VEGAN ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

I had some vegan friends over and wanted to make some comforting treats. I headed over to 101 Cook Books for some inspiration and found a really simple looking Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe. I opted for Crunchy Almond Butter instead (I guess thats the Sicilian in me), and added some almond meal, plus almond milk (that Rocco brought back from Sicily) and instead of vanilla extract I added almond extract. They came out really moist and chewy, with a really nice almond flavor and the almond milk sweetened them nicely. Mike convinced me to try adding some chocolate chips to a few, but the chocolate took over and drowned out the almond, in my opinion. He agreed, but they were still yummy in an Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie way. Try these and you will not miss the butter or eggs (or the chocolate chips) at all!

VEGAN ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

2 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 C. almond meal

1 C. agave or maple syrup (I used a blend of both from Trader Joe's)

1/2 C. almond milk - sweetened

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in one bowl. In another bowl mix the almond butter, the syrup, the almond milk and the almond extract until combined. Add the flour to this mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the almond meal. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes then drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (You can grease with cooking spray if you desire.) Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.