Unlike previous years, my home has hardly any holiday baked treats. Chalk it up to zero motivation, reduced mobility, or whatever excuse of the day, the only cookies in the house are the packaged kind. I am not eager to correct the situation either. Make no mistake, my appetite is begging for holiday cookies. I am simply not giving in.
Experience told me that I do not tend to gain weight during the holiday season. It is the dreaded month of January when I really pack on the pounds. Change in training volume is a plausible reason but I suspect the real culprit is the lax discipline following a month of seemingly harmless indulgence. Since my holiday spirit is lacking anyway, I may as well take the chance for an experiment. Reduce indulgence in December, maintain my weight in January.
Of course it is not realistic to entirely avoid baking at this time of year. It is customary among my friends to share homemade goodies when we get together. It is part of the fun and I appreciate the honest feedback from trusted palates. For tonight’s casual party, I whipped up a batch of Almond Butter, Dark Chocolate & Coconut Cookies. I bookmarked the recipe from Food52 months ago and came close to baking countless times. Somehow, it just never happened until today.
As soon as the cookies came out of the oven, I wondered why I did not make it sooner. It was as easy as any dropped cookie recipe can be. The natural almond butter behaved much like peanut butter and gave the cookies a pleasantly sandy crumbly texture. The generous chunky mix-ins added plenty of textural interest. I used chopped almonds, Guittard Extra Dark 63% Chocolate Chips, and unsweetened coconut chips.
The cookies did not spread much during baking. As soon as I removed the tray from the oven, I flattened each cookie using a flat-bottom glass bowl. This trick created uniformly round cookies of same size and thickness.
I brought the cookies with me to work and left them in my car. If I take them with me to my desk, chances are good that I would snack on one…or three. So this is my strategy for the holiday seasons. Out of sight, out of reach, (hopefully) out of mind.
One last thing: I finally gave in to the temptation of Instagram! You can find me @DessertByCandy and I too can slap filter on my photos like there’s no tomorrow.
