flourless almond butter chocolate chip cookies

The only thing that you really need to know about these cookies is that my brother loved them. 

My brother considers himself quite the gastronome. He did a cookery course when he left school and then spent a couple of years working in a bakery. He currently works in a fairly fancy pants Italian restaurant and considers himself an expert on all matters culinary. Last time I saw him, he spent about an hour talking about some sea bass pâté he'd eaten on a recent trip to Sicily. 

I had really made these cookies for my dad. We were heading to a family event where there was going to be a buffet lunch. I had a fairly strong suspicion that it was going to be one of those buffet lunches that was almost completely beige and, as a result, would be pretty heavy on the gluten. I thought he might need a cookie or two at the end of the day.

I'd seen a recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies floating around the internet. It sounded deceptively simple but the comments suggested that the final cookies were more than a sum of the parts. 

Rather than use peanut butter, I decided to use some almond butter that I had on hand. Almond butter has a slightly more subtle flavour than peanut butter and the addition of some vanilla works really well. And I've never yet met a cookie that wasn't improved by the addition of some chocolate chips. 

The resulting cookie is soft and chewy with none of the powdery after taste that you sometimes get with gluten free baking. The lack of flour makes them a little delicate, especially after a day or two, but I don't think that's really a deal-breaker.

My dad said that he loved the cookies. But I sort of expect him to to say that because he's my daddy. I don't expect any such consideration from my brother. I don't really know why he tried one in the first place as he always claims not to have a sweet tooth at all and to dislike chocolate but he took a bite and his normal verbosity was reduced to a simple 'wow'. 

I think it was the most gratifying reaction ever. 

~

Flourless almond butter chocolate chip cookies

Adapted from epicurious 

Yield: Makes 18 cookies

Ingredients

• 210g (1 cup) almond butter
• 170g - 185g (1 cup) sugar (see note below)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 medium egg, lightly whisked
• 1 teaspoon baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
• 50g (1/4 cup) chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line two baking trays with non-stick paper or silicone.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon or your hands.
3. Roll tablespoons of the dough into a ball, place on the baking trays and gently press down with your hands or a fork.
4. Bake for 9 -10 minutes until the edges start to brown.
5. Leave to stand on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Note: A quick word on the sugar. There are lots of recipes for these cookies on the internet and they all use 1 cup of sugar no matter what type of sugar is specified (light brown, dark brown, granulated, a mixture etc). Different sugars weigh different amounts so this presents a slight problem when it comes to converting the recipe. I used a raw unrefined cane sugar in my cookies and measured out a cup (about 170g). It is one of my favourite sugars to use as it has a wonderful taste and the large crystals give a slight crunch to baked goods. Demerara/turbinado sugar would produce a similar effect. You could also use brown sugar in these cookies but I would measure slightly more (about 180g). I wouldn't recommend using granulated/caster sugar as I think it would just be too sweet but if I was going to, I would use about 180g which is a bit less than a cup. That wasn't such a quick note after all was it? I'm pretty sure these cookies are fairly foolproof to be honest so, despite my long and rambling explanation, don't worry too much!