Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Healthy Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten free, Vegan and Paleo Variations)

I've been playing with this recipe for weeks now. The idea comes from here. A co-worker and dear friend recommended it. I've been adding variations to make them less sugary and even more delicious. My husband and I are a little more than obsessed with them. New favorite creamy soft delicious protein-packed cookies!! I've included some variations as well.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond butter*
2 eggs*
1/4 cup sugar*
1/4 cup stevia*(I use the cup for cup "Stevia in the Raw" brand, not the packets)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips 



Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line cookie tray with parchment paper.
3. Mix all the ingredients well until the almond butter is blended well with everything. This mixture may appear a little softer than your typical cookie dough.
4.  Drop spoonfuls of dough on your cookie tray and bake for about 8-9 minutes being careful not to burn or over bake them! Let cool and ENJOY!



This makes about 16 cookies. The recipe is gluten-free! I was making these in smaller half batches until my husband discovered how much he loves them. They are disappearing too fast to cut in half now.

Nutrition information for the above recipe (using www.myfitnesspal.com to calculate):
Per serving
Calories: 150
Carbs: 11
Fat: 11
Protein: 5
Fiber (I had to calculate this): 2grams  



*Almond Butter: Any nut butter should work, I've only tried it with peanut and almond. Both taste great in my opinion, but my husband strongly prefers almond butter. I use "Barney Butter" Almond Butter because it is creamy like peanut butter. I've also resorted to buying this particular almond butter online recently as the price went up at whole foods. They adjusted it for me after I said something, restoring my faith in customer service, but if it stays so expensive I'll keep buying it online.
*Vegan variation: Use egg substitute or flax meal instead of the eggs. I've tried it with the flax meal and the taste was just as awesome, but the cookie turned out a bit flat. Make sure your chocolate chips are vegan!
*Paleo variation: Substitute the stevia and sugar with 1/2 cup of raw honey. Maybe a little less if you don't want it too sweet, I personally think honey tastes seriously sweet and a little goes a very long way. I like the paleo diet, but I've stopped using honey because it has a bit more carbs than regular sugar. Also, I can more easily mix sugar with stevia to cut out half the carbs. There are some mixed reviews out there about stevia, but for now I'm still using it in moderation. Two more notes on paleo: make sure you are using a "bare" almond butter, no added sugar and don't use peanut butter, it is not paleo. Use dark vegan chocolate. 

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