Healthy Cookie Monster
photo by healthaliciousness, via flickr creative commons
I’m not much of a baker. The precision of it has always been tough for me. But the thing is, I live with people (especially little people) who like to eat baked goods, and I think kids (and grown-ups) should have treats once in a while. So whenever I try a cookie or muffin I really like, I ask for the recipe and file it away to make on a rainy day. Here’s one I had recently that is relatively healthy (sans gluten, dairy, refined sugar) and totally delicious….if you like almonds, that is. Instead of wheat flour, these cookies are made with almond flour, making them way more nutrient-dense than the cookies on the back of the Nestle bag. I got the recipe from one of my oldest and dearest friends Erin, who eats a super clean diet (she probably washed down this cookie with a kale and spinach and cucumber juice…seriously). With or without a green juice, these cookies had me at hello…
1 1/2 cups sifted blanched almond flour (so mainstream now that even trader joe’s sells it)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (melted, not softened)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 whole egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Preparation:
In a bowl, mix together almond flour, baking soda, and sea salt. In a separate bowl mix together melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, room temperature maple syrup, and room temperature egg. Incorporate wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then add chocolate chips. After everything is mixed, preheat oven to 350F and refrigerate batter for 30 minutes.
Once the 30 minutes are up and oven is heated, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and roll dough into small-ish balls. Put them in the oven for about 5-7 minutes, then take them out and slightly flatten them with the back of a spatula. Put them back in the oven for about 5 more minutes, or until they look done. Take them out RIGHT when you see a hint of golden brown (they won’t look done, but they are).
These cookies make a great snack or even a nice energy boost on a long bike ride. Yum! Have you ever cooked with almond flour? What did you make and how did it taste?
wellfesto 
I’m all about the alternative flours (though I’ve made some really putrid pancakes out of buckwheat flour – or maybe they were cookies; I’ve clearly repressed that memory!0 I think the problem is that you can’t just substitute the flour, you need a comprehensive recipe. And, as you know, cooking/baking is not my forte! I think I like baking a tad more than cooking, though! Will def. try this. xox
Erin gave me this recipe too. However, I don’t remember seeing an egg in the recipe.
I agree with Mommyproof that it can be difficult to substitute and swap ingredients in baking…the thing about these alternative flour recipes is that they are really popular for people who are following a paleo diet. Knowing this, I often times will add more honey or add agave or swap in maple syrup because I am not as concerned in limiting/monitoring the sweet factor and it never seems to hurt the end product.
Esther there are two recipes that I use…one has an egg and the other is slightly different with no egg and a bit of almond milk. Here is the no egg version. http://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2012/10/chocolate-chunk-paleo-cookies/
Finally, one last recipe that I make at least twice a month is this apricot and coconut scone using almond flour. http://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2013/01/coconut-apricot-scones/
So tasty that just posting this makes me want to whip up a batch right now! I would love to hear what other people think of these different flours too. I have some coconut flour just waiting to be cracked open if I can get inspired. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this Brynn!
Thanks for the comment, Erin (and for the extra recipes)! I’ll let you know how they turn out if I can actually get myself to bake! And Rebecca, may the force be with you…:)
I lived in Germany for quite awhile and learned to make Lebkuchen, traditional Christmas cookies, using almond flour. I’m happy to see the egg free version of this recipe. It will save me from trying to make substitutions.