Almond-Flour Chocolate-Chip Cookies

With the Super Bowl coming up on Sunday, I figured everyone would be up to their ears in recipes for nachos, wings, dips, bacon-laced treats and generally any other food that is synonymous with football snacking. The thing is, most of these recipes are also gut-busting and full of fat, salt and all things that make food extra delicious, but also extra bad for us.

While I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy anything covered in cheese (even if you're not exactly sure what it is), I am saying there are ways to somewhat healthify some foods you normally love.... without sacrificing taste. Today, I'm letting all the other experts out there bask in the typical football munchies spotlight, and am focusing on those of us that crave something a bit sweeter. Something classic, that never fails. Something you can whip up quickly, take to a party and pass off on unsuspecting goody guzzlers who would never guess these are healthy.

I'm talkin' 'bout chocolate chip cookies.

But not just any chocolate-chip cookies. Chocolate-chip cookies made with almond flour.

I'd been seeing almond-flour recipes pop up on Paleo and gluten-free food blogs for a while, and was curious about baking with it. Weeks ago, Eric bought this bag of almond flour at a health-food store, but we'd yet to open it. Last weekend, I decided to try it out using a basic chocolate-chip cookie recipe. The almond flour is used just the same as regular flour - cup for cup, you measure it out the same. I was all set to go with my almond-flour cookies, except, when I got all the ingredients out to make them, I realized I didn't have one of the very few ingredients I needed: an egg.


At this point in the day, I'd been painting for hours and definitely wasn't keen on the idea of putting on real, human clothes to run over to the market to pick up an egg. So instead, I whipped up a trusty flax egg.


What's a flax egg, you say? Well, a flax egg is the perfect substitute for an actual egg when baking. Eggs are essentially used as a binding agent when making doughs and batters. If you don't have an egg on hand, all you need is something that will kind of take on the egg's texture to bind all the ingredients together. A flax egg does just that.


Making a flax egg couldn't be easier. Just take a tablespoon of ground flax.

And whisk that up with three tablespoons of water.

Let your water-flax mixture set up for five minutes at the very least. I usually try to let it sit for 15-20 minutes. When it's done, it will have kind of a goopy, thick texture (like an egg!).

This will make enough for one egg. If your recipe calls for more than one egg, simply add enough ground flax and water to make up for it.


The cookie recipe is basically your standard chocolate-chip cookie recipe, minus the flax egg and almond flour substitutions. I also added a pinch of ground cinnamon to the batter, which I always add to my chocolate-chip cookie recipes - I love the added boost of flavor it gives them!


The outcome of my first time baking with almond flour? Delicious!

Though, because of the ground flax, the cookies looked a little different from your standard chocolate-chip variety, they still tasted amazing. They were soft, chewy with a nice buttery, nutty flavor (thanks to the almond flour!). I don't know why I was expecting these to come out harder than the average cookie, but these were so soft and pillowy - just the way I like them.

Baking with almond flour is a great way to make gluten-free desserts. Or good for anyone looking for a great sub for white flour. If you can't find packaged almond flour near you, making your own couldn't be easier - just throw some almonds into a food processor, process away until finely ground, and poof! You've got almond flour!


And while chowing down on your almond-flour chocolate-chip cookies, why not pair them with a cool glass of almond milk? The perfect combination!

For healthy cookies that will impress anyone at your Super Bowl party this weekend, give this recipe a whirl:

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from The Wannabe Chef)

(Makes about 12 cookies):

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg (or a flax egg!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or silicone liner.

Cream your butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in egg, then almond flour. Next, add  vanilla, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and mix until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful on the lined baking sheet (you may want to slightly flatten each ball to make more of the "classic" disk cookie shape). Bake for 11-15 minutes. Let cool (or eat straight from the oven, if you're like me), and enjoy!

Have you used almond flour while baking/cooking anything? What did you make?