Yield: 8 cookies
Difficulty Level: Easy
With a full bag of almond meal and a pound of shredded coconut in my pantry, I was determined to find a recipe to incorporate the two. First, I’m a huge coconut fanatic; anything with coconut, and I’m in. And second, I felt bad about the fact that I purchased the bag of almond meal in September and had yet to open it. I took to the internet and googled “almond meal and coconut cookies” and came across the Minimalist Baker’s “Almond Meal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Coconut,” which was originally adapted from the Sprouted Kitchen.
While I’m personally not a huge fan of chocolate, I did still mix in a few chips into two of the cookies, just for the chocolate loving taste testers. Aside from the chocolate change, I followed the Minimalist Baker’s recipe, substituting ¼ cup of maple syrup for brown sugar and olive oil for coconut oil. The result: a bite-sized, refined sugar- and gluten-free cookie that was chewy, yet crisp around the edges. I will definitely be making these again sometime soon.
To see the Minimalist Baker’s original recipe without my substitutions, click here.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups almond meal
1/4 cup chopped dairy-free dark chocolate (optional)
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ cup of maple syrup
1 egg
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the almond meal, dark chocolate chips (optional), coconut, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg until it is uniform in color and doubles in volume.
- Whisk in the coconut oil, vanilla and maple syrup to the bowl with the egg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. *
- Scoop out the dough with an ice-cream scooper (or a similar kitchen utensil that will still produce the large, round shape) and place on baking sheet with 1 1/2 inch space in between each. You can press down slightly to flatten them a bit or leave them rounded to look like macaroons.
- Bake until edges begin to brown, 7-12 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
*The Minimalist Baker recommends this step, but I skipped it because I was way too impatient to wait.