For a long time I've needed to commit to a variety of Shrinkage Plan, but I don't like the idea of dieting. It seems so...pie-crust-ish. You know, easily made, easily broken and all that lovely Mary Poppins stuff. A change to your diet though--now that's different because it means you are actually eating healthy. Not depriving yourself of essential things like natural fats and oils and all that.That being said, I decided to go off of wheat flour and sugar for a time. I am allowing myself to still eat some honey/agave nectar and that sort of thing, but no traditional cane sugars or wheat flours. :) I plan to depart from this mantra now and again--it's not a forever and always sort of change...just a most-of-the-time one. :)
But I'm a baker after all and it's next to impossible to not want to bake something "sweetbutteryan'delicious" as my little sister would say. I certainly don't intend to deprive myself forever of all things amazing. :D
So I set out to find a recipe that would not take hours of work, and yet would not include flour or sugar. And I found it! They are little macaroon-like cookies called Almond Loves and are perfect for gluten-free people as well as anyone who wants a cookie but doesn't want to get plumpified eating them! :]
I've shared the recipe below and I hope you'll try it out some time and tell me what you think!
Almond Loves
- 1 3/4 c. whole, blanched almonds
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp. ground mace
- A dash of almond flavoring
- 1/4 c. all-fruit jam (I used raspberry :)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets with nonstick spray or parchment paper
2. In food processor or nice blender grind together all ingredients except jam till a smooth (ish) paste forms. (I added a little unsweetened coconut, but that is only optional)
3. Drop teaspoonsful onto the cookie sheets. With a wet spoon make a little "thumbprint" in the tops of each cookie, then dollop the jam inside.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly golden.Makes about 20 macaroon-sized cookies
That sounds quite good! I think I would make a half batch for myself, though - nuts have gotten so expensive, even from Costco! I am out of my favorite snacking and baking staple, in fact; I'm waiting until next month to get another bag of pecans (at $16 a pop!) Though I might have enough almonds for a round of this recipe.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, do some research into agave nectar - I've heard conflicting reports, and one of them said that because the product comes from outside of US, the FDA can't police it and there is concern that it is split with a rather large percentage of high fructose corn syrup - which is much less expensive to make than agave. May I suggest pure-grade maple syrup? You can get a big jar of it from Costo or Sam's for about $12 and it goes into pretty much any recipe in place of sugar (or honey) and is quite good for you, with its natural form of sugar and trace minerals.
Just a thought - and I hope this Season of Shrinkage goes well!
HORRORS! I *must* look into this! Shocking and abominable. :P Well anyway, I like maple syrup so that ought to be just fine. :) Thanks for telling me!
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