Desserts à la Mariane

It’s been two years since I posted last (yikes!). Life has been busy leaving little time for me to share my recipes. While I did bake over the last two years, I didn’t take the time to measure (as I typically don’t measure ingredients when I bake), write things down, or take pictures. But lately, I’ve been wanting to get back to this blog. So here’s the first recipe I’m going to share. I created this one for a birthday surprise. Each year, I pair my good friend’s birthday present with some baking (usually cookies). Sometimes I use old, trusted recipes, and other times I make up new ones. This year, I decided to go for something new — sweet, decadent, maple almond cookies with a chocolatey filling!

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 3 cups oat flour (I use gluten-free)
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup water

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 cup chocolate chips (I use dairy-free)
• 3/4 cups almond butter

Cookie Directions:

Put all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until very well combined. The batter should be nice and thick (but a little sticky). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Use your clean hands (or a small cookie dough scooper) to evenly portion out the dough into 2-inch (give or take) balls (the batter will make around 24 balls). Next, flatten out the balls slightly, and then use your thumb to make a dent in the middle (think of a thumbprint cookie). This dent is where the filling is going to go. Once all of your dough balls are flattened out and have a dent in the middle, place them in the oven, set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are golden brown (you read that right, I did not preheat the oven when I made these, in fact, I rarely do).

Once baked, pull the cookie trays out of the oven. You’ll likely notice that some of the “dents” have disappeared or are not as pronounced as they were before being put into the oven. Use your thumb to press the dents back down. Next, let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before putting them into the fridge. You’ll want to leave them in the fridge to cool for about an hour before filling them.

Filling Directions:

Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate chips in 30-second increments (stirring after every 30 seconds). Once the chocolate chips are completely melted, add the almond butter to the bowl and stir until very well combined.

Assembly:

Take the cookies out of the fridge and use a spoon to scoop the filling into the cookie “dents”. You should have just enough filling to fill all cookies. If you have a little bit left over, eat it warm, or pour it onto a small cookie sheet lined with wax paper and place it in the fridge. It will harden and will be a delicious treat later on.

Once all of the cookies are filled, put them back into the fridge and let them cool for another hour.

Store the cookies in the fridge or freeze them for longer storage.

Enjoy!