Some of you may know that my husband and I own Above 8000 Creative, a design, content creation, and marketing firm. Delaney does graphic design and website design, and I help him out with the photography – just like he helps me with recipes when needed! One of our clients is this amazing little beachfront hotel in Carlsbad, CA called Ocean Palms Beach Resort.
It's right at the end of Carlsbad Village Drive, so it's right on the beach. We stay here every single time we are in Carlsbad, and not just because they are our client – we had been staying here long before we even worked together! It is by far my most favorite hotel I’ve ever been to. There are three things that originally drew me to this property.
Dog Friendly.
Because everyone knows I don’t go anywhere without Otto.
Have full kitchens inside each room.
I hate eating out for every single meal when I’m on vacation, because of the quality of ingredients. I really love cooking my own meals, and knowing where ingredients come from. It’s sweet that there are a lot of organic eateries in this area, but they are more South in Encinitas and Leucadia so it’s a little far to go for every single meal. Plus the Farmer's Market is every Wednesday and I get some great stuff there that I can eat at the hotel.
They have a pool and they are beachfront.
Most hotels that are on the beach, forgo the pool – big mistake in my mind. Not everyone loves the ocean. Don’t get me wrong, I love it – I just don’t love swimming in it. Swimming in a pool on the other hand is way more my style.
They have many other amazing things at this cute little beach hotel as well. But when I saw these three things I booked immediately a few years ago, and we’ve been coming back twice a year ever since. Now we're just lucky enough to work with them as well! But this Fall wasn’t only about vacation – I was also doing a lot of recipe testing. So, I had to bring my mixer with me and lots of cookie baking supplies. The staff loves when I stay because I am constantly walking over to the front office to hand them plates of cookies, haha!
In between my cookie baking I got in some walks on the beach with Otto, got to lay by the pool and get a little bit of a tan. I also got to run on the boardwalk and do Pilates on the beach. I got up for sunrise to shoot photos and we saw a lot of sunsets! So, even though I was working every single day, I still got to do some fun stuff too. Balance is super important in your life, and I love working. But I also need to take a break sometimes, which is hard to do when you’re a business owner. Some people have an easier time than others, such as my husband haha. He has no problem taking 11 days off and surfing every day!
So, when I finally finished recipe testing – I had a few extra things laying around the kitchen. A tiny bit of flour, quite a bit of almond flour, chocolate chips and a bottle of honey was what stood out to me. I had a few more things too, but I thought bringing such a small amount of flour back was just plain stupid. And I had plenty of fresh farm eggs in the fridge because one of health food stores carries these adorable, and of course delicious, eggs from a local farm and I bought a bunch!
So, I figured I should bake a recipe down here. I landed on Honey Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are soft baked, and they have honey which is an added bonus – so really soft and chewy! They remind me of cereal but with chocolate. Okay sounds weird maybe, but trust me they are delicious!
Why Organic
Why use organic ingredients in this recipe? You all know I’m a huge organic advocate, and I bet you may be thinking sometimes, Why would I even bother to use organic ingredients in something that is so sweet and indulgent? But, that is the exact reason why you should use organic ingredients! Sweet things need to have flavor in order to be good, otherwise they are just sweet and they don’t taste like much else. Organic ingredients are more pure than conventional ones, therefore they actually have more flavor than the non organic options. Say it with me, organic means more flavor! And not just more flavor but a more true and pure flavor. And organic ingredients are much healthier for you to eat in general as they do not contain GMOs or anything artificial. Plus, you are being environmentally friendly when you choose organic ingredients!
So, I highly recommend that you buy the best organic ingredients for this recipe! You can also shop my Amazon Storefront for all my favorite organic ingredients here. Tip – hover over each ingredient to see the name. And if you want to learn more about organic foods and the difference, read my post here on Food Labels and What They Mean.
Honey Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies at Ocean Palms Beach Resort
Difficulty: Easy24
cookiesThis simple chewy cookie is made with honey, almonds, and chocolate chips.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (113 grams) organic salted butter, softened
113 grams (1/2 cup) organic cane sugar
57 grams (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) organic raw honey
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon organic cinnamon
2 organic large eggs
127 grams (1 cup) organic all purpose flour
127 grams (1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon) organic almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
114 grams (heaping 3/4 cup) organic blanched slivered almonds
142 grams (3/4 cup) organic semi sweet chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, honey and vanilla extract. Mix on low until all ingredients are combined and there are no butter chunks. Add the eggs and mix just slightly, enough to break the yolks.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda and sea salt and whisk together. Add to the butter mixture and mix until almost combined. Add the almonds and chocolate chips and mix until combined.
- Using your hands, form the cookie dough into 24 dough (12 on each tray). Flatten them slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter and look like round disks.
- Bake for 11 minutes, cookies will be lightly browned on edges and bottom.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Gluten Free – Replace the organic flour with 142 grams (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) organic gluten free flour blend.
- High Altitude – Bake at 375°F for 8 minutes, cookies will be lightly browned on edges and bottom.
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