Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't like to bake on a Friday or Saturday.

Why? Because if I bake on any other day, Sous Chef and I can take the leftovers with us to work the next day. But a Friday or Saturday? We're much more likely to eat it all ourselves.

And that's both unhealthy and not in keeping with a formidable lesson our parents taught us when we were young: sharing is good.

I baked these cookies for a co-worker at least a year ago; and she has been requesting them ever since. It's not that I intentionally avoided making them; it's just that they are so good and so easy to eat and so easy to consider "healthy" (because they're gluten free and higher in protein than other cookies) that it's kind of dangerous for them to be in the house.

But I'm feeling stronger lately, both physically (thanks to PiYo) and mentally. I'm in a good place. A good enough place that I feel that I can make these cookies without completely derailing my progress.

I originally found this recipe in an old issue of Clean Eating magazine; it's since been published in one of their cookbooks and is available online as well. I tweaked it a bit this time around because I found that the first few times I made them, the cookies were a little too wet for my liking. I decided to add in some almond meal to see what would happen.

I love how they turned out; crisp and buttery. Almond butter adds a delicious depth to the cookies, and they're not overly sweet (I cut down the amount of sugar the original recipe called for as well).

As strong as I feel, I'm really glad I made these on a Sunday.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes 30. Inspired by Clean Eating)

1 cup unsalted almond butter

1 cup almond meal

1 egg

½ cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

Pinch salt

About ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

1. Combine everything except the chocolate chips in a bowl. Use either your fingers or a spoon to form the dough into balls a little smaller than a tablespoon in size.
   
2. Place the balls an inch or two apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
   
3. Gently press three or four chocolate chips into each ball, slightly flattening the balls.
   
4. Bake at 350 for ten to twelve minutes - the cookies should look slightly underdone, just barely brown at the edges.
   
5. Cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
   
6. Enjoy with a nice cool glass of almond milk (you know, to keep to the theme).
   
7. Pack up leftover cookies to take into work with you tomorrow. Just do it, you'll thank me later.

Bake well!