Almond-Chocolate Chip Thumbprint Cookies (almond flour, gluten free, low sugar)

Hey all,

I did it. I jumped on the Almond Flour bandwagon. I had to! I was so curious! Plus, as a woman with a sedentary job, I do try and watch my carbohydrate-intake. I’m not a crazy low-carb person… I just try to not have bread, pasta, and rice at every meal! I also am not going to be “grain-free” just for the hell of it.

In fact, here’s an academic tidbit from me that teases the new Paleo, grain-free Diet craze: many of the recommended foods on the “Paleo” plan are in fact relatively new foods to western civilization. Many of these foods weren’t available around the globe. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, potatoes, avocados, pecans, cashews, and blueberries are all New World crops, while grains have been around for more than 20,000 years. And the racket about humans not being “adapted” to eat grains because of lectins, but able to eat lentils and kale? And no fermented foods on the diet, like wine? That’s snake oil, too, my friends. Humans’s adaptability to food–no matter where you live and what climate produces the crops available– is the hallmark of the species. Cavemen lived off of fermented foods (people picked rotting/fermenting produce off foliage on a daily basis—this isn’t hard to imagine!), and there is solid evidence that different tribes of cavemen ate grains 30,000 years ago. Different tribes also consumed different crops depending on their location (wow! read up on your anthropology, folks.). Also, lectins are in multiple food groups–not just grains–and you typically denature lectins through cooking, such as in cooking beans. There is nothing “old”, ancient, or “Paleo” about this diet plan. I do like this diet, though, and I think it has its merits. You’re eating less caloric grains—-essentially following a low carb, higher protein, and high healthy fat diet. This diet is a smart choice for people who have sedentary jobs.

BTW, here’s a hilarious quote from an anthropologist describing an actual Paleolithic diet if tried today:

You really want to be paleo? Then don’t buy anything from a store. Gather and kill what you need to eat. Wild grasses and tubers, acorns, gophers, crickets- They all provide a lot of nutrition. You’ll spend a lot of energy gathering the stuff, of course, and you’re going to be hungry, but that’ll help you maintain that lean physique you’re after. And hunting down the neighbor’s cats for dinner because you’ve already eaten you’re way through the local squirrel population will probably give you all the exercise you’ll ever need.
—Dr. Britta Hoyes

(Funny, right?)

Anyway, I love nuts and OF COURSE, a flour actually derived from nuts would taste delicious in the form of a cookie! Why not try Almond flour? I spotted this recipe for “Grain free” Chocolate Chip Cookies (The Urban Poser blog) on Pinterest, and decided these were just too cute not to try! Well, I can officially say these cookies are Ron and BB-approved!

I made these tonite after eating some leftover Peruvian food from a dinner we went to last night. (I’ve told you my dad is half Peruvian half white, right? I’m a 1/4 Latin American, love it!) And Ron and I liked them alot! These cookies are dense, crumbly, nutty, and sweet. They’re definitely a different “taste” than regular cookies—but in a good way! Like always, I made some changes to their recipe. I swapped the coconut oil and coconut milk for vegetable oil and cow’s milk, and I used a combination of oat flour and almond flour (rather than all almond flour). I also used a combination of stevia and honey with dark chocolate chips. (You could definitely make these completely no sugar added cookies (aside from the chocolate chips) if you use all stevia.) Finally, I added a pinch of cinnamon in the recipe with cinnamon and sugar on top! I really like that these cookies don’t use eggs or butter and are relatively low in sugar (for a cookie!)

As I mentioned though, they are a bit too crumbly, but that’s because my particular brand of Almond Flour isn’t ground fine enough for baking (it’s an almond meal/flour). I might try adding an egg to hold them together more? I also read on multiple blogs that Honeyville Almond Flour is the way to go for more fine almond flour that’s proper for baking. They sell bags of their almond flour online! I might have to invest.

Almond-Chocolate Chip Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup oat flour (or regular flour)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/8 cup stevia

1/8 cup honey

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/8 tsp cinnamon

cinnamon and sugar (to sprinkle on top)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.

Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix. Now, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the chocolate chips and stir.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with pam (or butter). Place ANOTHER cookie sheet underneath the first sheet. This will help the cookies from browning too quickly.

Using a tablespoon, measure out spoonfuls of the dough, form into roundballs, and place the dough balls onto the pan. Press down gently with your thumb and only lightly flatten these cookies. You want them to be more fat than thin! Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They will be more pale (a light yellow) than golden brown, but that’s ok! You don’t want to overbake these yummy almond cookies. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve!

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