Tis the season when cookies abound; at parties, in stores, on your doorstep, in your mailbox, at work, on blogs… everywhere you look there are cookies, cookies, and more cookies.
The question is, what do you bake for your gluten-free friend, paleo co-worker, and/or vegan family member?
Although these – and other specialty diet – approaches to eating are burgeoning in terms of popularity, there are still many less recipes that fall within their respective guidelines than there are for treats loaded with white flour, sugar, and butter.
Well with these little gems, I’ve got you covered.
Now I’ll be the first to admit that these cookie bites are not going to be the prettiest offering on the holiday table, but what they do have going for them more than makes up for their appearance.
Slightly crisp on the outside and meltingly soft & chewy on the inside, these dried cranberry-studded almond cookies are tough to resist after you’ve tasted one.
The two-bite treats are just about the healthiest cookies I’ve ever made, relying on almond flour for lightness, almond butter for richness, honey for a touch of sweetness (can sub in maple syrup for non honey-eating vegans), and dried cranberries for flavor and texture.
This jar of cookies is one you can definitely feel good about reaching into over and over again!
Almond & Dried Cranberry Cookie Bites (gluten-free, paleo, & vegan)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert snack breakfast gluten-free vegan vegetarian almond butter dried cranberries cookie cookies
Ingredients (18 cookies)
- 2 cups blanched almond flour (such as Oh Nuts)
- tiny pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp smooth all-natural almond butter, at room temperature and well-stirred
- 1/4 cup honey (if you are making these for a vegan who does not eat honey, you can try subbing in pure maple syrup)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, preferably apple-juice sweetened
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
In a small bowl, whisk together the almond butter, honey, vanilla extract, and water.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until well-combined. It may at first seem like the dough is too dry; keep stirring until it comes together. Fold in the dried cranberries.
Using a small cookie scoop (or tablespoon) scoop dough out onto prepared baking sheet. Cookies won’t spread while baking, so no need to leave a lot of space in between each scoop.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies just begin to brown.
Cool cooking on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will be soft right out of the oven, but will firm up a bit as they cool.
Nutritional Information Per Cookie:
- 118.4 calories
- 8.7 grams fat
- 0.7 grams saturated fat
- 1.5 grams fiber
- 5.7 grams sugars
- 3.2 grams protein
