Cookie-A-Day: Day 7- Almond Cranberry Bites

I happened upon this recipe in an Eatingwell.com email.  The original recipe calls for dried cherries, but I didn’t have any so I subbed dried cranberries instead.  This recipe screamed “Christmas cookie” to me, so I knew that I had to include it in my “Cookie-A-Day” series.  This recipe is full of healthy ingredients – almonds, canola oil, dried fruit.  So, you can feel good about treating yourself to one of these cookies and these cookies ROCK!  I was so pleasantly surprised when I tasted these.  Jon was adamant about not trying them because he doesn’t like dried fruit.  Well, they smelled so good he asked to try one.  He ended up eating three & saying he loved them!  They are really good warm.  I couldn’t convert Hannah, but that is okay, this only made 20 cookies, so more for us!  😉

008

Almond Cranberry Bites

  • 1/3 cup whole almonds (I used Trader Joe’s raw almonds
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries
  • 2/3 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used Carol’s sorghum mix)
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or finely chopped dark and/or white chocolate, for decoration (optional- I opted not to add this)

Method

1.  Heat oven to 350.

2.  Grind raw almonds & sugar in a food processor until you have the desired texture; the finer the texture, the more intense the almond flavor & less crunch from the almond.  Be careful not to turn the almonds into paste.  Transfer mix to large bowl & mix in flour & cranberries.

3.  Add egg white, oil, vanilla & almond extracts.  Mix until well incorporated.

4.  Shape dough into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom is slightly brown; the tops will not brown.

5.  Transfer to a wire rack & cool completely.

6.  Optional- melt chocolate & drizzle over cookies with a fork.  Let stand until chocolate sets.

003

Tips

1.  This is another mix where a GF flour mix without baking soda, baking powder & xanthan gum are not needed.  I am not sure how the cookies would turn out if you were to use a mix with those added in.

2.  The chocolate melted on top is not necessary, in my opinion and you all know how much I love my chocolate.

007

These are now going to become a holiday staple in our house.  You can freeze these for up to 3 months.  They have about 75 calories per cookie (recipe made 20 cookies).

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In case you missed this: College Inn has recalled some chicken broth for undeclared wheat.  You can read more about it here.

Related Posts with Thumbnails
This entry was posted in Uncategorized by admin. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply to ajog Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *