A cookie recipe, and the why and wherefore of sweets

Triple Almond Cookies

Triple almond cookies, October 2013

Since eating according to the Whole30 guidelines this past January, I now have sweets only very seldom and refined sugar almost never. (Full disclosure: I did enjoy traditional cake and frosting on my birthday and on my grandson’s second birthday.) In spite of having been a sugarholic all my life, to my surprise I was able to break the habit. I’m experiencing health benefits, and I don’t feel deprived in the least.

But a celebration calls for something sweet to help make it festive. So in planning treats to serve at an upcoming event, I’ve been testing recipes that use just enough natural sweetener.  These chewy, delicately flavored triple almond cookies with almond flour, almond extract or flavoring, and a whole almond on top were inspired by Everyday Maven. They’re sweetened with a small amount of maple syrup and are gluten- and egg-free.

For the almonds that top each cookie, plain whole almonds are too hard in contrast to this soft, chewy cookie. Sprouted or soaked and dehydrated almonds are easy to bite into, and their light crispiness is a delightful surprise. You can purchase sprouted almonds, but they’re expensive. Alternatively, you can easily soak and dehydrate them yourself.

For the almond flavoring, I used Frontier Natural Products alcohol-free almond flavoring, but almond extract may be used.

Triple Almond Cookies
4.8 from 6 reviews
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Cuisine: Dessert
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 14
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (gluten-free, if necessary)
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or almond flavoring
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 12 to 15 whole almonds; sprouted or soaked and dehydrated
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix well, breaking up any lumps.
  3. In a small bowl, place coconut oil, vanilla, almond extract or flavoring, and maple syrup. Whisk until well combined.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined.
  5. Roll level-tablespoon-sized (using a measuring spoon) portions of dough into balls and place on baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the heel of your hand and press one almond into the center of each cookie.
  6. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
  7. Store in an airtight container. Can be frozen.
Serving size: 1 cookie. Calories: 98; Fat: 7g; Saturated fat: 2g; Carbohydrates: 6g; Sugar: 4g; Sodium: 65mg; Fiber: 1g; Protein: 2g; Cholesterol: 0mg.

 

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35 Responses to “A cookie recipe, and the why and wherefore of sweets”

  1. Maren says:

    Hello Eileen!

    These cookies look so delicious! I love almond cookies.
    I was just curious if it would work to put a maraschino cherry on top in place of the almond?
    I have some great, organic, maraschino cherries that aren’t full of all the bad red dye that I thought about using in place of the almond, do you think it would work? Will they stick to the cookie?

    Please let me know soon if you can, I will be making these soon!
    thank you!

    • From what I can tell, the cherries should work just fine. I just looked at a sugar cookie recipe on Pinterest that had maraschino cherries on top, and those baked at 375, higher than these cookies. I would press the cherries into the cookies well to help them stick. Enjoy, and I hope this works for you!

  2. […] Triple Almond Cookies: I’m obsessed with anything almond flavored. Ditch the croissants and try these! […]

  3. […] 14. Triple Almond Cookies Got almonds? These cookies will use them up in a hurry because each cookie is adorned with an almond. But there are also two other forms of almonds being used, one is the almond flour that replaces all-purpose flour, and the other is almond extract, which will infuse these cookies with a strong almond taste just to make sure. There’s pure maple syrup used, which will make sure that these are sweet as well as nutty. The use of coconut oil means they’ll have a nice buttery flavor to them, and that you’ll be getting healthy fat. Coconut oil is one of the Paleo oils you should be using instead of vegetable oil or canola oil. […]

  4. Jaye says:

    These smell so good coming out of the oven! A great quick’n easy sweet tooth fix.

  5. Malavika says:

    Hi Eileen,

    Can honey be substituted for the maple syrup? Thanks!

    • Hi Malavika, I haven’t tried using honey, but it will probably work. If you try it, I would love to know how your cookies turn out. Thanks for stopping by!

