When Brooklyn starts to get cold, it seems there’s no better way to spend a weekend or evening than cozied up with good friends sharing delicious food, and this weekend was chock full of this. Saturday afternoon, I braved the cold and biked over to a friend’s for a fantastic brunch complete with amusing games and scrumptious food.

I figured everyone loves a good cookie to go along with a savory brunch (maybe I also had a sweet tooth that day), so I cooked some to bring along. Since baking is not my strong suit, and I had yet to attempt any of the recipes from my recently purchased cookbook, I decided to follow a recipe for once. This book is an amazing bible for baking gluten-free dishes with almond flour. My first recipe attempt from The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook was Elana’s Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. All of the recipes in this book are simple, healthy and delicious! This one didn’t call for chocolate chips but I decided to add some because my sweet tooth wasn’t going to be satisfied without them. It took me all of 20 minutes to whip these guys together and they were certainly well-received at Saturday’s brunch. Here is Elana’s recipe (plus dark chocolate chips)…

Ingredients:
3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
3/4 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls and then mix together and add chocolate chips.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and place 1/4 cup sized cookies on the sheet with a good inch or so in between them. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes (“until the tops of the cookies look dry and start to crack- be careful not to overcook. let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 30 mins)