Here on our At Home with GCH blog, Monday’s are always focused on healthy but oh-so-yummy! recipes. Today’s recipe makes a delicious, slightly decadent sweet which still fits into this category! This recipe has no oil or butter, uses gluten-free almond flour which is high in protein, and can be made very successfully using alternative, unrefined sugars.
These yummy little almond cookies are so reminiscent to me of Italian bakery cookies called ‘amaretti.’ Going to make a confession here: I just l-o-v-e Italian bakery pastries! For my birthday, thank you but no birthday cake, please! Just a platter of mini pastry and almond cookies. For sure! So when my darling daughter, Kassia, called and told me that she had made ‘amaretti’ and they were gluten free—happy me! Perhaps you will find these little cookies as delightful as I do; maybe even turn you into an amaretti fan! Enjoy!
Italian Almond Cookies makes approximately 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
2+1/2 cups almond flour
1+1/4 cups superfine* sugar
3 room temperature egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
extra sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 300. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a food processor, blend together the almond flour and sugar for 30 seconds. Add both extracts, and pulse 5 or 6 times to blend. Add the egg whites ONE at a time, and continue to process the mixture ‘til the dough is nice and smooth.
Using a small cookie scoop, place teaspoons of the dough onto the lined cookie sheets, approximately 1″ apart. These cookies do not spread. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the extra sugar. Bake for 20-24 minutes for chewy cookies; 24-30 minutes for a slightly crispy cookie. Remove to a cooling rack. Easily stored in your favorite cookie jar!
*If, like me, you are using alternative sugars, put them into the food processor first and give them a 20 second whirl to pulverize them and make the sugar “super fine.” I used a mix of coconut sugar and evaporated cane juice sugar.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
God loves you! ♥ (Don’t ever forget that!)
♥ coleen
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If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning this blogpost, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com
About coleen hayden
Thank you for doing a gluten free recipe! These will be a GREAT high protein treat for my girls who just started swim team but need lots of energy for the meets! Im going to make some right now! They both love almond too. This is our first gluten free swim team season and as I always have a hard time filling them up every summer I am a bit nervous as to what all I am going to feed them. This is a great start! =)
hi, michelle! these SHOULD help! we have a few other gf recipes on our At Home with GCH blog, too! if you hit the AHw/GCH button at the top of the page, you should get a running list of recent blogs. just scroll through and you’ll find: zucchini muffins, protein bars, cranberry bites, corn muffins, and a lucious strawberry shortcake that our dana posted. check ’em out when you have the opportunity; if you have any questions, you can email me or simply post here, ok? <3
These look delicious!! I like that there is no oil or butter!! Will have to try this recipe!