Clementine Almond-Chip Cookies

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More often than not, I have a lengthy dramatic story about the dish I’m posting. Not today. No drama. No catastrophes. No turning the oven to broil instead of off, or baking in a time crunch. Just the smell of clementine zest and almond extract as Cirandar softly played in the background.

I was writing (surprise, surprise) and reached a point that I couldn’t push past. I wrote the sentence. Deleted again. Tried a different sentence. Deleted that one. I went back to the beginning of the paragraph. Attempted the sentence again. Nope. Went to the beginning of the page. By this time, my eyes were glazing over the words. Anyone who writes knows what this means. Put down the pen (or in today’s age, close your laptop) and stop. So I did. And I baked. With what I had in my pantry and fridge. Half a bag of this, half a bag of that, a few of these, and what do you know–you got cookies :D. Which I absolutely adored. Chocolate and orange is my favorite fruit-chocolate combo, but I didn’t have oranges, I had clementines, which was just as tasty! The almonds added crunch and the almond and orange extracts added a lovely fragrance that hit your nose before the cookie touched your lips. And I’m happy to say that these cookies passed the CJ test. My friend–CJ–is an avid cookie connoisseur and never hesitates to tell me that certain cookie recipes “could be tweaked.” Not this one. His reply after one bite, “These cookies are like gourmet!” He proceeded to eat the entire batch I brought for his taste-testing session. So, there you have it. I like them. CJ likes them. Now, you have to try them! (P.S. I did go back to writing after the cookies came out of the oven and got through the section that was causing me such pangs prior to baking. I think I may have found the ultimate cure for writer’s block!).

Oh, and I almost forgot! I’d like to thank Shea for passing on a Stylish Blogger Award to me, and Mina and Citra for passing on Sunshine Awards to me! What a month this February has been!!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

Clementine Almond-Chip Cookies (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup earth balance (or butter)–softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon hot water

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

zest of one clementine (or orange, tangerine, etc.)

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

3/4 cup sliced almonds

turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top

Method:

*Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, cream earth balance and sugars until smooth. Add extracts and egg. Mix. Dissolve baking soda in hot water; add to egg/sugar mixture. Mix until fully incorporated.

*In second bowl, combine flour, salt, clementine zest, chocolate chips, and almonds. Mix. Add dry to wet, mix until fully incorporated. Refrigerate for ten minutes. Drop onto cookie sheet, sprinkle with turbinado sugar, and bake 9-12 minutes until golden brown.


Written by

Tiffany M. Griffin is the woman behind Como Water, Washington DCโ€™s premiere veg-centric cuisine consulting company. Through cooking classes, demonstrations, catering, and consultations, Como Water gives people the opportunity to learn how to prepare veg-centric cuisine that boasts maximum flavor, with minimal effort. Tiffany is quickly becoming a go-to expert on the future of veg-centric cuisine, and is a regular contributor to Como Water, the blog, as well as to vegetarian and vegan sites across the Internet. For over a decade, this self-taught, entrepreneurial expert has developed a set of tried and true techniques for making simple, delicious, and sometimes decadent veg-centric dishes. Featured on the Steve Harvey Show and other leading media outlets, Tiffany was born and raised in Springfield, MA. She then earned Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Communications from Boston College and a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. She now resides in Washington DC, where she has worked in the US Senate and at a federal agency on issues around health, food, nutrition, and international food aid/development, and of course, as the owner of Como Water. Tiffany gets culinary inspiration from the food she grew up eating, and from her travels throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is dedicated to sharing her wealth of knowledge on veg-centric cuisine with others and to help others live by her mantraโ€”love life, live long, and eat veg-centric cuisine!

Comments

  1. Funny how it’s so much easier to get writing after having a dose in the kitchen. Worked wonders with your almond cookies with clementines: great!

  2. These look so lovely, I’m always looking for delicious recipes for the mountain of oranges & mandarins we have here at the moment, and this one looks like a real winner!! Thanks… I think most people are having the same writers block this weekend, it’s really quiet out there, don’t you think? Or maybe its a Valentines weekend thing!!

  3. Oh my..these are one of my favorite cookies!! They look incredible and so tasty!!!

  4. Oh my god these look so amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll have to try these ASAP! Thanks for the wonderful recipe! ๐Ÿ˜›

    • You are the best brother in the world! ๐Ÿ˜€

  5. You have such great ideas!! These look delicious!!

  6. I love your cookies!! I think the clementines did it for me … I can only imagine the wonderful smell in your kitchen. Great recipe, Tiffany!

