Almond Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks

I have a few travel days coming up in the next month – one long haul back to Montreal and one quick jaunt over to Manchester to visit my sister. I love travel days. I love sitting and getting lost in the hustle and bustle of airports. People coming and going, business and vacations, tearful goodbyes and joyful welcome hugs. I treat myself to a trashy gossip magazine, a large coffee and just sit and soak it all in. Traveling also makes me crave treats, something sweet and sugary to help me get through the long day. And while initially a massive toblerone bar seems like a good idea, I’ve learnt that it doesn’t really help with the fatigue or the jet lag.

So this time I am traveling prepared – lots of water, an apple, a crunchy veggie sandwhich and an enormous bag of trail mix ( I like a mix almonds, cashews, pistachios and dried cranberries). Oh yeah – and for my treat – these cookies. And I will probably be packing more than just one, but not to share with the person sitting next to me – sorry! I’ve made these cookies a few times now and when I greeted my girlfriends in Geneva after  long flight from Canada and an even longer layover in Germany with cookies and apples as a snack pack – well, I’ll just say I didn’t see them looking for the toblerone bar. These cookies are the perfect little treat that you can feel good about packing in your carry on. Drink lots of water, eat well and have a cookie – happy travels!

 ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE CHUNKS
Chewy, sweet and nutty cookies. Perfect for long travel days or as an energy snack for a day out in the mountains. Vegan & Gluten Free. Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie. Makes 6-7 cookies, one for each hour of a 7 hour flight :)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoon flour*
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all natural almond butter* (make your own!)
2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Mix all the dry ingredients together (baking powder, flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt)

Add in the wet ingredients (almond butter, apple sauce, maple syrup) and mix until combined and then stir in the the chocolate chunks

Drop spoonfuls of the batter on the baking sheet and gently press down the tops. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until slightly browning but still soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before attempting to transfer to a cooling rack. Once cool enough to move, let cool on a cooling rack until completely cool. Store in an airtight container for a few days.

* I used a homemade almond butter for these cookies, no salt or sugar or oil added, just 100% roasted almonds. I’m sure any nut butter would work well here – peanut butter is always a classic but you may want to adjust the salt/sugar if your nut butter has anything added to it.