The Best Chocolate Almond Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Nothing beats the smell of homemade cookies. That’s especially true of cookies made with sweet almond and earthy, dark chocolate. These chocolate almond cookies are sure to seduce your senses from the moment they go in the oven until the last crumb is licked from the cookie jar.

An almost healthy cookie recipe

I’m not going to pretend that my cookie recipe is healthy but it has reduced fat compared to your average cookie. That’s because I use applesauce as a partial substitute for butter or oil. But that’s not the only ingredient upgrade I give this easy cookie recipe.

To give my chocolate almond cookies their unbelievably gooey, soft texture, I used a combination of light brown sugar and egg whites. Brown sugar is still sugar but did you know that it has slightly more nutrition than the white stuff? Because brown sugar contains molasses, it actually offers trace amounts of minerals, like potassium. Do you really get enough potassium from these cookies to improve health? Not really in the modest amount I use here but the brown sugar does give the cookies a wonderfully moist consistency.

What is almond meal?

To give the cookies their almond flavor and great texture, I use almond meal. Almond meal is slightly different in almond flour. Almond meal is made by grinding whole, unpeeled almonds to a slightly coarse flour-like consistency. Almond flour, on the other hand, is made from skinless, blanched almonds.

Can you make these cookies with almond flour?

I like the texture the almond meal gives to the final cookie and the weight it has on the tongue but you can make these as almond flour chocolate cookies if you prefer.

Almond meal gives the cookies a modest health boost. They add fiber and protein to the cookies, along with the other health benefits of almonds. (Don’t forget, almonds are among our 10 Best Foods For Men.) Know that almond flour will add a similar health boost to almond meal, in case you’re considering the substitution.

I do not recommend that you reduce the amount of all-purpose flour in the cookies by adding additional almond meal. But if you’re interested in replacing the white flour with almond flour, that could work! Let me know how it tastes if you try it.

How do you get the most intense chocolate flavor in a chocolate cookie?

The trick to getting the richest, chocolatey flavor is to use a quality, high-fat cocoa powder and dark chocolate chunks instead of semi-sweet to make them dark chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

The dark chocolate not only makes a difference in the depth of chocolate flavor, but dark chocolate has more health benefits (and aphrodisiac benefits) than milk chocolate, white chocolate or chocolate baking pieces. Dark chocolate contains a higher percentage of cacao than what you’ll find in semi-sweet or milk chocolate. And it’s actually cacao, not chocolate, that offers health benefits for your heart and libido. Here are some more fascinating facts about cacao.

This chocolate almond slice cookies recipe can be made in advance

This double chocolate chip cookies recipe with almonds can be prepped in advance and frozen. After you’ve made the cookie dough, roll it into two evenly shaped logs and store in the freezer for up to a month. (Just make sure it’s tightly wrapped.)

Then any time you need a dark chocolate fix, just slice off the number of cookies your heart desires and bake a small or large batch to rich, chocolatey goodness.

I call these chocolate cookies Seduction Cookies

This site is all about the relationship between food and romance. And there may be no single ingredient that bonds food and romantic love more than chocolate. And to have a batch of homemade almond chocolate cookies fresh from the oven, the chocolate chips still melting? Well, that might be the date night equivalent of a home run.

And, if romance is on your mind, (and why shouldn’t it be?), why make just any old cookie when you can make aphrodisiac cookies? I’m sharing this recipe for double chocolate almond cookies with gooey chocolate chips (aka Chocolate Almond Seduction Cookies) from my cookbook, Romancing the Stove, because I think everyone should have this rich, dark chocolate almond cookie in their recipe file.

RELATED: If you love to bake cookies, check out all of our favorite cookie recipes

Uses for these almond chocolate chip cookies

Baking for someone is an act of love. Fortunately, this recipe makes the gesture simple and inexpensive. And although a box of these double chocolate cookies works well as a host gift or Mother or Fathers Day gift, I recommend making them as a romantic present.

As I mentioned, I’ve layered these chocolate almond chocolate chip cookies with aphrodisiac ingredients. Bake them for your one true love on Valentine’s Day. Or make them for a quiet Holiday season gift the two of you can share.

RELATED: Homemade dark chocolate truffles make a great food gift. 

Chocolate Almond Seduction Cookies

Print Recipe

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This recipe makes intense, dark chocolate cookies with oozing, melted chocolate chips and a hint of sweet almond. Make the dough in advance and store it in the freezer for when a chocolate craving strikes. 

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Dish Type cookies

Cooking Style Baking

Diet and Health low fat

Seasonal Christmas, Father's Day, Holiday season, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day

Ingredient chocolate

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 9 mins

Freezing Time 1 hr 15 mins

Total Time 1 hr 40 mins

Servings 24 cookies

Author Amy Reiley

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup high-fat cocoa powder sifted
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 large egg white
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or baking chunks

Instructions

• Combine flour, almond meal, baking soda, salt and cocoa in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, stir butter until creamy. Add the sugars and mix until combined, about 1 minute by hand. Then add applesauce, vanilla, almond extract and egg white, stirring for an additional 2 minutes.
• Add the flour mixture, stirring until thoroughly combined.
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Coat your hands lightly with oil and shape the cookie dough into two 5-inch logs. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and freeze 1–2 hours or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Coat baking sheet(s) with cooking spray.
• Unwrap frozen logs and slice into approximately 24 rounds (about 1/4-inch thick). Place the rounds on the baking sheet 1-inch apart.*
• Bake on the center rack for 8–9 minutes then remove from sheet. Note: Cookies should be soft. (If cookies are difficult to remove from the sheet, allow them to cool on the sheet for 30 seconds before removing.)
• 10. Eat warm or allow cookies to cool on a rack.

Notes

You can store the dough in the freezer for up to a month, cutting and baking when the desire for warm cookies strikes.

If you like this recipe, check out the whole book! Romancing the Stove is available on Amazon in paperback and kindle versions:

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