I used to be a pack-a-day Sour Patch Kid eater. Candy, cake, cookies…those were my friends. I ate them when I felt happy, sad, mad, or for no reason at all. Last year, after I had successfully changed my diet, I was feeling awesome pretty much 90% of the time. But 10% of the time, I was feeling like shit. After a while, I realized that it was sugar that was still messing up my game, and I knew it was time to say goodbye. It wasn’t easy. It took a couple of months to finally let go. During one low point, I actually went to 7-11 just to look at the candy and sniff the doughnuts. This is true.
But I wasn’t about to give up sweets altogether. I started experimenting with honey and maple syrup and found some desserts I loved. The biggest inspiration was a peanut butter cookie recipe I found by the queen of clean food, Terry Walters. I tweaked it a little (ditched the chocolate, for one), and it’s now my go-to cookie recipe. I love bringing these to parties, because without fail, someone always asks for the recipe. And then I get all geeked out to tell them that there are only SIX ingredients…and not one of them is refined sugar.
{Almond Butter Blueberry Cookies}
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour (or teff flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup crunchy almond butter
1 cup real maple syrup
1 cup blueberries (frozen is fine)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, mix the almond butter and maple syrup. Pour flour mixture into your almond butter mixture. Stir until combined. Gently fold blueberries into the mix, trying your best not to squish them. Scoop spoonfuls of batter onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes. They should still be a little soft when removed from the oven.
Tips:
I like Bob’s Redmill flours, which you can find at most bigger grocery stores and at Whole Foods. If you have a hard time tracking it down, Vitacost has a great selection of flours. Including the ones for this recipe: Vitacost Flours.
If you don’t have time to let your blueberries defrost on their own, just place the amount you need in a colander under hot water until they’re thawed out. Make sure to shake out all the extra water before placing in your batter.
This is a great basic cookie recipe to have fun with – experiment with fruits, nuts, and chocolate to make this recipe your own.