TRIPLE ALMOND COOKIES

 
If we’re honest, we’ll all admit to having fears.  One of mine was of almond butter.  I know it sounds silly, but every time I thought of trying it, I cringed at the thought of wasting almost $8 because I might not like it.  But, when I decided to conquer my fear, I discovered it was unfounded.  Almond butter rocks!  Right out of the jar, it’s wonderful.  But in these cookies, it’s even better.   


Now I must tell you that I’m not a big fan of thin cookies.  These cookies are not totally flat, but they are on the thin side.  And I love them.  They’re very crispy on the outside and soft and chewy inside if you underbake them slightly.  If you bake them longer, they’ll be crispy all the way through.  Either way, these are top-notch treats with a nice almond flavor (not too almondy, just right) and great texture.  The flavor of the almond butter gets bumped up with almond extract and chopped salted almonds or Dove Promise Hearts (dark chocolate almond).  If you make the cookies with the salted almonds, you’ll get slightly more almond flavor.  With the Dove Hearts, slightly less, but you’ll still taste almond.  And, though it’s not absolutely necessary, I recommend chilling the dough for 30 minutes to an hour before baking. 

If you’re like I was – fearful of almond butter – go ahead out and buy a jar and make these cookies.  You’ll be a regular customer, I promise you that. 

OR, make your own almond butter:  Put 1 cup or more almonds (whole, slivered, sliced or salted) in the work bowl of a food processor.  Pulse till it becomes a paste.  Measure out the required amount for your recipe and eat the rest like peanut butter.  So good!

Triple Almond Cookies Source:  Judy’s Kitchen Rating:  10 out of 10 PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:  3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour +1/2 cup bread flour (or just use 1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, if desired) 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/8  tsp. sea salt 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup creamy almond butter, room temperature (I used Maranatha brand)  1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 large egg 3/4 tsp. almond extract 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract 2/3 cup chopped salted almonds OR 1 cup Dove Promise Hearts (dark chocolate almond), chopped In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In large bowl, whisk  butter and almond butter till well combined.    Whisk  in sugar gradually.    Whisk in egg and extracts, beating well.   Switch to a spoon or spatula and stir in flour mixture. Stir in chopped salted almonds OR chopped Dove Hearts (they have almond chunks inside).    Refrigerate dough 30 minutes to 1 hour.  If you're really rushed, go ahead and bake them without chilling. When ready to bake cookies, heat oven to 350F.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup or ice cream scoop, drop mounds of dough onto prepared pan, spacing each 3” to 4” apart, as they will spread.    You can slightly push the mounds down with your fingers if you want, or leave them as is.  Bake 15-18 minutes.  To underbake, test with toothpick.  When it returns with some moist dough, remove cookies from oven and cool in pans about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Cookies will not look or feel done, but they will continue to cook when they are out of the oven.  Yield:  12 (4-1/2” to 5”) cookies.