Friday Indulgences…

I love Fridays. Even more than I love Saturdays. No homework for my kids (I really don’t like homework). I don’t usually cook dinner (unless it’s really easy). And cocktail hour begins at 5:00 sharp! I also feel like every Friday is a mini celebration. A celebration that the weekend is beginning! I allow myself an extra treat or two and I may not eat the healthiest of dinners. I have been known to eat absurdly large burritos or a bit more pizza than I should. I make up for it all during the week with lots of green smoothies!

That leads me to these cookies…

I was craving an extra yummy chocolatey treat so I thought I would bake something. You really can’t beat a home made chocolate chip cookie, and I had everything to make some. I took a quick peak on line to see if there were any ideas for a little something different and found this recipe for chocolate chip cookies with almond butter. YUM! Thanks Lynda from TasteFood!

You won’t find a ton of baked goods on Juicy Bites, even though I love them. I’m just not a huge fan of the exactness involved in baking. I’m more of an experimental baker, and that doesn’t always yield good results. It did in the case of my Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies…those were good! You must pardon the pictures on that post though…it was back in the beginning days of Juicy Bites and they just don’t look as good as they tasted. I will have to update that post one of these days.

The almond butter adds more to the cookie than you would think. It gives it a rich and nutty flavor with out being over powering like peanut butter can be. Not that I have anything against peanut butter! It also does wonders for the texture of the cookie. I also added a bit of coconut for no other reason than because my son asked if we could put some in. I liked the addition, so I kept it in the recipe. You can leave it out if coconut isn’t your thing.

I did have one little problem with these cookies…I couldn’t stop eating them! I have a weakness for anything involving chocolate. I solved this problem by giving some away. Now that they are gone, I’m a little relieved, and a little sad :(.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Slightly adapted from TasteFood!

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted creamy almond butter
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup semi-sweet 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 and coconut 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.