Almond Joy Cookies

There are fond memories of me sorting through my bag of Halloween candy as a kid after a long night of tricks-or-treats to pick out my most favorite sweets. As far as I was concerned, anything that did not make the cut was going straight into the garbage. Smarties? Chalky and tasteless. Santa Claus wrapped chocolates? You can’t fool me old lady. I know you’ve been holding onto these since last Christmas. Fruit? Well, we all know a kid’s reaction when someone throws fruit in their Halloween bucket…As they say, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” For my dad, his favorite candies happened to be Almond Joy and Mounds. Lucky for him I never once batted an eye before throwing them in the reject pile.

A few weeks ago I received an email from my dad which simply said, “You have to make these!” with a link attached for a recipe for Almond Joy Cookies. I clicked on the link and was taken to food blog by a former pastry chef turned mom and caterer http://www.heatherchristo.com. I was instantly hooked by her site and the many delicious recipes she has to share so I knew that I had to get around to making these cookies as soon as possible.

It was my dad’s birthday this past weekend which meant a perfect excuse to get out my baking equipment and make these cookies for him. He was elated. And they were so incredibly good. The coconut is not overpowering and instead gives the cookies a hint of sweetness. And combined with the slivered almonds and chocolate chips, these cookies deliver on both texture and flavor.

The recipe makes a ton of dough so be prepared to make a lot of people happy by sharing these cookies with them. Just make sure to keep some for yourself!

Almond Joy Cookies

makes 40 cookies

• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ¼ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 3 cups chocolate chips
• 2 cups peeled, slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare two sheet pans with parchment or silpats. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and beat until creamy.

Meanwhile mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir until you have a thick cookie dough. Add the coconut, chocolate chips and almonds and mix until well combined. Using a scoop, place the cookies onto the sheetpans and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned on the top. They will still be a bit soft when you remove them from the oven but will stiffen up once they are cooled.