Cookies

Almond Butter Cookies

October 8, 2012

Well, it happened. Autumn came and with it some beautiful sunny, warm days full of orange, yellow, and bright red leaves. And then all of a sudden it was too cold for my thin trench and a scarf was appreciated. The radiators came on at home and I started wearing thick socks around the house (not long til this).

And just like that, I was ready to get back in the kitchen, ready to feel the heat from the oven and to pad around in those thick socks waiting for something sweet to have with a cup of tea.

The texture of these cookies is light as a feather – almost papery – but the flavour is all cookie. Deep almond, richly dark sugar, a hint of vanilla, and chunks of intense cocoa-y chocolate.

Certainly you shouldn’t really think of them as cookies, at least not if you’re used to the floury kind. They’re incredibly delicate – beware of heavy, grabby hands – and yes, crumbly, but their rich, deep taste pays off in spades. They’re quite addictive, in fact.

Almond Butter Cookies
adapted from Nicole Spiridakis and inspired by London Bakes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup organic dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 small egg
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Small pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F/150C.
  2. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat (or grease) and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, stir the almond butter, dark brown sugar, and white sugar together until well combined.
  4. Add egg, baking soda, maple syrup, vanilla and salt and mix well. Stir in the chopped almonds and chocolate chips/chunks.
  5. Using a teaspoon, scoop out small, walnut-sized amounts of dough and roll them in your hands to form a ball. Place on the cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about a dozen cookies.

Almond Cookies

September 5, 2012

In Morocco, desserts are not a strictly after-dinner affair – instead seasonal fruits rather than cooked desserts are usually served at the close of a meal. According to Moroccan chef Mourad Lahlou, baked goods are more often reserved for a late afternoon treat to be enjoyed with rounds of tea.

The typical offerings appear to be variations on a theme: almonds, honey, dates, and flaky pastry.

One glance at this recipe for almond cookies and I knew I had to make them to share over on the Caravanserai blog. They’re a one-bite affair—soft, light, and oh-so sweet—perfect with after-dinner coffee or late afternoon tea.

The almond flavour is intense, coming from three sources: almond extract, almond paste, and whole almonds, ground together with a handful of other ingredients to create these sweet, multi-textured spheres. A hint of salt rounds out the flavours, making this cookie a great introduction to simple Moroccan desserts.

Get the recipe on the Caravanserai blog.

Crispy, salted chocolate cookies with a thick smear of Nutella sandwiched between them. I don’t mind if I do.

Do you bake? Some of you must as I’m sure you come here to look at recipes but others of you might just like pretty pictures of food (one of the biggest reasons I enjoy looking at food blogs). If you like to bake then maybe you understand me when I say that baking soothes my soul. If I have something on my mind or feel stressed out, then baking some simple cookies or quick bread lets me breathe.

Something about the familiar motions of creaming butter and sugar with a wooden spoon and sieving flour comforts me. The predictability of combining certain ingredients in a particular way and knowing what the outcome will be helps my mind wander through whatever is bothering it. It’s really a wonderful thing.

These got the thumbs up from my co-workers who got treated to them though I will say that you shouldn’t be shy with the Nutella. I was fairly conservative and but you really want a good, thick smear.

Salted Chocolate Nutella Cookies
adapted from The Faux Martha and my post on Homemade Oreo Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp Nutella
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room-temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • Coarse salt

For the filling

  • Up to one 13oz jar of Nutella

Directions

  1. Set rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
  2. In a bowl sieve and whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Cream together butter, Nutella, and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg.
  4. Slowly add in the flour mixture until evenly incorporated; the dough should come together in a mass.
  5. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of each one. Bake for 9-11 minutes; the cookies will spread significantly while baking. Set baking sheet on a rack to cool.
  6. Spread Nutella onto cooled cookies with a butter knife. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top, sandwiching the Nutella in the middle. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Sprinkle with more sea salt, if desired. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with Nutella. Chomp. Makes about 15 sandwich cookies (or about 30 plain cookies).