Food

Cool Cookie

Food

We give classic cookie recipes a modern makeover in the nick of time for holiday baking. These cookies require only seven ingredients or fewer, all of which are less refined than their original counterparts. They save time and energy too—every cookie in this batch is baked to perfection in 15 minutes tops. That means the family baker spends less time in the kitchen and more time joining in the festivities.

RECIPES BY OLIVIA ROSZKOWSKI
PHOTOGRAPHS AND FOOD STYLING BY RIKKI SNYDERPROP STYLING BY DANNY SEO

ALMOND BUTTER GINGERSNAP COOKIES

YIELD: 12 COOKIES

□  1 cup creamy almond butter

□  1 cup coconut sugar

□  1 teaspoon baking powder

□  2 teaspoons ground ginger

□  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

□  1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves

□  pinch sea salt

►  Preheat oven to 350° F.

►  In a medium bowl, add the almond butter and coconut sugar. Stir with a spoon or with hands until dough forms. Allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes.

► Add the baking powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt to the dough, using hands to evenly work ingredients into the dough.

► Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

► Scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie batter and press between palms of hands to form a circular disc, approximately 1⁄4-inch thick.

► Place formed cookie on parchment-lined baking tray,
and repeat with remaining batter, leaving space between each cookie.

► Bake for 12 minutes and cool for a few minutes before removing cookies from the baking tray.

HOLIDAY PALEO THIN MINTS

YIELD: 12 COOKIES

□  1 cup almond flour

□  2 tablespoons cocoa powder

□  pinch sea salt

□  2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

□  1⁄4 cup maple syrup

□  1 teaspoon peppermint extract, or more to taste

□  1 cup dark chocolate chips

► Preheat oven to 350° F.

► In a medium bowl, add almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

► Fold in coconut oil, maple syrup, and peppermint extract until evenly incorporated.

► Allow batter to rest for 10 minutes in the refrigerator.

► Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

► Roll 1 tablespoon of cookie batter between palms of hands to form a ball and place on baking tray. Press to flatten into an approximately 1⁄8-inch thick disc.

► Bake for 10 minutes, then cool slightly before removing cookies from the baking tray.

► Melt half the chocolate chips over a double boiler. Take off heat and fold in remainder of chocolate to temper the mixture.

► Dip cookies in chocolate and place them back on the parchment-lined baking tray.

► Refrigerate cookies for 15 minutes to set chocolate coating.

ICE BOX MAPLE COOKIES

YIELD: 2 DOZEN COOKIES

□  1 stick (1⁄2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

□  1⁄4 cup maple sugar

□  pinch sea salt

□  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

□  1 cup spelt flour

□  1⁄2 cup pecans, finely chopped

►  Preheat oven to 350° F.

►  Line baking tray with parchment paper.

► Add softened butter and maple sugar to a bowl and use a hand mixer to whisk for 2 to 3 minutes, or until creamed.

► Add salt and vanilla; stir until combined.

► Add in the flour in stages, whisking with hand mixer until incorporated.

► Fold in chopped pecans, and place batter in freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.

► Using a rolling pin, roll out cookie dough to a 1⁄4-inch thickness.

► Return to freezer to stiffen, and cut out desired shapes using cookie cutters of choice. Arrange on lined baking tray.

► Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden.

FLOURLESS SPICED GINGERBREAD COOKIES

YIELD: 2 DOZEN 1-INCH COOKIES

□  1 1⁄2 cup almond flour

□  1⁄4 cup tapioca starch (arrowroot), more to dust

□  1 tablespoon ground ginger

□  pinch sea salt

□  2 tablespoons refined coconut oil

□  1⁄4 cup maple syrup

□  1 tablespoon molasses

►  Preheat the oven to 350 ° F.

►  Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

► In a large bowl, add almond flour, tapioca starch, ground ginger and salt, stirring to combine.

► Incorporate in the coconut oil, maple syrup and molasses, until dough forms.

► Place dough in freezer for 15 minutes, and using a rolling pin, roll into approximately 1⁄4-inch thickness using additional tapioca starch to manage any sticking.

► Return dough to freezer for 5 minutes.

► Cut out shapes using desired cookie cutters, and place on lined tray.

► Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

► Cool cookies, and drizzle with Nutmeg-Infused Icing if using.

Nutmeg-Infused Icing (optional):

YIELD: 1⁄4 CUP

□  1⁄2 cup organic confectioner’s sugar

□  1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

□  pinch sea salt

□  1 1⁄2 teaspoon agave syrup

□  1 1⁄2 teaspoon almond milk

► Add confectioner’s sugar, nutmeg, and salt to a small bowl and stir to combine.

► Fold in agave syrup and almond milk to form icing.

► Allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes, and drizzle on Flourless Spiced Gingerbread Cookies (see recipe).

Sweet Success

• Use less-refined sweeteners and you can indulge without experiencing the ordinary sugar high that comes with consuming treats laden with white sugar.

• Coconut sugar has a slight drying property. Mix in a bowl with almond butter to form a quick, grain-free dough.

• Add ginger into your baking not only for flavor but to help with digestion and blood sugar levels as well.

• Pull cookies out of the oven when they are lightly firm on the surface. They will continue to firm up as they cool.

• Place any hard-to-handle cookie dough in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes to make it more workable.

• Molasses has a robust flavor, and can be a rich source of minerals including iron, magnesium, and calcium.

• For a foolproof tempered chocolate coating, melt half of the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring in the remainder to cool and stabilize the mixture.

• Maple sugar makes a great white sugar substitute because it has the same sweetness level and a very similar fine texture.

• When substituting oil for butter in a recipe, use slightly less oil and add a tablespoon of water since butter is composed of about 80 percent butterfat, milk proteins and water.