~ Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ~
This is no ordinary chocolate chip cookie. It has all of the delectable aspects of a traditional tollhouse-style cookie, but then ups the ante with the addition of almond butter and sea salt. Almond butter does wondrous things to the dough. It’s not as pronounced in flavor as peanut butter which can overwhelm a cookie. Almond butter is mellower with notes of deeply roasted nuts, adding a subtle, golden background to the dough. A dusting of sea salt is an extra flourish – optional but highly recommended. A little salt makes everything taste better, even sweets – especially when chocolate is involved.
(Please accept my apologies if this messes with your New Year’s diet resolutions…)
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 36 cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsalted creamy almond butter (not raw)
1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl; set aside. Cream the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well. Mix in the almond butter until smooth. Add the flour and mix to combine, then stir in the chocolate. Refrigerate the batter for at least one hour. (Batter may be refrigerated for up to 24 hours – if you can wait that long).
Heat oven to 350 F. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until light golden, about 14 minutes.
Optional: Sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt on the cookies before baking.
Definitely pinning this for a near future – I don’t have almond butter at the moment, but it’s something I buy every now and then for hubby. I think peanut butter is too strong and never make desserts that mix it with chocolate (I know I am part of a minority) – but your report on these cookies made me want to give almond butter a try. And the sea salt… WOW!
Have a wonderful 2013!
Thank you, Sally! I agree with you about PB – you will be pleasantly surprised by the almond butter. Happy New Year!
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Went to the store for the almond butter – saw roasted, raw, salted, unsalted… I literally froze in front of the shelf, unable to remember which kind you used, and of course, no way to check it out…. Now I see it is NOT raw. I guess I’ll get roasted and I suppose that kind has a little salt…. 🙂
Thanks, Sally. I realized I didn’t specify salted or not (not!)
These look and sound delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Oh man, I wish I could eat almonds. I love them and I can tell this would taste heavenly. And I love the sprinkle of sea salt!
Those look just wonderful. I love the texture of them. They look just the right mix of crispy and chewy.
definitely messes with my diet plans for my new years goal. but these definitely are being made on a cheat day!
Delicious! What a great combination.
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Rosa
I pinned. The almond butter wooed me. Happy New Year, Lynda.
Oh my…I’ve been eating more almond butter than peanut butter lately, but have never thought to use it this way. You are GENIUS! Happy New Year, Lynda!
Happy New Year to you, too, Steve!
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Gorgeous photo and gorgeous recipe. I just pinned it to my food board. I can’t wait to make these!
My family adores Chocolate Chip cookies! A lighter version with almond butter instead of peanut butter is enticing. A fabulous cookie for the New Year!
Okay, Lynda. I FINALLY baked these today. WOW! They are epic. The taste of the almond butter (I used fresh ground from Whole Foods) with sea salt and semi-sweet chocolate was divine. Seriously a BAD way to start my New Year’s, but I’m still in Tahoe so I’m cutting myself slack till Monday. Well done on the recipe; even my gourmet-adverse kids love them! kim
Love this twist on a chocolate cup cookie! I will have to give this a try. 🙂
Made them yesterday! They ARE delicious! Brought them to the department this morning about 2 hours ago, went upstairs to check and they are GONE!
I loved the almond butter background – definitely a great recipe, and I’ll be blogging about it in a couple of weeks. Will let you know and of course, give you all the credit! 😉