Almond Cookies – Perks of Messing Up in the Kitchen

I REALLY LOVE raw almond butter. I smother it on my toast every single morning. I eat it with my banana. I smear some on my chocolate bars. I put a dollop on my pastries. I even put it in my Korean cooking sauces to make them taste richer. I put it on/in almost everything. So I try making it at home whenever I get a chance. Throw some almonds in the food processor. And voilà! Usually it turns out great. Usually.

Yesterday, I wanted to make my almond butter a bit sweeter. Instead of putting in honey or sugar, I had the brilliant(!?) idea of sweetening it with raisins. But alas. There is a natural order to things. I should have waited until the almonds were processed before putting in the raisins. But I threw everything in at the same time. (Note to self: Learn Patience.) The result? Consistency of brown sugar. Put in a bit of almond milk hoping it would fix it. Nope. Made it worse. Processed it more. Nope. Only got greasier.

I was NOT happy. Raw almonds are expensive. And that mixture was not going in the trash. So I decided to turn it into cookies – traditional almond cookies AND almond thumbprint cookies with fig jam. I wanted to make gluten-free cookies that are healthy and hearty enough to have for breakfast. Instead of sugar, I used raisins and agave nectar to sweeten the cookies. And I added flax meal to add a bit more substance/bulk. The taste was reminiscent of a classic Korean confectionery called yakgwa. And it was perfect with my morning cup of coffee. I can’t wait to have some tonight with a cold glass of almond milk!

Gluten-Free Almond Cookies
Makes 33 cookies using a 1 1/2 TB cookie scoop
Ingredients
3/4 TB brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour/starch
3 TB flax meal (finely ground)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 egg
2 TB Earth Balance or other non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (softened)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup raisins
1 TB almond/soy/rice milk (+ more if necessary)
12oz. almonds (a bag of Trader Joe’s raw almonds were used for this recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Add almonds, raisins, and 1 TB of almond milk into a processor and process until they form a “ball.”

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: brown rice flour, tapioca flour/starch, flax meal, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
In another bowl, beat together the wet ingredients: egg, agave nectar, Earth Balance, canola oil, and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. To the mixture, add the processed almonds and raisins.
Using a rubber spatula or, preferably, gloved hands, blend/work well until a dough is formed. If the dough feels too dry, you can add some almond/soy milk 1 tsp at a time until you get the desired consistency (think soft play-doh).

Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop or a measuring spoon, drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Alternatively, you can measure out the dough and form a ball. Flatten the cookies with a fork, creating a crisscross pattern. (Note: wet the fork with water or oil before making the pattern on each cookie to prevent the fork from sticking to the dough.)

Place the baking sheet on the middle and/or upper middle rack. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Let it cool for a couple of minutes on the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let the cookies cool completely. Serve with a cup of hot coffee or a glass of cold almond milk.

Gluten-Free Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Fig Jam
Ingredients
same as almond cookies above PLUS a jar of fig jam

Follow the directions for Almond Cookies above – up to step 6
Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop or a measuring spoon, drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Make a small indentation on each cookie using your thumb. Drop 1/4 tsp of fig jam into the indentation.
Place the baking sheet on the middle or the upper middle rack. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Serve with a cup of hot coffee or a glass of cold almond milk.