Healthy Almond-Coconut Chocolate Thumbprint cookies ~ gluten free

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Some days things just don't pan out the way I planned them to. Actually, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception lately. And by lately I mean since I had my first child 18 years ago. Holy crap! I have an 18 year old?!! Anyway, this weekend I had to work on Saturday and was supposed to be off at 3p.m. and then planned on doing a little shopping at my favorite adds and ends Home store for kitchen props, plates, bowls, napkins etc. then go to Sprouts and then go home make a yummy dinner and possibly get some decent shots to put on the blog.

At 2:35 p.m. however we get a call that we need to do an emergency tracheotomy on a patient. How rude. What's more, the Dr. didn't have an assistant so I got to double as a first assist and it was a difficult case, couldn't get the trach tube in because the patient had a mushy trachea. So now I'm tired and a bit cranky and it's 4:45p.m. So much for my nice afternoon. So much for making dinner. Pei Wei saves the day!

Fast forward to Sunday...... I was excited to try and recreate one of my favorite childhood breakfasts, cottage cheese pancakes. If you've never had them, don't wrinkle your nose till you've tried them. They are so good! The cottage cheese actually adds a bit of sweet creaminess to the pancakes, almost like a cream cheese crepe. I wanted to try to make them healthier by omitting the flour and tried using almond meal instead. Epic fail! The first batch crashed and burned, literally. The second batch was oily and burned.

Back to the drawing boards.

Enter these cookies. Every problem or catastrophe can be solve with a good cookie and these are even fairly healthy! Bonus!

PREP TIME 15 MINUTES BAKE 15 MINUTES YIELDS 18-20 SMALL COOKIES

Ingredients:

2 cups almond meal (almond flour w the skins un-removed)

1 tablespoon flax meal (ground flax seed)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup local honey

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chips or bar)

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl mix together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla and almond extract.

Gradually stir in the almond flour, flax meal and sea salt, and mix well until a uniform dough is formed.

Scoop the dough by tablespoons and use your hands to roll into smooth balls. Roll the balls in the coconut flakes to coat. Place the balls onto the lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart, and use your thumb to press into the center of each cookie, creating a well for the chocolate.

Bake for 10-12 minutes till lightly browned. Remove from oven, let cool.

Meanwhile, in a small ceramic or microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips or chopped up bar. Microwave on medium power for 90 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 90 seconds or until melted.