  7. Clementine, chocolate chip, almonds, vanilla… I bet your kitchen smelled divine. I have sworn off cookies but to hell with the diet. These are Worth The Calories!

    • You swore off coooooooookkkkiiiiiieeeesssss????? Never! ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. My husband loves chocolate and orange, so I ‘m going to make these delightful cookies for him next week. Thanks for sharing!

  9. these look lovely!

  10. These sound so yummy, I’m going to make them tomorrow!

  11. I am quite happy to read that you didn’t have some sort of catastrophe or last minute kerfuffle to write about! These turned out beautifull for “throw together from your pantry” cookies!

  12. These sound really good. I love anything orangey mixed with chocolate. It’s one of the world’s perfect combinations.

  13. I love orange and almond together, such a wonderful combination of flavours. I can’t wait to try these cookies!

  14. Delicious! Love the addition of zest and almond in them that brings out a different flavor altogether….

  15. These sound great! And even better that you pulled it together with what you had in the kitchen. I love doing that and not having to go to the store.

  16. Clementines, chocolate and almonds…yes…you have made one amazing cookie! And as a writer, I completely understand those blocks. Baking is a wonderful cure! Thank you for sharing! I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. Rest, rejuvenate and spread some love!

  17. What a great idea. We always have the clementines in our house. I will defiantly have to five these a try. Thank you

  18. I can imagine that they both taste and smell nice.. ๐Ÿ™‚ Cookies with almonds I love, cause they always taste great

  19. Lovely! I love the combination of chocolate and orange too, and clementines are particularly delicious. And congrats on the award!

  20. I am well familiar with writer’s block! Sometimes I just force myself to write a crap sentence (or paragraph) and push through until it shakes off … but I think your method is much much better!!! : )

  21. I love clemantines! What a wonderful idea to add them to cookies with almonds and chocolate chips :)! I want one ;)!

  22. Sounds like an incredible combination of flavors and textures…all in one perfect bite! Thanks, Tiffany!

  23. These look beautiful and delicious. I love the almonds for a little crunch. Mmmm…clementine zest….what a great combo with the chocolate chips. I’ve never thought to zest my chocolate chip cookies….what a neat idea.

  24. Congratulations on the awards ๐Ÿ™‚ Great music to go along with an amazing cookie recipe. I love that combination too and I can almost picture it, yum. You are so right about just stepping away from the computer, if I don’t I’ll never get what I’m writing done. Happy Valentine’s Day and thanks for sharing your delish cookies.

  25. Orange and almonds are perfect with chocolate!! This is definitely a great combo for a cookie. Some of the best recipes are developed from ingredients right in your pantry and fridge ๐Ÿ™‚ Glad it could cure your writer’s block!! Cookies can cure almost anything, haha.

  26. Wow love this recipe! How creative adding the clementine zest!

  27. taking your word on the CJ test…i shall bake them exactly like this. thank you for sharing!

  28. I can just imagine the citrusy freshness those clementine peels’ gonna do for the cookies …. Mmmmmm

  29. These are adorable and look crunchy and delicious! your kitchen mustve smelled yuuummmy!

  30. A great way to brighten up cookies! YUM! Happy V Day!

  31. How creative to have the clementine in there, they look great!

  32. I love to have cookies with glass of milk,and these are just perfect !

  33. I have a bag of clementines in my fridge and was wondering what I could do with the extra peels – bingo! These look wonderful.

    • You can also put the peels down the drain for a natural garbage disposal cleaner. The oils from the peel clean the blades and leave the drain selling fresh!

  34. I luv all the almonds you’ve included in these gourmet cookies. ๐Ÿ˜‰ I’m going to use your writer’s block technique and start baking when I’m stumped. Thank you for sharing these cookies. =)

  35. Congrats on those awards!

    These cookies look sooooooooo good! Using all those extracts must have had your house smelling amazing!

  36. In love almonds in anything, and these cookies sound divine:)

  37. Yum. I’m loving the thought of clementines in a cookie. If this is the kind of thing you come up with when you have writer’s block, is it ok for me to wish it on you more often??

  38. These sound amazing! I love the thought of that taste/scent/flavor combo!:)

  39. Hi Tiffany, It was great to have you joining us for your first YBR. Thanks for participating in and sorry it took me so long to stop by.