These cookies are so delicious and so healthy it’s almost criminal.

They’re also incredibly easy to make.

Now that the Holiday Season is upon us, it’s fun to have a healthy, easy and extra delicious recipe in your repertoire to wow your friends at upcoming holiday gatherings.

This is one of my secret recipes that I reserve for such occasions. Let’s keep it between you, me and the internet. Mi casa es su casa.

And really, these cookies are amazing any time of year.

I use the recipe below when serving them at a party, and halve the amount of honey when I make them for an everyday snack. They remind me of traditional peanut butter cookies, without the guilt or bloating.

Flourless Almond Butter Cookie Recipe (Gluten-Free)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes 16 cookies

Use organic ingredients whenever possible.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups creamy almond butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup raw honey (local if possible)
• 2 large eggs (free range if possible)
• 2 level teaspoons baking soda*
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.** Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix together on medium-high with a hand mixer for 60-90 seconds, or until the mixture comes together like a thick dough. It should be very thick and sticky.

Form the dough into ping pong-sized balls, rolling them gently with wet hands to form. You’ll need to rinse and wet your hands every second or third cookie, as the dough is very sticky.

Place 8 dough balls on each parchment lined cookie sheet spaced about 2 inches apart, making sure each ball is about the same size for even cooking time. Use the back of a fork to slightly flatten each cookie and make a crisscross pattern on the top (you may need to wet the fork in between each cookie if the dough is too sticky.)

Bake each sheet of cookies individually for 10-11 minutes, until lightly browned but not too dark on the bottoms. The bottoms will burn easily, so check the cookies at 10 minutes; slide the parchment paper with the cookies still on it right onto a cooling rack or other surface to prevent the cookies from continuing to cook on the cookie sheet. Let cool 5-10 minutes before eating. Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days (but let’s be honest, they’ll never last that long).

* Look for all natural, aluminum-free baking soda; you can find it online or at your natural grocer.

**Just a note that if you’re new to parchment paper, parchment paper and wax paper are two very different things. Be sure you’re using parchment paper.

Bon Appétit!