Clean Eating's Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies--A Healthier, Tasty Treat

Once again I am making good use of my newest issue of Clean Eating magazine, with tons of recipes tagged to make. These Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies stood out because I love almond butter and because they are gluten-free, low-sugar, and dairy-free (that last one is really dependent on the chocolate you use). For the sweetener these cookies use Sucanat, which is a minimally processed derivative from sugar cane. Sucanat is somewhat grainier than sugar and has a slightly molasses sort of taste--so it works well in cookies and muffins. Because it is minimally processed, it retains its natural iron, calcium and other nutrients that help balance rather than spike blood sugar. (I have used it before--like in these Fudgy Chocolate Cookies here). You can find it at natural foods stores or I have even seen it in grocery stores with a well-stocked natural foods section. If you can't find Sucanat you could use a raw sugar or brown sugar instead. After a long day of work and studying, some quick, fairly healthy cookies seemed like the perfect little snack to try.

Clean Eating says, "Six ingredients, two steps and 20 minutes is all you'll need to whip together two dozen of our no-flour, dairy-free, low-sugar cookies."

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Clean Eating Magazine, March/April 2010

(Makes 24 Cookies)

1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well

3/4 cup Sucanat

1 large egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or greater), broken into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl. stir together the first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.

Nutrients per cookie: Calories: 110, Total Fat: 8g, Sat. Fat: 1.5g, Carbs: 10g, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 3g, Protein: 2g, Sodium: 55mg, Cholesterol: 10mg

Cleaning Eating Nutritional Bonus: "While dark chocolate contains potent antioxidants, think twice before enjoying it with milk. Researchers have found that the bittersweet treat's free-radical fighters may bind with the protein in milk, interfering with antioxidant absorption and possibly negating any associated health benefits."

Notes/Results: Pretty good little cookies. They go together quickly and bake up well--although you do need to watch them. I pulled mine out at 10 minutes and felt like they were just a little brown for me. The cookies do stay really soft and are a little fragile. I cut the Sucanat down to 1/2 cup and they were plenty sweet, so I might reduce it even more next time. I used a combination of the last bit of a bag of vegan chocolate chips and a bit of a dairy-free dark chocolate bar to make up the 3-ounces the recipe called for. I thought it might be fun to try some oats in part of them so I added about 1/3 cup of rolled oats to the last 1/2 of the recipe. (See the lower right-hand corner shot above). I liked the texture of the oat cookies--didn't necessarily like them better than the plain, but they were good. I think if I added oats again I would put some dried cranberries in too. My only complaint--I am not sure how they got 24 cookies out of "rounded tablespoons" of the dough. I used my tablespoon to measure, my scoops were not very rounded at all and I got 21 cookies--but only after I added the oats. Not the best, most decadent chocolate chip cookie in the world, but for a healthier, gluten-free, dairy-free treat, I would make these again.

Happy Aloha Friday!