Cookies

It’s hard to deal with a holiday season without cookies.  Everybody has a particular traditional holiday cookie, usually some cut-out and decorated cookies.  So, like the birthday cake recipe, I view this as one of my go-to recipes for a good time.  They’re not the same as cookies made with flour, but they’re delicious.  Made with almond flour, the cookies are more delicate (read: crumbly) than flour cookies.  They also don’t brown the same way as flour cookies.  This particular recipe uses sugar.  It’s only a small amount of sugar, but it’s there.  The process of “creaming” the soft butter and sugar together in the first step really makes a difference; creaming adds air into the dough by having the sugar pulverize the butter, making the final cookies lighter.  Not quite “fluffy,” but close.

  

Just remember, these are still dessert, even though they’re not made with wheat flour.  They’re great for the occasional treat, but don’t eat the whole batch by yourself!

 

Plain Almond Cookies

1/2 cup room temperature butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups almond flour

Parchment paper or silicone baking mat

Optional:

(For cut-out cookies) Additional almond flour as needed for rolling pin and cutting surface

(For chocolate chip cookies) 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

(for thumbprint cookies) low-sugar jam

Makes about 36 cookies.

 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Mixture should lighten in color and increase in size as air is incorporated.

Add egg, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and vanilla to bowl and mix to combine.

Slowly add the almond flour and mix until well combined.

Scoop onto a large piece of plastic wrap.  Flatten into a thick patty and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.  (Refrigeration is optional for all but the cut-out cookies, but it is recommended.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Almond flour cookies are notorious for sticking.

Break off small pieces of dough, roll into balls and flatten to about 1/4” thick (thinner for crisper cookies).  Place cookies on baking sheet about 1/2” apart.  (Cookies will expand slightly during baking.)

Bake cookies for 12-17 minutes.  Cookies will not brown much and will be kind of soft until cooled.

Let cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.  The cookies are very delicate just out of the oven and will crumble if taken off the pan immediately.

 

For cut-out cookies:

Divide dough into two pieces.  Keep one in the fridge until needed.  Flour both sides of the dough with almond flour.  Lightly flour counter top or wooden pastry board.  Roll out to a thickness of 1/4 " using additional almond flour as needed.  Cut dough with cookie cutters that have been dipped in the almond flour. Move the cookies carefully to a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Place cookies 1/2" apart. Gather dough scraps into a ball and re-roll.  When the dough gets too sticky and warm to work with, return to refrigerator until cold again.

Bake as for plain cookies.

 

For chocolate chip cookies:

Follow plain cookie directions until all the almond flour has been incorporated.  Mix in the 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips.  Follow the rest of the instructions for chilling and baking.

 

For thumbprint cookies:

Make, chill, and form cookies as for the plain cookies.  Place a tsp or so of low-sugar jam in the center of the raw cookies.  Spread the jam gently to avoid a large lump of jam.  Bake and cool as for plain cookies.

 

Linzertorte is an Austrian dessert that I love, made from walnut flour and accented with raspberry jam.  The torte uses flour and can be hard to make, but these cookies taste nearly the same and are easy to create.  They’re great if you love walnuts too.

Linzer Cookies

1/2 cup very soft butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups walnut flour

1 cup almond flour

Raspberry jam

 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Mixture should lighten in color and increase in size as air is incorporated.

Add egg, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and vanilla to bowl and mix to combine.

Slowly add the walnut and almond flour and mix until well combined.

Scoop onto a large piece of plastic wrap.  Flatten into a thick patty and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.  (Refrigeration is optional, but it is recommended.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Almond flour cookies are notorious for sticking.

Break off small pieces of dough, roll into balls and flatten to about 1/4” thick (thinner for crisper cookies).  Place cookies on baking sheet about 1/2” apart.  (Cookies will expand slightly during baking.)

Place a tsp or so of raspberry jam in the center of the raw cookies.  Spread the jam gently to avoid a large lump.

Bake cookies for 12-17 minutes.  Cookies will not brown much and will be kind of soft until cooled.

Let cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.  The cookies are very delicate just out of the oven and will crumble if taken off the pan immediately.