Almond Shortbread Cookies

I received a very important question on my facebook page the other day:

Do you have any gluten free bakery recipes? Using real food? I am sick of all the gluten free desserts that are loaded up with other junk.


I completely agree! Cutting out or eliminating gluten can be an important, and sometimes lifesaving, step towards better health. However, many gluten free foods have incredibly long ingredient lists comprised of foreign items. In my quest for a gluten free cookie that was made with real whole food, I came up with this tasty tea cookie. Warning, you may just want to eat the dough, and I won't fault you for that. However, if you end up baking these you will be surprised by their lovely flavor. These can be made as indicated below, or rolled out and cut into fun shapes with cookie cutters. It would also make a great whole food pie crust.

One of the ingredients that makes this cookie so yummy and satisfying is ghee. Ghee is a form of clarified butter that is essential in most Indian cooking. It is not hard to make but lately more and more stores are selling it. Ghee has a high smoking point (which means it can withstand higher heat without oxidizing), is a natural preservative and has great buttery flavor. It is lactose free so it is safe for those with lactose intolerance. Ghee is believed to stimulate the secretion of stomach acids to help with digestion and is rich with antioxidants. It aids in the absorption of vitamins and minerals, strengthens the immune system and has anti-viral properties.


Print Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup almonds (soaked and dried or roasted)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ghee
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• splash of pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS


Blend almonds in a mixer until they become the consistency of sand. Add baking soda and cinnamon and blend. Melt ghee and maple syrup together and add to the mix. Add your splash of vanilla extract. Blend


This is what it looks like at first.

And here, after continued blending, it is starting to come together as a loose dough.

Place dough in the center of a large piece of parchment paper and form into a log (I usually form a narrow log because I like them bite size). Make the log the size that you want your cookies to be.


Roll up the log tightly in the parchment paper and place in the freezer for an hour.


Preheat oven to 350°. Remove dough from the freezer and cut into slices.


Bake for about 7 minutes, maybe longer depending on your oven. Let them cool until they are crispy. Enjoy!

Note: You can use almond flour, or skinless almonds, to create a lighter dough. You can also add chopped pecans or hazelnuts to the dough to change the flavor. Cinnamon can be substituted with your favorite spice.

Also, this recipe is essentially enough to satisfy the snacking needs of two people. If you need more, double or triple the recipe.