      • Malavika says:

        honey worked really well! i accidentally added too much salt to my batter, so the cookies tasted more biscuit like (american type of biscuits) but they were still delicious! i slightly overbaked them so the bottoms were extra browned, but my boyfriend and i still polished off the whole lot in one sitting! they weren’t quite SWEET although the sweetness was present, and i’m not sure if this is because i used honey or because i added too much salt so the sweetness was drowned out. the texture was a little dry, also contributing to the biscuity taste/texture, so i think next time i will probably add about a teaspoon more of coconut oil. maple syrup has 0.1 gram of fat per tablespoon while honey has no fat, so i think when using honey one must made a small compensation of fat as well.

  6. Chuck says:

    Can an unrefined sugar be substituted for the maple syrup? If so how much?

  7. Jude says:

    Hi Eileen,
    Just made a batch of these great sounding biscuits (don’t call them cookies here in Australia) they look and smell fabulous. I only got 10 rather large biscuits…..I think our tablespoon measure is a tad bigger than yours, 20ml as apposed to 15, but who cares…….yummmmm. They look like yours, only bigger lol. Will definitely make them again.

    • Thanks Jude, I’m glad they turned out! Maybe someday everyone will use the same units. 🙂

    • Tammy says:

      Hey Eileen & Jude, that makes sense. I just made a double batch for non-traditional Greek Easter treats & only got 24 instead of 28, even after being so pedantic with my measurements. They smell sooooo delicious. Can’t wait to try them. Thanks for sharing your recipe Eileen 😍

  8. Allison says:

    My husband is an almond fanatic, and I made 2 batches of these lovely cookies after drinking a bottle of pinot noir. I’m pretty sure I followed the recipe 100% and they turned out perfectly! Thank you for such great cookies! They’re amazing, easy to make, and they’re complex.

    • ebaran says:

      LOL Allison, I’m glad the cookies turned out, in spite of possible impairment. I can no longer tolerate more than a few ounces at a time, but I remember how in bygone days a glass or two could sure make cooking (and even clean-up) extra fun.

  9. Shelly says:

    I’m not sure what I could have possibly done wrong. I followed the entire recipe to the T. The “batter” if you can call it that came out so dry I had no choice but crack a couple eggs in it so I could form them into something. After baking them my boyfriend tried one and referred to the texute as the worse than the cinnamon challenge.

    They tasted delicious so what did I do wrong?

    • ebaran says:

      Hi Shelly,

      I’m so sorry that the recipe didn’t work well for you! It’s \puzzling, because I’ve made multiple, multiple batches of these cookies and they’ve always turned out fine.

      Per the recipe I use one and one-half cups of almond flour per batch. I use Honeyville brand blanched almond flour, and I don’t pack it tightly into the measuring cup–just fill the cup loosely and level it off. I suppose it’s possible that almond flours vary in moisture content.

      The dough shouldn’t be sticky-wet, but in my experience it hasn’t been dry either. As you can see from the picture, the surfaces of the cookies “crack” during baking, but they’re still slightly moist when done.

      I’m glad that you were able to rescue the batch and that you enjoyed the cookies.

      Thanks for stopping by, and for trying the recipe!

      Best,
      –Eileen

  10. […] 16. Triple Almond Cookies […]

  11. […] 28. Triple Almond Cookies Almond cookies are made in a certain way that is exclusive to almond cookies, and wouldn’t fly with any other cookie. They’re dry and one dimensional, just almond almond almond the whole way. And that’s what we’re finding here with these almond cookies, which have a whole almond planted right on top. There’s also almond flour used instead of general purpose flour, and almond extract just in case you weren’t getting enough almond flavor from the whole almond and the almond flour. If you love almond cookies you’re sure to love these. […]

    • Eileen Beran says:

      Dear PaleoGrubs,

      I appreciate that you included my recipe post of Triple Almond Cookies in your listing of paleo desserts. Your lineups of paleo recipes are comprehensive and inspiring.

      May I respectfully submit to you that these cookies, in spite of their crackled appearance, are surprisingly chewy, not dry? People who have eaten them have remarked about this. In addition, the different attributes of the forms of almonds (flour, flavoring, crispy soaked almond on top), plus the addition of vanilla makes them anything but one-dimensional!

      With regard to how these cookies are made, it doesn’t differ significantly from traditional wheat flour cookies. As with any baking, you just need to follow the recipe.

      All the best in your endeavors!


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