Almond Joy Cookies

What makes you smile?

There are a lot of things that bring a smile to my face.  Unicorns and rainbows.  My family.  Monkeys. Chocolate.  Puppies, kittens, and penguins. Church.  Board and card games.  Reading.  Singing and dancing.  Thunderstorms.  Fresh fruit.  Baking and cooking.  Music.  Etc. etc. etc.

Lately, the stress of job hunting and deciding where our family is going to live has made that smile a little less exuberant.  So, thankfully I had a weekend chock full of one of my favorite activities: watching NJ and her cousins play and interact.  This weekend we had all four cousins from my side of the family together for general laughter and shenanigans.  The kids ranged from 17 months to five years old; so, you can imagine the cuteness that ensued.

The other bonus was some extra time with my brother, sister, and mom.  Never mind the fact that I lost my voice and have been rendered a partial mute (nothing could ever completely stop me from attempting to talk).  This was a family fun weekend for the books.

Seeing these joyful faces reminded me of a cookie I made up not to long ago but never got to post.  So, here it is, my reinvention of an Almond Joy candy bar in cookie form.  If you are like my husband and not a huge fan of almond extract, you may want to just double the vanilla and skip the almond (for more a Mounds taste I guess).

Almond Joy Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup ground, chopped, or slivered almonds (depending on your texture preference)
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup coconut
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Instruction

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Blend the butter and shortening well.  Cream the butter mixture with the sugars.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.  Add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour.  Add the almonds, oatmeal, and coconut.  Gently mix the chocolate chips in.  

Drop by teaspoons or tablespoons on greased cookie sheets or parchment paper (I personally love the parchment).  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Spread joy with your Almond Joy Cookies!