Today, I did some experimenting almond butter. I keep my food processor on the counter, so making almond butter is a snap. If you don’t keep your processor handy and this seems messy and troublesome, you can just buy your almond butter. I love using almond butter in place of regular butter because it’s packed with nutrients and is rich with flavor. In this case, it’s combined with chocolate.
When I took these cookies out of the oven, they were thin and delicate. I allowed them to cool on the pan for about 10 minutes and then transferred them to a rack. I was hesitant to post the recipe since the cookies were thin and chewy and I’m not a huge fan of thin and chewy, but they tasted so delicious that I had to share. If you make these, please let me know your thoughts. The nice thing about these, aside from being vegan (if you use vegan chocolate), is that the batch yields exactly 12 cookies. I used a scant 1/2 teaspoon of salt and can definitely taste it. However, I kind of like the sweet/salty combo and wouldn’t reduce it myself. If you don’t like so much salt, 1/4 teaspoon would probably work.
Chewy Chocolate Almond Cookies
2 ounces of almond butter*
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, scant
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet, bittersweet or non-dairy vegan chocolate chips
In a 2 quart mixing bowl, stir together almond butter, oil, syrup, vanilla and brown sugar. Add cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Mix in salt, baking powder and baking soda and stir well. Add flour and stir until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill dough for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or “Release” foil. Drop by rounded tablespoons, leaving a few inches of “spread room” , onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for about 10 minutes on cookie sheet, then carefully transfer to a rack to continue cooling. You can eat them at this point, but they will be a bit delicate. After a half hour of cooling, they’re firm enough to stack. I think I might put mine in the refrigerator and eat them chilled.
Makes 12
*To make almond butter, place about 2/3 cup whole (preferably roasted) almonds in food processor. Process for about a minute. Add a teaspoon of vegetable or other nut oil and process until you get a thick, grainy paste. If mixture seems dry and crumbly, add a little more oil. Measure out 1/4 cup to use in cookies.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
These are really good chilled.
Thanks for this recipe – I have almond butter to use up!
another winner, Anna. Made the following changes (1) used cashew butter because I had some (2) used corn syrup because maple is not a favorite flavor (3) added 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped cashews. I doubled the recipe because 12 cookies would last 10 minutes in this house. YUM.
BTW, I ordered black cocoa from King Arthur. Anxious for it arrive so I can play in the kitchen
Hi Susan,
. Seriously, I am glad it’s becoming more mainstream.
I felt that maybe I was the only person in the world with almond butter to use up
Carole, you’re the best! Thanks so much for trying these. I worry a bit when I post things that only I have tried. However, I really did like these and Fuzz did too. Cashew butter is an interesting sub. I have seen it, but haven’t every tried it.
These are a keeper in my recipe book. Wonderful taste, actually extremely good & chocolaty. I added fresh chopped almonds and used corn flour as well as a little sea salt & Stevia instead of what recipe called for – Yummy!!! Thank You for posting this as my quest was to find a wheat & dairy-free choc chip recipe