Almond Butter Cookies
February 16th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I love almonds. Roasted, raw, covered in toffee – you name it! Being a runner, I heard that using almond butter on toast or bagels is a great way to fuel up before long runs, so I decided to give it a try and wow! I have been missing out all these years. It kind of tastes like peanut butter, but it’s smoother, less salty and the nutty flavor isn’t as in-your-face. Plus, it contains more fiber, calcium, potassium, iron and manganese than peanut butter, and about half the saturated fat!
I buy MaraNatha almond butter. I’ve seen it sold at Costco, Walmart, Target and Sprouts Farmers Market, so it’s easy to come by. They have a variety of types to choose from: smooth, crunchy, organic, sea salt and maple. Lots of great choices, but for these cookies, I went with the smooth no-stir almond butter. (NOTE: It says no stir, but I still find it best to take a butter knife and mix it a little before using it.) The maple or sea salt version might be tasty, as well.
Almond Butter Cookies
Makes 2 dozen
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, almond butter and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Beat in both sugars. Scrape down the sides of bowl and stir in half of the dry ingredients. Add the egg and stir well. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tablespoonful of dough into a ball and arrange on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart to allow room for spreading. Using the back of a fork, flatten the balls and form crosshatch design on the tops. Bake cookies until dry on top and golden brown on bottom, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely.
Recipe adapted from epicurious.com
