I got this recipe from the U.S. post office....seriously, well kinda.
written by Elin
Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs. Scott Adams
So I am standing in line at the post office pondering the cost of creating and producing all those different stamp designs...
...and wondering why we need fancy stamps as I exchange my yellow card for a few moments of silence from the hustle of the day...why do the plain flag stamps cost the same price as the fancy artistically pictured ones?...maybe this is part of the government spending issue on a whole?... when the box for which I was there for slides across the counter. On the outside of the box a recipe for almond butter cookies is printed. No flours, no fancy, I need to order from bearded monks in Peru products...are there even monks in Peru?, I digress...4 ingredients. That's all, and for the most part Paleo with the exception of a added sweetener. I made the recipe on the box and it was less than perfect but had tremendous potential. So after a few imperfect attempts additions and adjustments, I got a great result. Kid requested and Crossfit crowd approved.
Easy Almond Butter Cookies
Approx. 15-18 cookies. Recipe can easily be doubled. As with many Paleo style treats that are based on nut products, they are very dense from a nutritional standpoint. Limit size. Limit consumption. Be mindful of how feeding into cravings for something sweet fit into your overall goals nutritionally.
1/4 cup palm sugar, lucuma powder, honey or any combination of the three.*
Chocolate and regular varieties pictured.Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper*. Stir together the first 4 dry ingredients in a small bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg with the extract flavor of choice, then stir until just combined the nut butter. Portion onto lined baking sheet in teaspoon size scoops giving generous space between. I do 4 rows of three on a standard cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on sheet for several minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. This dough or batter needs to be baked right away and does not store well for delayed baking. If using honey as your sweetener they will turn out a bit flatter than those pictured at right.
*Sweeteners...there is boundless information on the net about all of the different varieties of sweeteners out there. In a big nut shell...added sweetness is added sweetness. You HAVE TO make balanced and educated decisions about how and when you consume Paleo style nutrient dense "treats" as with everything in life MODERATION is key.... a glass of red wine is purportedly good for you, a gallon of Gallo, not so much. I have not tested this recipe with anything other than a 1/2 1/2 combo lucuma powder and palm sugar and straight palm sugar so do not know exactly how they will perform with other sweeteners.
*Parchment paper is a staple in every professional kitchen and many home kitchens. If you have not used it and are beginning to experiment with paleo style baking, it is a must. It makes clean up very easy and eliminates the need to grease your baking sheets. It can be found at any grocery store by the tin foil. DO NOT confuse parchment paper with wax paper. While parchment can be used in place of wax paper, wax paper is NOT heat tolerant and can not be used in place of parchment.
Variation is the spice of life
Ginger spice variation
To the dry ingredients add:
- 1/4 t powdered ginger
- 1/4 t cinnamon
- 1/8 t each nutmeg, clove, allspice, and fresh finely ground black pepper
- 1/2 Tablespoon finely diced candied ginger optional
- To the wet ingredients add 1 t grated fresh ginger root and 2 tsp molasses if desired. Proceed with the same instructions above.
Chocolate variation
To the dry ingredients add:- 3 Tablespoons sifted unsweetened coco powder
- 3 Tablespoons finely chopped 70/80% chocolate. Proceed with the instructions above.