Almond Joy Cookies

I love chocolate, I love candy bars, and I love cookies! But, most of all I love easy to make cookies hot out of the oven.

I admit that I am really pretty lazy when it comes to baking. I don't get that trait from my mom. I remember her bustling around in her apron mixing and sifting. I am a child of the 50s so a lot of what we take for granted these days in terms of ease of baking simply did not exist as yet.

Flour and sugar had to be sifted together along with baking soda and baking powder and handheld mixers just weren't what they are today. The beaters kept getting gunked up and had to be cleaned out often during a mixing process. My mom was a baking trooper. She fought her way through cakes and cookies and even fresh baked bread.

I tend to be more about grabbing a package of cake mix or frozen pre-made cookies that just have to be shoved in the oven for a few minutes. However, occasionally I do come across a recipe that fits into my laziness and yet appears to be something that I might have slaved over for hours. I like that idea a lot actually. These almond joy cookies fit the bill perfectly.

They only have 4 ingredients, prep time is only about 5 minutes, and cook time is only 12 minutes. That makes the total time under 20 minutes. And that meets my criteria for lazy baking standards. And, as an added bonus, there is no mixer required!

The greatest news of all is that I can totally convince myself that these cookies are really good for you because they truly are.

A medium sized coconut is a complete food loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Almonds are higher than any other nut in protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin E, riboflavin, and niacin. Plus they are gluten free.

And even the condensed milk, other than being high in calories—which I can totally overlook—is high in calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin A.

So, what's not to love!

However, I only make these cookies to share at holiday events. They are so good that I can easily justify eating all of them in one sitting.

I have also warmed these up for a few seconds in the microwave, crumbled them into small pieces, and added them as a topping to a bowl of vanilla ice cream. YUM!

You can also spray a small rectangular pan with coconut cooking spray, add the ingredients, and cook at the same temperature and same time. Who doesn't like cookie bars?

Another good thing about this recipe is that you can also use finely chopped almonds. I love almonds, but I have dentures and nuts are not always easy for me to chew.

This particular recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies.

You will need:

• 1-14 ounce bag of sweetened coconut flakes
• 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup chopped, lightly salted almonds
• 1-14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (regular or fat-free)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line a large backing sheet with parchment paper. Be sure to use parchment paper and not foil or other wrap. It does make a difference to the recipe.
3. In a large bowl, combine the coconut, chocolate chips, almond, and condensed milk.
4. Stir until combined.
5. Drop dough onto the baking sheet using either a large tablespoon or a cookie scoop.
6. Making sure to moisten the tips of your fingers with a little water, flatten out your cookie dough mounds. Just make sure that you don't over flatten your cookies to be. Basically you are just gently making them into discs.
7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes or until the tips of the coconut are beginning to turn golden brown.
8. Let the cookies cool until just slightly warm and enjoy!