These Almond Cookies Are So Much Better

These Honey Almond Flower Cookies turned out so much better! But they could have tasted a little bit more like almonds - gotta keep looking for the perfect Almond Cookie Recipe!

These look like my kind of cookie...

Courtesy of hotpolkadot.com

Honey Almond Flower Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp honey
2 tsp almond extract
3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Slivered almonds for garnish
1 egg yolk for egg wash
1 tsp water for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper then set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light a fluffy. Add the egg, honey and almond extract then beat it until it's combined well.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt then add it to the butter mixture and mix it well.

Scoop a heaping tbsp of dough for each cookie and roll them into balls. Lightly compress the balls into thick discs between your palms. Carefully press five of the slivered almonds into each cookie in a flower arrangement. Whisk together the egg yolk and water then, using a pastry brush, coat the tops of each cookie in the egg wash making sure not to knock off the almonds. This will make the cookies shiny, golden brown and act as an almond flower glue to hold the garnish.

Bake them for 10 minutes until they turn a light amber brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

The Last Two Didn't Burn... but the other 18 Almond Cookies weren't so lucky...

The Two that Didn't Burn

Fluffy, Chewy, Sweet, Almondiness with Burnt edges is how I would describe these cookies from AllRecipes. I was so excited to use my new almond paste, I just picked the first recipe with good reviews that I had all the ingredients for. What I realized afterwards? This cookie is basically just sugar, flour and egg whites! I think there needs to be a little more substance!

I tried to improve with each batch, and the last batch was definitely the best. The first one I left in for exactly 15 minutes and they all were burnt and stuck to each other. I used Pam spray to coat the baking sheet, and sometimes I think Pam seeps into the edges and cooks them faster, so I decided to use butter in the next batches. 

The First Batch

The second batch, I used a stick of butter to lightly grease the baking sheet and I made much smaller cookies. I was sitting by the oven, checking on them every minute and some how, they still ended up crispy. They were still tasty, and they came up off the baking sheet much easier, but still I was not satisfied!

The Second Batch

The third batch was only three cookies because that was the only batter I had left. I was so determined not to burn these cookies, that when one cookie started browning, I just pulled them out. One of the reviewers suggested using parchment paper, which I bet would have helped with the crisp edges. They also said to chill the dough in the fridge for twenty minutes and use an ice cream scoop. But for now, I'm going to try almond cookies with some more substance.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients

1/2 pound almond paste

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 egg whites

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the almond paste, flour, egg whites, white sugar and confectioner's sugar until well blended. The mixture will be very sticky. Scoop out rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough and drop them onto the cookie sheet. Place 2 inches apart.

Questionably Cajun

I spent last week in Ocean City, MD and after eating out for three days in a row, I was actually craving vegetables. The result? A combination of Paula Deen's Dirty Rice, a Dirty Rice recipe from AllRecipes, and the Sausage Jambalaya recipe on the back of Uncle Ben's Parboiled Rice. I took onion, celery and bell peppers from Paula Deen, kidney beans from AllRecipes and garlic, Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth and Andouille sausage from Uncle Ben. 

Cajun Rice a la Ocean City

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 can dark red kidney beans

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

4 pack of precooked Cajun Andouille sausage, sliced

Bouillon cube (Recommended: Edward & Sons Not Chick'n) 

Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 cups white rice

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Boil 3 1/3 cups of water, drop in 1 bouillon cube and allow to melt, pour in rice

2. Sauté onion, celery, and bell pepper, flavoring with Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to taste

3. Stir continuously, adding more sauce as it cooks

4. When the onions are browned, heat up the beans and sausage with the other vegetables

5. When the sausage is heated through, serve vegetable mixture on top of the white rice

The Tofu Experiment

I finally got up the courage to try making tofu the other day. I used what they call the dry method. You chop the tofu into small cubes, pat them down with a paper towel and fry them in a non-stick skillet with no oil until the sides are golden.While they are browning, press them down with a spatula to steam out the water. Then marinate for 30 minutes or more. 

We used a Balducci's Thai Marinade. I am going to have to experiment with marinades because the one I used was a little salty. 

After marinating, we stir-fried the tofu with olive oil and mushrooms. I cooked the scallions, carrots, snow peas and bell peppers separately and added them in later.

Deliciousness complete! I'm going to test out different marinades this week and see which ones are best :)

Before & After at the Boston Chowda Bowl

From Quincy Market:

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

"Health" Food

I have been working at a hospital and helping them run a Wellness Program all summer. Each week we send out recipe ideas and workout tips in a newsletter to the participants. Each week I promise I will try the recipe before hand to make sure I am not going to discourage people from eating vegetables or trying a new food. And each week, I fail to do it.

Well, this week the recipe is not a vegetable or a new way to bake chicken, but muffins. Muffins I can do. I have no problem finding the motivation to bake up a batch of Fig Muffins. Especially because there is a valuable lesson in recipe substitutions to be learned. And the added bonus? The recipe was written by a Registered Dietitian! Check out Ellie Krieger on the Food Network if you get a chance - she is the real deal.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped dried figs, plus 3 whole dried figs
• 1 1/2 cups bran cereal (recommended: All-Bran)
• 1 cup lowfat milk
• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup natural applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-capacity muffin pan with cooking spray. Thinly slice the whole figs.

In a large bowl, combine the cereal and milk. Let sit until softened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the whole-wheat flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.

Add the applesauce, honey, oil, molasses, and egg to the cereal mixture and stir until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently stir in the chopped figs. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and top each muffin with a fig slice. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. If necessary, run a knife around the muffins to loosen. Unmold and cool completely on a rack.

Note: Make a batch of these muffins on the weekend, then wrap them individually in waxed paper and freeze them in a sealable plastic bag. When you want a muffin all you have to do is take 1 out the night before to defrost at room temperature. Enjoy with a skim latte or a to-go container of lowfat milk for a perfect start to a busy day.

Nutritional analysis per serving (Serving size: 1 muffin)

Calories 230; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 1 g, Mono Fat 4 g, Poly Fat 2 g) ; Protein 5 g; Carb 42 g; Fiber 6 g; Cholesterol 20 mg; Sodium 135 mg

Excellent source of: Fiber, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Folate, Manganese, Phosphorus

Good source of: Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Selenium, Zinc