The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam has been feeding my latest curiosity, grain-free cooking and baking. The day I received this book I was so excited by the potential of all of the recipes … no special binders required, short ingredient lists, seriously whole foods oriented. And this cookbook did not disappoint. After sampling one of the crumble recipes and enjoying these Chewy Chocolate Cookies, I didn’t hesitate to place an order for a nice hefty bag of almond flour!
These chewy chocolate cookies are rich and decadent in chocolate flavor and have a lovely tender, chewy texture. Although, delicious on their own, we took them up a notch by sandwiching them together with frosting!
Elana recommends blanched almond flour, which I am sure is superior. If you are like me and just have some raw almonds on hand and want to trial this recipe out, pulse them in your spice grinder until a mealy/floury consistency is reached. This happens very fast, do not overgrind lest you end up with almond butter. Using a mesh sieve, sift the almond flour to extract the finest bits to use for your flour. Repeat until you have the amount you need. Don’t fear waste either; you can turn any rejects into almond butter!
Special Diet Notes: Chewy Chocolate Cookies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, peanut-free, soy-free, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- ¾ cup almond flour, packed*
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 3 Tablespoons agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup – or combination (I used 2 tablespoons honey + 1 tablespoon maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Frosting (optional) (there is a Marshmallow Frosting Recipe in the Almond Flour Cookbook, Elana’s Coconut Cream Frosting, the Vanilla Frosting in Go Dairy Free, Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting, or whatever creamy filling you choose)
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetener(s), oil, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in your medium bowl, until well combined.
- Scoop the dough by the tablespoon onto your prepared baking sheet. I found the dough to be just a touch sticky but fairly pliable, allowing me to loosely roll them into balls.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Do not overcook them. The tops of the cookies will start to look a little dry and crack a bit when done, but not as much as chocolate cookies that contain eggs. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet or a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- If making sandwich cookies, spread frosting (however much you want!) on the bottom of one cookie and top it with the bottom of another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Take a bite, smoosh and enjoy.
