better. Your daughter is a genius for suggesting the layer of melted chocolate! It sounds like she’s following in your culinary footsteps ๐
I always had a thing for cookie cakes growing up, best of both worlds. Yours looks absolutely delicious! Is it OK to eat this for breakfast?? ๐
Oh wow I love this! And I want to run home and make it right now!!!
This looks SOOO good! I love cookie pies/cakes! Need to try this version ๐
Hey, gigantic cookie pretending to be a cake, I like you! Would you like to visit my house? Trust me, it would be an amazing (and absolutely safe) trip for you:) Indeed, I like this name – cookie cake. And the most important thing, I do like the flavors going on! Well done.
Delicious! Your pictures are gorgeous!
Cookie pizza is the best kind of pizza! Or cookie cake. It does NOT matter what you call it! And as an English teacher and frequent Shakespeare quote person, I hear you!
What a great idea for a cookie cake! This looks so good!