Chocolate Cookies

Cookies are probably one of my most favorite baked treats. Recently, I was craving cookies (most of my cravings occur during late nights) and needed a quick fix recipe. I have been making a list of  a whole bunch of recipes to make before the end of the year with the holidays in mind. Before I could go ahead with the other recipes, I wanted to try making cookies without any of the usual baking flours. Browsing through my pantry, I came across a packet of almond meal, so I decided to bake a small batch of chocolate cookies (started out more like a trial and error kinda thing).Who can go wrong with chocolate anyways??  It ended up being delicious. Occasionally, I enjoy eating soft cookies but these ended up being chewy too (usually, not a fan of chocolate but surprisingly, hubby enjoyed them the most). 

Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal 

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp vegan butter (like earth balance), optional

3 tbsp light brown sugar (reduce to 2 tbsp, if you like it less sweeter)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2  - 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (I added 2 tbsp)

Method:

In a bowl, add the almond meal, baking powder, salt, baking soda, brown sugar and mix well. 

In a small pan, melt the butter and add the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir well and mix till the chocolate melts completely. Set aside.

Now, add the chocolate sauce to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the vanilla extract and unsweetened applesauce and stir well. The dough will be slightly wet and sticky but if you prefer your cookies to be less chewy, use 3 tbsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 1/2 tbsp applesauce.  Let the dough rest for about 10 mins or so (although I couldn't wait that long). 

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop the dough using a cookie scoop or a spoon (for medium cookies, use a teaspoon measure).  Bake for 10-12 mins. 

The cookies might seem underdone but cool for 5-10 mins until they firm up. Enjoy!!

Note: The 2nd batch I made, I forgot to add the brown sugar and it tasted just fine. So, you can omit the sugar and enjoy your soft cookies.

Makes 10 cookies.