There are few better things than finding an easy, healthy, kid-friendly cookie recipe.  In a quest to cut out gluten in my diet (as much as possible) and to provide refined sugar-free treats for my kids, I stumbled upon a great recipe from The Urban Poser.  I had purchased some almond meal from Trader Joe’s and I was determined to make something awesome with it.  I had already tried muffins and I wasn’t over-impressed so I was ready to try something new.  So when I found a cookie recipe that was made with almond flour, coconut oil and was sweetened with honey, I was smitten.  One thing to consider about this recipe is that the Urban Poser used almond flour – she recommends a finely ground flour by Honeyville.  I did not have that, I had almond meal which is very similar, just not ground as fine as flour.  I suppose I could have put in in my Vitamix and ground it finer, but I like to keep things simple and wanted to try it with exactly the ingredients I had.  Almond meal at Trader Joe’s is a great deal at only $3.99/lb so I am remiss to begin purchasing more expensive ingredients from online retailers such as Honeyville.  I am just not that picky.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of almond meal (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt (or eyeball it as I do)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1/4 cup mild honey
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Cinnamon coating:

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep your cookie sheet.  Combine dry ingredients and mix well.  Create a well and pour in the coconut oil, honey and vanilla.  Mix well until combined.  (The dough will be thick which is OK because of the next step….)  Scoop out about a tablespoon of dough and form into a ball (or something close to it!) and roll it into the cinnamon coating mixture.  Place the ball of coated dough on the cookie sheet.  Using the bottom of any container (I used a mason jar but you could use the bottom of a measuring cup, mug, etc.) and gently flatten each cookie.  Repeat.  Bake in the oven for about 8-9 minutes.  Leave the cookies on the sheet while cooling.  The cookies will be slightly soft coming out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.  If you prefer a crispier cookie, keep them in a minute or two longer.