Double Chocolate Almond Explosion Cookies

Total Time: 21 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 11 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or 1 1/4 cups spelt flour
• 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons slivered almonds (toasted or not)
• 3 tablespoons non-dairy chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup unrefined sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 1/4 cup organic canola oil
• 2 -3 tablespoons non-dairy chocolate bars, broken in small chunks (for topping) or 2 -3 tablespoons non-dairy chocolate chips (for topping)
• 3 tablespoons slivered almonds, for topping (toasted or not)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f
• 2 in a bowl, sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. add the almonds, chocolate chips, sugar, and salt, and stir until well combined.
• 3 in a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the vanilla and almond extracts, then stir in the oil until well combined.
• 4 add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir through until just well combined (do not over mix). place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. take 1 or 2 chocolate chunks and a pinch or two of almonds and gently press into each cookie, flattening cookies a little.
• 5 bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). let cool for no more than 1 minute on the sheet, then remove with a large spatula and transfer to a cooling rack.