Easy Almond Cookies Recipe

This is the easiest almond cookie recipe ever. And I bet you could use an easy cookie recipe about now. It requires only a few ingredients and you prepare the dough in the food processor so making them takes maybe 10 minutes and there's barely any clean up. They are a variation of almond macaroons, rich and chewy with just a little crunch from the almond on top. The secret is a hint of almond extract, and to really processing the ingredients until they make a very easy to work with dough.

I was recently sent some almonds from the Almond Board and I was looking for a good way to use them. There are lots of similar recipes to this one, but the comments on Epicurious led me to make a crucial change in the recipe. I cut the sugar in half. I also made slightly larger cookies than the recipe calls for and skipped dusting them in confectioners sugar. It might seem odd to add almond extract to almond cookies, but without it they can be a little bland. Because they are such dense little bites, they won't crumble making them good for travel or shipping. They are gluten free and have no added oil or butter.

While no one eats cookies for health purposes, these are pretty healthy. Lots of research has been done on almonds and they are a true nutritional powerhouse very high in manganese, vitamin E and magnesium and eating them lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attack. So eat them in good health!

Easy Almond Cookies
Makes 14 cookies, but recipe can easily be multiplied
adapted from a recipe published in Gourmet magazine, 1997

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds, whole or slivered
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
14 whole almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor combine the almonds, sugar and salt. Process until very finely ground. Add the egg white and almond extract and pulse until the dough comes together. Roll the dough into 14 evenly sized balls, and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press one almond into the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to show a hint of gold. Let cookies cool on the pan, then transfer to an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Banana Nut Oat Muffins Recipe

These Banana Nut Oat muffins are some of the best muffins I've ever made.I got out of the habit of baking when my stove was replaced. I use my bread machine and my Breville Smart Oven but it's too small for many things. Fortunately I have a muffin pan that makes 6 muffins that fits in it perfectly. And you know what? Making 6 muffins is much better than making a dozen! 

Muffins, like cupcakes are really good when they're fresh, but they get dry and stale quickly. So making smaller batches more frequently makes good sense. These muffins use lots of healthy ingredients like oatmeal, oat bran, bananas, walnuts and a little bit of olive oil so you can feel good about eating them. I used extra virgin olive oil because it's what I have on hand but you could use any olive oil you like. Olive oil is great for baking, especially in muffins and quick breads. The muffins are moist, with a little crunch from the nuts, a little chew from the oats, and have that buttery texture that comes from using bran, perfect to take when you're running out the door.

I adapted this recipe adding oat bran, increasing the amount of nuts and swapping out olive oil for melted butter but I'm not sure where the original recipe came from. It might seem like a lot of ingredients, but it comes together very quickly. The reason I used rolled oats, oat bran, bananas and walnuts is because they all contain magnesium. Many people are deficient in magnesium, over half the population in California according USDA research. But the combination is also really delicious, even if you don't need more magnesium in your diet. Just about everyone (unless those with nut allergies) can benefit from more nuts in their diet. Walnuts in particular have amazing heart healthy benefits.

Do you have a favorite walnut recipe? You could win fabulous prizes if your family recipe is chosen in the Gift of Gather contest. 

Banana Nut Oat Muffins

Makes 6 large muffins

Ingredients

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup oat bran

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup mashed very ripe bananas (the skins should be brown)

1 egg

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, oat bran, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, eggs, oil and vanilla. Add the banana mixture and walnuts to the flour mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix. 

Spoon batter into a well greased or paper-lined muffin pan (grese the top of the pan to make removing the muffins easier). Bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and let cool completely or better yet, eat warm.

Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Cookies Recipe

The drinks and dishes I tried on my trip to Avery Island inspired me to think about Tabasco in new ways. Of course you can use it in things like in guacamole or in a bloody mary, but how about something unexpected, for example, cookies?

I made François Payard Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies twice during Passover this year and they were gobbled up so quickly that I didn't even get to snap a photo. After following the recipe closely, I decided to put my own twist on it. The cookies are mostly powdered sugar, cocoa powder and egg whites. They are crisp and crackly on the outside but moist and fudgy, almost like brownies on the inside. But perhaps not surprisingly, they are a bit sweet.

To temper the sweetness I added Tabasco and cacao nibs. The Tabasco gives just a hint of heat in the background. You'll barely notice it, but it definitely takes these cookies to the next level. While the toasted walnuts add crunch and a contrasting bitterness, unsweetened cacao nibs help to balance the sweetness even more. Though I wouldn't call these cookies spicy, they do remind me of hot chocolate. The original recipes calls for Dutch process cocoa, but I tested it with natural cocoa (Hershey's and Valrhona) and it worked fine. I make the cookies smaller than Payard does because I'd rather have two cookies than one, but feel free to make them whatever size you like best. You can also make a half batch.

Hot Chocolate Cookies (adapted from François Payard)
makes about 40

Ingredients

2 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural)

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

2/3 cup cacao nibs


Instructions

Preheat oven to 320 degrees. Chop the walnut roughly, place on a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7-10 minutes, just until they are golden and fragrant. Let walnuts cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt. Add the egg whites, vanilla and Tabasco and stir just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat). Fold in the walnuts and cacao nibs using a spatula. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of batter onto the baking sheets (or make them as large as a tablespoon if you prefer) and bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked. Let cookies cool then peel off the parchment paper.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I created this recipe on behalf of Tabasco and I was compensated for it. The choice to post it here, was my own.