Why I chose this recipe:
Quite a few food allergies have plagued my son since he was born, including tree nuts. Fortunately, over the years he is slowly growing out of some of them. A few weeks ago he got clearance to try a food challenge with tree nuts. I was then tasked with making a cookie which included as many of the tree nuts as possible. So off I went to every grocery store within twenty minutes of my house to see what tree nuts I could find that had not be exposed to peanuts. This task proved harder than I thought. After searching many stores, all I found was almond flour, hazelnut flour, pistachios and raw pecan nut butter with cashews. With these ingredients I then decided to make a paste.
I then incorporated the paste into a delicious recipe I have been using for years. Before my son and I could even get to the doctor’s to try the cookies, the rest of the family dove into the five tree-nut cookie creation and announced they were fantastic. These new ingredients took an irresistible chocolate chip cookie recipe and added depth of flavor and texture.
While I feel as though it was a bit of luck that my first attempt came out well, I strongly believe that if you start with a delicious base to a recipe, you can experiment and create great things without too much effort. So have some fun, try this recipe, and see how easy it is to .
Batter Ingredients
1 ¾ cups flour
1 cup Tree Nut Paste
½ cup old fashion oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cup chocolate chips (or 1 ½ cups choc chips and ½ cups other chips)
Tree Nut Paste Ingredients
1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup hazelnut flour
1/3 cup pistachios, shelled
5 oz. raw pecan nut butter with cashews*
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Prepare Tree Nut Paste by combining the four ingredients in small food processor and pulse until fully combined.
Combine flour, tree nut paste, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in stand mixer with paddle attachment.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition scraping down sides as needed.
Gradually add flour mixture.
Mix on medium speed until fully combined.
Finally, add oats and chocolate chips.
Chill cookie dough in refrigerator for 30+ minutes before baking.
Use medium ice cream scooper to place batter on prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 15-18 mins. Transfer to cooling rack.
If not consuming all cookies, put cookies in airtight container and freeze for future enjoyment.
*I used Artisana Organics Raw Pecan Nut Butter with Cashews, which I discovered at Mrs. Greens. It can be found online as well.
** This recipe is easy, but finding the ingredients is the biggest challenge. However, if you are a nut and chocolate chip cookie fan, the end product is well worth the effort.