Before the gluttonous holidays come to a screeching halt and we reckon with the effects of a carb-loaded and sugar-filled few weeks, I have a cookie that promises to be your favorite in 2023. But this isn’t a bad-for-you cookie. In fact, the ingredients are almost virtuous but tastes decadent.
Healthy Cookies
Made with almond flour, they are naturally gluten-free–and paleo. Beating the butter (non-dairy is fine) and the coconut sugar–unrefined sweetener–is the trick to making an exceptional cookie. (I used brown sugar recently and they burned.) And you can use dairy or dairy-free chocolate chips, depending on your preference. Not too crispy and not too soft, this cookie is something altogether magical.
That the dough comes together without a lot of heavy lifting is another reason this cookie will remain in my permanent collection and rotation. But there’s more.
A Treat of a Holiday Gift
After making these cookies successfully several times and sharing with friends who raved about them, I added these cookies to the homemade items I made for friends. But what I didn’t do was bake the cookies. Instead, the idea was to gift frozen individual balls of dough for moments when you need a cookie–stat!
That’s right, I gave my friends a dozen frozen balls of cookie dough. Everyone has plenty of ready-to-eat cookies right now. And this was a hit and something I think we can all benefit from in the new year–once we have sworn off sugar for a few weeks and want a healthy chocolate chip cookie.
New Year, New Cookies
The next time your cookie craving takes over, make these cookies. Bake a few to feed your inner cookie monster, and freeze the dough into balls so they are waiting for you when you need a cookie fix. Bake 10 minutes, let cool 15 minutes and cookies are ready within half an hour. That’s working smarter, not harder and a terrific motto for a new year!
Buen provecho and Feliz Año Nuevo!
The Best Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
With few ingredients and healthier options than traditional chocolate chip cookies, these are the ones! You'll fall in love at first bite. This batch makes about two dozen, but the recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter or non-dairy butter softened
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 pastured egg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups almond flour
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips I use dairy-free as well as dark chocolate (72%) chips
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts optional, I prefer pecans or walnuts
Instructions
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In a large bowl, add the softened butter and coconut sugar and cream together.
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Once the butter and sugar and completely blended, add the egg.
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And blend again until everything is creamy and smooth.
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Add the salt and baking soda and stir to combine.
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Add the almond flour and stir well until the flour is fully blended.
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And finally add the chocolate chips and nuts, if using. Stir to combine.
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For best results, refrigerate the batter for a bit--one hour or more.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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On a parchment lined baking sheet, place balls of dough.
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Bake 9-12 minutes or until lightly golden.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pans for up to 15 minutes. This will allow time for the cookies to fully form and harden.
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Remove from the baking sheets and eat, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to three months.