I confess, I’m totally in love with these cookies.
In grad school, one of my dear friends started calling me Cookie Monster, because I took my cookies very, very seriously. I still do, and it’s been way too long since I’ve had chocolate chip cookies that meet my approval. Chocolate chip cookies are matter of great importance, as you well know. We all have a difference sense of exactly what they should look and feel like. My friend Carrie has perfect Chocolate chip cookies that my sweetie loves, but I can’t have the eggs or sugar or grains, so I’ve spent years adventuring. Some recipes I’ve tried are too greasy, or too flat, too coconut, too crumbly or just not right. I hadn’t had any that met my standards for almost 1o years, and clearly that’s unacceptable, and called for serious experimentation.
And so I finally found my cookie, and it was totally worth waiting for. So good. Firm, almost crispy on the outside and soft and tender in the middle. I know this sounds like crazy talk and takes a good deal of restraint, but they also freeze really well, and so they’re my cookie of choice for travel.
Instead of coconut oil or butter, these babies feature macadamia nut butter. I’ve got the directions here for a flavored version, but it really boils down to putting macadamia nuts in a food processor, turning it on, and scraping down as needed. Easy, peasy! For this recipe, you just want to get pure macadamia butter—no maple syrup, no salt, just the roasted macadamia nuts, a food processor and, of course, lots of love.
- ¼ cup macadamia nut butter (approx 1/2 cup macacamia nuts)
- 1 1/3 almond flour*
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground vanilla bean, or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt
- 1.5 oz chopped gluten-free chocolate bar, 70% cacao or higher, or use a generous 1/4 cup Enjoy Life Chunks**
Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with a slipat mat or parchment paper. Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly except the chocolate until well combined–this can also be done in the food processor– and then stir in the chocolate chips or chunks. Portion out cookies by the heaping tablespoon, roll into balls and flatten down on the cookie sheet. They can get cozy, since the cookies won’t spread much.
Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the sides are just starting to turn a golden brown. The tops will not brown. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before moving them.
Makes about 18, depending on how much cookie dough ends up in your mouth pre-baking.
*Almond flour: This recipe works perfectly with blanched almond flour from nuts.com, which is what I use. I tried a few different cookie recipes that I found on other sites that specified Bob’s Red Mill’s flour and they came out totally crumbly for me, which may be an ingredient issue—I only use almond flour that’s certified gluten-free, which is either Nuts.com or Honeyville. BRM sells blanched almond meal which is marked GF but is not certified; it looks like it’s a little coarser. I don’t know if BRM flour works in this recipe. Please let me know in the comments if you experiment.
**I used 73% chocolate in the 1st picture, and 85% in the 2nd. The lower cacao chunks are firmer and prettier. Both are crazy delicious.
I’m submitting these lovelies to Gluten Free Wednesdays. Hop on over to see a bunch of wonderful recipes!
Stumble It!
You can talk crazy talk any time you want when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, Cheryl! These cookies sound fabulous! Macadamia nut butter is its own magical thing with its buttery texture and flavor. 🙂 I didn’t quite understand your footnote on the almond flour. You have it as an ingredient so it does work in this recipe, but you’re saying it’s still a bit crumbly and coarser almond meal might work better? If that’s correct, then grinding one’s own almond could solve that issue. I’m like you on wanting only certified gluten-free almond flour so going the homemade route might be a better option.
Thanks!
Shirley
YUM!!! Do you know that I actually prefer grain-free chocolate chip cookies like the ones that Brittany Angell came up a few years ago? (Yours sound very similar in concept!) Remember that one? I just like the texture better, it has a lovely chew, yet a great softness and crispness too! Hard to achieve in a little grain-free cookie! lol…
Thanks for leaving that comment, Shirley–I’ve edited the recipe to make it clearer. I tried a bunch of recipes that specified BRM almond flour and they didn’t work for me. I got yummy crumbly piles. This recipe works with nuts.com or Honeyville; I don’t know if it works with BRM.
Carrie,
I’ve seen Brittany’s name in many places, but I haven’t made Brittany’s recipes yet. Her website looks pretty amazing. When I look, there are 8 pages of cookie recipes so I can’t figure out which one you mean. Little help?
Ps…I also love how few ingredients your cookies have! That always gives me even more reason to try them!
The cookies are DEEELICIOUS!!! 🙂 And so is the homemade macadamia nut butter! Mmmm! I made sure to make extra butter so I could make more than one batch of cookies if necessary! hahaha! 🙂 Both the cookies and the butter are super easy and very tasty! I overbaked my cookies just a tad, but (just in case you ever do that!) they are very good that way too! lol Toasty and a bit nutty with lots of chocolate!
Carrie,
good to know. I’ve never overbaked them because I’m too eager to eat them!
These sound perfectly wonderful. I can’t wait to try them.
Do you think other nut butters will work in this recipe? Macadamia is kind of expensive.
Hi Janis,
I’d imagine that cashew may work because it’s a higher fat nut butter, but I haven’t tried it. If you do, please give me an update! Also, 1/4 cup of macadamia butter is around 1/2 cup of nuts, so it’s not a huge quantity, which helps a little.
Oh, Cheryl, these cookies are absolutely DIVINE!!! Thanks so much for making them for us today!
xo,
Shirley