I went through a phase where I ate almond butter maybe 2 times a day, every day. Sweet dishes, savory dishes, in smoothies, on it’s own. Always. It was a delicious, albeit expensive habit. What resulted from this obsession was experimenting with lots of cookie recipes involving my very favorite pantry item. After many iterations, I landed on this super rich, highly chewy version. A perfect holiday treat. Enjoy!
NOTE: While I love to buy organic pantry items whenever possible, I often buy almond butter that is not organic because it is such an expensive product - and for this recipe, you’ll need to use 1 - 2 jars depending on the jar size. That said, I always buy almond butter that is non-GMO, has no added oils or sugars, and no added salt. Peanut butter, on the other hand, I always recommend buying organic for a few reasons: it’s easier to find, significantly cheaper than organic almond butter, and peanuts have a higher tendency to go rancid.
CHEWY ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES
Recipe by Nicola Parisi
Yields 3 dozen cookies (plus a few spoonfuls of batter to snack on)
Wet:
1 1/2 cups crunchy almond butter (unsalted, no added sugar or oil)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (organic, unsalted, no added sugar or oil)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup coconut sugar
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry:
1 cup chickpea flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
1) Preheat the oven to 350
2) Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl and mix
3) In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients
4) Incrementally combine dry ingredients to the wet
5) Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper
6) Use a spoon to scoop out small amounts of dough. Place 12 dough balls evenly on each baking sheet.
7) Gently press the dough without completely flattening. You can use your fingers or the back of a fork.
8) Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Depending on how evenly your oven cooks, you may need to rotate the trays. Cookies may appear undercooked to the touch. Check for doneness by lifting one of them with a spatula and checking the bottom. If the bottom is browning, remove from the oven.
9) Let cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheets. The tops of the cookies that appeared soft at first will have firmed up after cooling.
