I had the urge to eat something sweet and couldn’t find anything that fit the bill…until I remembered that I had a chocolate chip cookie mix to try. I decided I wanted it to be extra chocolatey, so I grabbed some Lily’s baking chocolate chips and the butter and eggs and started mixing!
I’ve never tried Kalifornia Keto before but when I looked at the mix, the almond flour was finely ground so it wasn’t huge chunks that make it hard to get the cookies to hold together like some brands. Already off to a good start!
I mixed it all and added the extra chocolate chips. It made 12 cookies instead of the 15 it said the mix would make but the tray didn’t seem like it would fit 15 and, if I’m being honest, I was being lazy and didn’t want to remake them all. I keep forgetting that almond flour cookies don’t melt and spread like regular cookies do so they don’t need the extra space.
The package told me to flatten them but, again; I forgot that almond flour cookies don’t flatten out when you cook them so I flattened them a little but should have done it more so they were more traditional looking. Not because it changes the taste, just for the look of them.
One thing that package did not tell me to do, which I know because I’ve cooked other brands of keto cookies, was to let them sit and cool for about 10 minutes to let them harden up. You can eat them hot out of the oven but they will fall apart in your hands and they do not taste as good as they do when you let them set for a bit.
Were they good? Yes. Were they great? Almost.
Why do I care that they were almost perfect? I mean, almost perfect is pretty good, right? Yes, except that my brother, for whatever reason, is the best cookie maker I’ve ever known. He bakes nothing else, but man can he make chocolate chip cookies. I think one of the reasons I keep trying to find the perfect keto cookie is that in spite of my sugar free lifestyle; I crave chocolate chip cookies like my little brother makes. Probably unrealistic, but I keep looking and keep trying new brands. Why is it so important? Well, my family has a serious sweet tooth, so I’m spoiled. But also because taste and smell ignite powerful memories and the smell and taste of fresh-baked cookies is wrapped up in memories of my brother, our childhood, and comfortable times sitting around the kitchen (usually after fighting over who gets how many cookies lol). I remember one year when I was in college and he was still in high school; he made a batch and shipped them to me for my birthday. He used the trick of packing them with slices of bread so they would stay soft and wrapped them well so they stayed whole. I can honestly say I’ve never gotten a gift as touching (and as tasty) as that one. It meant so much to me that he took the time to bake for me (and that he even sent me a full batch). What is it about people making food for us that meets so many of our trigger points for feeling loved and cherished?
I don’t actually know what it is, but thinking about it I decided to give a plate of cookies to my parents and share the feeling with them. I met them this morning to go for a walk and brought them some cookies and truly enjoyed the happiness it brought them to get a little gift on a Saturday morning. I think that’s why I keep looking for the perfect cookie recipe, to provide the people I love with something that engenders a feeling of hearth and home. That lets them know how I feel because of the thing I have made for them.
I know, that’s a lot of put on a cookie, but the perfect cookie will rise to the occasion, I’m sure of it.
Just an additional fact: There was a very, very, very slight cooling feel after I ate a couple. I didn’t taste it at all after the first one, and after the second it had just barely tickled my tongue, but after the third I wasn’t sensing it, I was tasting it. Don’t get me wrong, it was almost invisible. But I’m mentioning it because some people really hate that and I wanted to be transparent about it. I included a picture of the nutritional information and ingredients in case anyone is considering making them but can’t eat tree nuts or erythritol or whatever.
Duct Tape and Dreams 