Dear Santa,
For Christmas this year I would love to eat cookies that don't give me a tummy ache afterwards. I want them to taste as good as the ones that are laden with sugar and flour and all the things that give me days of regret. I think I deserve some darn good cookies. After all, I have been a good girl.
Santa, do you have a recipe for a cookie that is so good that I could even give it, as a gift, to my friends and neighbors who don't eat paleo? So good that they won't even notice it is gluten and dairy free? Please send me the recipe for the perfect Paleo Christmas cookie. I promise I'll bake them for you when you come down my chimney. Don't expect a glass of milk, though. Maybe coconut milk.
Love, Brittanie
Guess what!? Santa came early! He sent me this recipe for Paleo Amaretti Cookies. They are kind of like a macaroon with that yummy almond flavor. Believe it or not, these cookies are actually crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. If you have ever tried baking something paleo, you know that this is very hard to accomplish. I hope you enjoy these cookies and serve them to your friends and family this year!
Paleo Amaretti Cookies
makes 2-3 dozen
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
pinch cream of tarter
Pulse almond flour and salt in a food processor a few times to separate clumps and lighten it up. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, maple syrup and almond extract. Stir in the almond flour. Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tarter until stiff peaks form. Gently stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the almond mixture. Very gently fold the remaining egg whites into the mixture, making sure the batter does not deflate. Chill the batter in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. After the batter has cooled, preheat the oven to 325ยบ and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1 ounce ice cream scoop, drop little mounds of batter evenly on the cookie sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cookies start to turn golden and crispy. Don't underbake or they won't have that crunchy outside and chewy middle. They will continue to crisp up a little after they are removed from the oven. To serve, leave two or three on a plate near the fireplace on Christmas eve. Don't forget the carrot sticks for the reindeer!
I don't usually include the nutritional information on my recipes, but one of my facebook followers, Cara, was so nice enough to go ahead and calculate it for these! How awesome! Now Santa can track his carbs!
"These look great....for your LC readers, the numbers if the recipe makes 2 doz is 80 cals, 5.5 net carbs per cookie and if it makes 3 dozen it is 53 cals, and 4.4 net carbs per cookie!"
These turned out great, but I put them in a sealed container and they lost their crispiness and became very sticky. Any suggestions on storage?
ReplyDeleteI'd try to store them the same way that traditional Italian amaretti cookies are stored (which are also gluten free by the way). After they are totally cool, wrap them (in back-to-back pairs) in thin paper - somewhat like waxy tissue wrap, twisting the ends like candy wrappers. Then store them in a metal canister or other non-airtight canister.
ReplyDeleteTrue amaretti cookies are made with sugar, sweet apricot kernels (I suppose you could substitute almond), egg white.