Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds

This week's recipe for Sweet Melissa Sunday's was actually chosen by the entire group. After a vote, it was decided we were going to make the chocolate chip cookies with toasted almonds. This may sound a little odd, but I was actually kind of glad everyone chose to go with this recipe because I still had chocolate bunnies from Easter I did not know what to do with. I was busy studying for an exam around Easter and my mom was trying to help me out so she went out for me to pick up candy for my daughter. She wasn't quite sure what I wanted to get, so she took the safe route and bought three different chocolate bunnies and a chocolate duck so I could choose which one I wanted. I guess she figured grandmas get to go home at the end of the night so she wouldn't be the one to have to send a three year old on a sugar high to bed! Joking aside, she really helped me out a lot, but I had a ton of leftover chocolate. It was really good homemade candy so off to the chopping block the bunny went...

I have to tell you how much I love this recipe. There is a reason why my sister is the cookie baker and I am the pie baker in my family- for some reason, my cookies just don't turn out right. My perrenial problem with chocolate chip cookies is they are always flat. I have tried experimenting with butter versus margerine, white sugar versus brown sugar, and refrigerating the cookie dough. All I end up with is flat cookies that fall apart. But they came out perfect this time! Finally! It will definitely be my go to recipe in the future.

I really liked the toasted almonds in the cookies as well. I am a huge fan of almonds, but if I were making for a big crowd, I may substitute in walnuts or pecans as they seem to have a more universal appeal. I also worry about almonds being more of a choking hazard for my older daughter.

The recipe does call to chill the dough twice before baking it, so bear that in mind if you want need to make the recipe quickly. The first time, you chill the dough in a bowl and the second time you shape the chilled dough into a log, wrap in plastic, and then chill again. The dough can be a little difficult to scrape out of the bowl when chilled, but Melissa of Lulu the Baker suggested scooping the dough out of the bowl and wrapping in plastic before the first chill which I will definitely be doing next time. I wasn't sure if we were going to eat all two dozen of the cookies this week, and freshly baked cookies definitely taste beter, so I froze one of the "logs" of cookie dough. That way next time we want cookies, all I have to do is defrost it for a few minutes, slice, and bake.

Thanks to all who voted for the chocolate chip cookies! It was getting harder and harder to come up with excuses for my daughter why she couldn't start another chocolate bunny! You can check out the recipe on the Sweet Melissa Sundays page.