The holiday season is a dangerous time for me. When confronted with a tray of sweets, I’ve been known to channel Cookie Monster (“C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me!”). Those overly processed, sugary treats are addictive, and I quickly learned that I would need a healthier alternative to stave off the cookie massacre.
Everyone can use a recipe for those times we crave a treat without spiking our blood sugar levels. I find when I bake with higher protein flours, less sugar and minimally processed ingredients, I am more satisfied with just a couple cookies rather than the whole tray. These almond flour cookies are a healthy, simplified version of the traditional Chinese dessert, sweetened with just enough honey and almond extract to make the taste buds tingle. This dough is easy to work with and doesn’t contain raw eggs, so lick the that spoon guilt-free. For holiday flair, replace the vanilla and almond extracts with peppermint extract and swap whole almonds with crushed peppermint candies.
Healthy Chinese Almond Cookies Makes 18 to 20
¼ cup extra-virgin coconut oil, melted
? cup raw honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1? cups (135 g.) almond flour*
2 Tbsp. (15 g.) coconut flour
¼ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. baking soda
18 to 20 whole raw almonds
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract and almond extract until well combined. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking soda and stir until a firm dough comes together. It should be able to roll into a ball. If not, refrigerate up to 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough into 18 to 20 1-inch balls and place them on a baking sheet 1 inch apart. Press 1 almond into the center of each cookie. Bake 10 minutes, until edges start to lightly brown. Let the cookies cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
*I advise weighing any nut flours to prevent inaccurate measurements.
This article appears in November 2014.