Chocolate Chip Cookies

Of course we're going to start with cookies.

I originally made this recipe because I found it on a fantastic app (The Whole Pantry--DOWNLOAD IT) and I just *happened* to have the ingredients on hand.  It was obviously destiny.

These babies are dairy-free, grain/gluten-free, and egg-free... sounds awful, right?  The batter totally does not stick together at all, and they can get pretty brown on the bottom and stay un-cooked looking and gooey on top.  I had MAJOR doubts, and at first regretted wasting like $4 of almond flour.

BUT!

Have faith.  The girl who developed this recipe, Belle, knows what's up.  These are going to blow your mind.

And, the best part:  When I first made them it was late at night, I was watching TV, and I took a plate of five into the living room, knowing I may very well go back in and eat up to five more.  Which would be like the whole batch.  Because I'm a recovering binge eater, and that's what I'd do with regular cookies.  This is not good, but this is what I was probably going to let happen on this particular night.

I ate two.  And I was STUFFED.  An hour later I practically forced myself to eat another.

Remember, these are REAL FOOD.  And real food actually satiates you.  God, I love real food.

To me, these are Chocolate Chip Cookies and this is how I'll always make them from here forward.  Every recipe I love (like this one) I continue to make until I have it memorized and it becomes "mine".  But, credit where credit is due, so here are:




Belle's Vanilla & Almond Choc-Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups almond meal
2 1/2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/4 cup cacao nibs (I use dark chocolate chips)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 340 degrees.

Mix everything in a bowl.  With a spoon.  Seriously, that's it.  See, it does NOT come together like traditional dough, but fear not!  You're doing it right.

Personally, I mix everything and then add the chocolate chips last, so I'm not beating them up unnecessarily:

Put parchment paper on your baking pan (if you don't already do this for everything you bake ever, you're doing it wrong) and do your best to fist these things into cookie-like lumps.  A spoon is NOT going to work for this.  Stick your hands in, try to form a ball, then flatten the ball.  They don't really spread, so you can group them close together.

I started at the top of this photo, those are the little champs.  Toward the bottom it became hopeless, and those will be the cookies we eat first.  Hiding in our house, nobody will know that I made some ugly cookies.

Set your timer for 13 minutes, leave in for up to 15--but don't let the bottoms get too brown.  Take them out when the bottoms are golden.  The top will look uncooked and jiggly to the touch, but trust me!  Take them out, let them sit for 15-20 min, and they'll firm up I promise.

Eat over the course of the next few days, because they're so filling they'll last!