Pull out your shopping lists and preheat your ovens…the healthiest cookie recipe I will EVER post is here, and it’s pretty delicious too. A version of this cookie, served by our Thanksgiving hotel, won me and my sister over. Generous mounds of sweet, densely packed sliced almonds made for relatively guilt-free pool-side snacking, and peeling the almond pieces apart gave us something to do when the clouds rolled in. Those cookies are reimagined here– just a tiny bit fluffier, less sweet, more toasted, and amped up with coconut for a bit of variety. We can’t get enough of them. With just five ingredients, these cookies easily please dairy and gluten-free snackers, along with the rest of us.

To make a batch of about 12 cookies, begin by toasting 1 cup of sliced almonds in a 325º F oven until they are lightly browned and fragrant. Once out of the oven, stir in 1/2 cup of coconut flakes. 

Add 1 large egg white to a bowl with a pinch of salt. Rapidly whisk the egg white until it is frothy and can hold soft peaks.

Whisk 1/4 cup of sugar into the egg white. The egg white will deflate somewhat and thicken to the point where it falls from the whisk in a ribbon. If you’re sugar-conscious, you could get away with subtracting a tablespoon of the sugar and end up with a reasonably well-balanced cookie.

Using a rubber spatula, stir the almond and coconut into the egg whites until they are evenly coated and bound together.

Use a 1.5 tablespoon scoop to mound cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes until they feel firm to the touch and have browned slightly. Allow the cookies to cool completely and firm up before attempting to remove them from the baking sheet. Eat away. This cookie could be adapted in an infinite number of ways- pumpkin seeds or mini chocolate chips would be welcome additions- just be sure to use 1.5 cups of fillings for 1 egg white. Let me know where your creativity takes you!

Shopping list:

• Sliced almonds- 1 cup
• Coconut flakes- 1/2 cup
• Egg white- 1, large
• Salt- 1 pinch
• Sugar- 1/4 cup