Wholesome(ish) Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Check errrrrr out. That chocolate drip. That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm all about.
I'm also all about these wholesome(ish) nut butter chocolate chip cookies in general. Because they're delicious. And soft. And chewy. And rich. And dense. And hearty. And filling. And wholesome. Ish.
And the only reason I inserted the "ish" was because these cookies have brown sugar in them. And I'm aware of the fact that some people exhibit lots of negative feelings towards sugar.
But aside from the sugar, these cookies are pretttttty nutritious.
Because first off, these nut butter cookies are made with whole-wheat flour. I used white whole-wheat flour instead of regular whole-wheat flour for these cookies, because I didn't want them to be too heavy.
Whole-wheat pastry flour works too. It's pretty much interchangeable with white whole-wheat flour in general. Just for future reference.
And then I used coconut oil in place of butter or canola/vegetable oil. Because coconut oil is deeeeelicious and makes cookies rich and dense and dairy-free.
And then there's the nut butter, of course. Before you drop what you're doing to run to the grocery store to buy a jar of almond butter, please do note that you're actually gonna be making your own nut butter for these cookies. So there's probably no grocery trip requirement in order to bake these cookies, because all the other ingredients in these nut butter cookies are pretty basic.
Here's how you make your own nut butter: pour some nuts into your food processor, press the "on" button, and let the machine go. In a few minutes, the nuts should have turned into a smooth, buttery mixture, a mixture otherwise known as nut butter.
Very complicated, I know. But I faith in you. I believe you'll manage.
But alas, one more thing: before you blend up those nuts in your machine, you gotta spread them out onto a baking sheet and toast those babies in the oven for about nine minutes. Because toasted nuts > raw nuts anyyyyyy day in cookies.
But it gets better.
After you process your nuts into a nut butter, you just add the rest of the ingredients into the food processor in the order specified, and just blend.
So, instead of our usual one-bowl recipe, these nut butter cookies are a one-food processor recipe. Which is just as quick and easy as a one-bowl recipe, if not easier, because your hand gets a break from the manual labor of stirring and mixing.
You're not just using nuts to make your own nut butter for these cookies. Aside from the ones used to make the butter, you're going to be chopping up an additional half a cup of nuts to stir into the dough.
Actually, you'll be stirring in toasted, crunchy, chopped nuts AND chocolate chunks. Yep, these wholesome nut butter cookies get not one, but two add-ins.
You could also use chocolate chips. But I always opt for chopping up a bar of good quality, semi or bittersweet chocolate instead of going the chocolate chip route. Why? Just scroll back up to that magical drip on the cookie in that first photo. That's why.
Quick and easy, wholesome and filling, soft and chewy, nutty and chocolaty. Perfect for breakfast or snack or dessert or all three.
These wholesome(ish nut butter chocolate chip cookies are all that and so, so much more.
Wholesome(ish) Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: about 28 cookies
1 1/4 cups assorted nuts (I used cashews, pecans, walnuts, and almonds)
1/2 cup coconut oil*
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups packed white whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chunks/chips
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Spread nuts onto one baking sheet and bake in oven until browned and emitting a nutty aroma, about nine minutes. Let cool a bit.
In a food processor, blend 3/4 cup of the nuts until a smooth mixture resembling nut butter forms (save remaining 1/2 cup nuts to stir into dough later).
Add coconut oil to machine and blend a minute until mixture is smooth. Add in brown sugar and blend another minute. Add in egg and vanilla extract and blend till smooth again.
Pour flour, baking soda, and salt into machine and pulse a few times until just combined. Chop up the chocolate (or use chocolate chips) and the remaining 1/2 cup toasted nuts. Stir both into the dough by hand.
Round medium-large pieces of dough between palms and space out onto baking sheets. Flatten cookies a bit with your palm.
Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes, or until bottoms are golden. Let cookies sit and firm up on sheets for fifteen minutes before moving them.
*Note: use refined coconut oil if you don't want any coconut flavor in your cookies.
