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Can you believe that I’ve NEVER baked with almond flour before?
I went through a serious gluten-free baking phase after receiving the Babycakes cookbook a couple of years ago, but that grew old for me pretty quickly. The gluten-free flours simply didn’t taste as good to us when compared to wheat flour, and since Austin and I both seem to tolerate gluten just fine, there was no need to keep up the (rather expensive) gluten-free habit.
Almond flour, however, is a whole new adventure. Its taste is slightly sweet and nutty, and the texture of the Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour is perfect for baked goods. I’ve already had some really great experiences with nut-butter-based baked treats, so I think almond flour sounds very promising!
Not to mention, it’s much lower on the Glycemic Index than traditional flours, making it a better option for some family members who need to manage their blood sugar levels.
To get my feet wet, I decided to start off with a small batch (in case I ruined them) of almond flour cookies. The simplest recipe I could find was for an SCD-approved shortbread cookie, which I modified slightly to suit my tastes.
The result was a tender, slightly sweet, and buttery cookie. My family of taste-testers and I agreed that these are very similar to traditional shortbread cookies and could quickly become a family favorite.
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Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies
makes 8 cookies
recipe adapted from this book
Ingredients:
1 cup blanched almond flour (other brands may affect results)
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 Tablespoons honey
pinch of sea salt
*optional:1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
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Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until a batter forms. Then, use a tablespoon to scoop the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I gently flattened my cookies using a fork.
Note: For thicker cookies, I recommend chilling the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes before scooping and baking.
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, watching closely to ensure they don’t burn. Remove cookies from the oven when they are lightly golden brown, then cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cookies, and let cool completely.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Honeyville blanched almond flour (other brands may affect results)
- 3 Tablespoons butter , softened
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons honey
- pinch of sea salt
- *optional:1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until a batter forms, then use a tablespoon to scoop dough onto an un-greased cookie sheet. I gently flattened my cookies using a fork.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, watching closely to ensure they don’t burn.
- Remove cookies from the oven when they are lightly golden brown, then cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 128, Fat: 11g, Carbohydrates: 6g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 3g
These cookies should last for a few days on the counter, but I wouldn’t know for sure. They didn’t last more than 24 hours in our house.
I’d consider that a good sign.
While I didn’t try it this time around, next time I plan to try reducing the butter a bit and adding a touch of almond extract for a sugar-cookie-like flavor. Honestly, I have no problem experimenting with these cookies again and again!
Happy baking!
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Reader Feedback: Have you ever baked with almond-flour before? If so, please share any recipe suggestions!
I love almond flour! I use the Bob’s Red Mill brand and I came up with a cookie recipe based on the Dina’s cookies on Elana’s website. So good!
Hi
My fave almond dessert is from Ani Phyo.
Raw almond cookies are so easy too, just the almond flour or with raw you can grind your own, some agave or maple syrup, pinch salt, and whatever dried fruit or choc. chip or cacoa nibs you want to throw in. Of course you have to wait longer to dehydrate but so good.
These look awesome! I’m looking for some good almond flour..the last bag I saw was $20!!
I haven’t found a bag cheaper than that, either. Since I don’t bake too often, I figured it was a “splurge” item… but if I were going to be baking all the time, it could really add up quickly! The best price I’ve found so far is on Amazon for the Honeyville brand (a 5lb bag), but it’s still not cheap. :/
I use Honeyville blanched almond flour a lot – if you sign up with them via email, you will get routine 15-25% off sales and shipping is only 4-5 dollars. I usually buy 1 or 2 5 lb. bags at a time. Love these recipes!
I have found that most of the flours including almond flour is the best and the least expensive from nuts.com. They have awesome products and their delivery is great!
I order from vitacost for awesome prices on health foods and supplements, several times a month!
Just used almond flour for a pizza crust!
I looove shortbread! these look great. can’t wait to try them
Oooh, an almond flour pizza crust sounds great! Hope you enjoy the shortbread cookies soon. 🙂
Wow, these look fantastic! My daughter is g-free so I do a lot of g-free baking but I’ve always been scared off of the price tag on almond flour. Maybe I’ll have to splurge a little and try these out!
almond flour is great! we love it though we do not use it that much because we use almonds a lot in our raw stuff, so we like to play around with other things for baking. but almond meal is always a nice choice 🙂
Ooooo dollface, have I ever baked with it!! MmMM!! I used to order big boxes of it from my friend who owns a restaurant at wholesale…then I thought it was breaking me out! LOL, little did I know the grains in the rest of my diet were killing me 😉
Almond Flour is soooo nice and adds for such a nice flavor and texture huh?? These look amazing! I’m making the blondies now…I think into cookies sans chocolate chips 😉
xxoo
Hope you love the blondies!! Let me know how the cookie-shape turns out!
I wonder if these would work with coconut flour? I might just try out a small batch tonight!
Oooh, let me know how it goes! 😀
I tried them with coconut flour and they were very dry. Next time I’ll use coconut oil instead of the butter to add more moisture and bump up the honey, as they were very sweet.
I meant to say they weren’t very sweet. Sorry!
Now that I think of it, the coconut flour would probably need an egg added for moisture and binding. Maybe I’ll try it myself one day!
This recipe looks awesome! I am experimenting with the SCD diet as well.
I am not sure if you have ran across the blog, Roost (http://www.roostblog.com/), but it has some awesome (beautiful) recipes with almond flour!
Thanks, Sam! I’ll check it out!
These cookies look awesome! Quick question…what could you use as a substitute for the butter?
If you’re looking for a vegan substitute, I would think melted coconut oil would work really well– though, it would definitely change the flavor. I think Earth Balance makes a soy-free butter substitute, as well, though I’ve never tried it.
Maybe even almond or macadamia nut oil would work? (I’d reduce the amount a bit, if using oil…)
Let me know if you have some success!
What is the nutritional value ?
Please see my FAQ page, regarding nutrition information: https://detoxinista.com/frequently-asked-questions/
Palm oil might be an even better substitute. I think the fats are longer-chain than those in coconut oil, which would be more like butter. There is something of an ecological concern with Asian palm oil vs. orangutan habitat but that issue doesn’t exist with African palm oil. I’m not sure which type is sold as vegan shortening, though.