Almond Meal Cookies with Chocolate and Cherries

Chocolate and cherries will get me through the rest of this cold, rainy February.

In the midst of the low-carb/gluten-free/paleo craze, I've been thinking that all of these cookie recipes with almond meal look really good. I decided to go all out and try some cookies that have 100% almond meal, no flour. I wasn't sure what the texture would be, but my standards for texture in my baked goods have been significantly lowered since that three-year stretch around middle school when I enjoyed inventing fat-free cake recipes (with green food coloring, usually), so I decided to give it a go.

It turns out they have great texture! I actually like the texture better than ordinary cookies. They're really hearty and rich. I love for my cookies to have a little bit of a bite to them, rather than dissolving in my mouth and making me instantly want another one. I felt really satisfied after two of these.

I pretty much followed this recipe and just added dried cherries, because why miss an opportunity to pair cherries with chocolate?

The Recipe:

1.5 c almond meal

1/4 c butter, softened

1/4 c sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 c chocolate chips

1/4 c dried cherries

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in the egg and vanilla.
Mix in almond flour, salt, and baking soda.
Fold in chocolate chips and cherries.
Form 1-inch balls on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until edges have browned.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: B+

Overall reason: Delicious. Not healthy, but the almond part is good.

Time to prepare: 20 minutes

Husband quote: (with surprise) "These are really good!"

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