Flourless chocolate almond butter cookies

I'm going to say honestly that I have something of a love-hate relationship with these flourless cookies.  

Despite a few trials with certain flourless cakes and cookies, I still find that I generally don't love them (of course, there are always plenty of exceptions...such as flourless chocolate cake - the kind leavened with eggs - and macaroon cookies, which I do love).  Fortunately, I have no need to avoid gluten so I don't purposely seek out gluten-free baked goods. These flourless double chocolate almond butter cookies intrigued me because they looked wonderful and I was happy to have the chance to use almond butter in baking.  In the last couple of years, I've come to enjoy almond butter almost as much as peanut butter.  

Somehow, I think I was expecting conventional, sturdy, cookies to come out of the oven but these are truly the flourless kind - super moist.  Just beneath the thin, dry crust that develops on top of these cookies, the center is ultimately fudgy and chewy.  And therein lies the love part of the equation.  The moist, chewiness - almost brownie-like texture - is something I adore and find addicting.  As such, these cookies remind me of energy bars/balls made with dates that I am still trying to figure out whether I like or not.

All in, I'm a fan of the chocolaty, salty, rich flavor and the chewy texture of these chocolate almond butter cookies yet I miss the sturdiness of the traditional cookie (clearly, I need to approach it with proper expectations).  They may not be my regular cookie of choice but they were certainly a nice change once in a while.  Since they are so moist, I find it best to store the cookies in a single layer, in the refrigerator.  We actually found we preferred them cold. The fudge factor increases and the cookies were easier to handle/hold.  Serving these cookies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream would not be a bad idea.  

Italian almond cookies, Sicilian style

Speaking of making variations of the same thing, if it's not chocolate cake, it's often some kind of almond cookie of the chewy, almond-paste variety.  I really do just adore almond pastries of all kinds!

So this version comes from the great David Lebovitz, so you know it's going to work and it's going to be good.  And it is.  I added the "Sicilian style" title to these because they're supposed to mimic almond cookies often found in Sicily and plus, they help me differentiate this recipe from other ones I've made before.  And I had fun making (and eating) this batch of almond cookies.  For a switch, these are made with almond meal instead of almond paste.  You kind of make the almond paste yourself when you take the almond meal and combine it with egg whites.  

For another twist, these cookies have a few spoonfuls of apricot jam in them.  Right away, I'm behind this idea because anything involving almond paste/almond cream and apricot jam is always delicious (honestly, I have tested this out many times and it's been proven true over and over again)!  The jam adds extra moisture and makes me think of apricot kernels that are in some amaretti cookies; it's probably why I associate almond pastries with apricot.

These cookies are easy to make.  Once you make the dough (no mixer needed), you shape little rounds into ovals and roll them in some lightly beaten egg white.  Then, roll the cookies in sliced almonds or pignoli nuts (which are great but very expensive), or you could even leave them plain or "nudi".  Instead of oval, you can certainly shape simple rounds but I have to say the shape is a little whimsical and fun to me.  

I thought these cookies turned out so cute!  Maybe it's their gnocchi-like shape (particularly when it comes to the "nude" ones, which I made for my son who had some teeth extractions and needs to avoid nuts for about a week), or the fact that the almond encrusted ones look like little porcupines.  I'm not altogether sure but they made me smile and then made me very happy when I tasted them! These cookies are all kinds of chewy and dense, yet soft and moist...just how I like them!

Chocolate amaretti cookies

It is well-documented that I love almond paste and making cookies with it.  It is just a quick way to chewy-cookie heaven, with a pungent dose of aromatic almond flavor thrown into the bargain.

I was watching Giada De Laurentiis make chocolate amaretti cookies on her show the other day and turns out, it's the almond paste (or "macaroon") cookies I make all the time, with a dose of cocoa thrown in.  Sounds great!  Of course, I need to make a chocolate version of my favorite chewy almond cookies so I got right into the kitchen to do just that.

Giada uses a food processor but I made these cookies in the stand mixer like I usually do because the mixer is sitting right on my kitchen counter whereas the heavy food processor is wedged into a corner of the pantry downstairs.  

It works out just fine whichever equipment you use.  It's just a matter of breaking down the almond paste with some sugar and dark cocoa in this case.  Egg whites bind the whole thing together, without the need for any flour in these recipes.  You could add some orange zest if you like but I kept it as is.  I had a vague concern that the cocoa might mask the almond flavor too much so I tossed in a few drops of almond extract; turns out, that wasn't really necessary but a little extra almond insurance doesn't hurt as long as you don't go overboard.  

I topped the cookies with a sprinkle of coarsely chopped sliced almonds for a little bit of crunch without using more sugar.  These cookies are naturally sweet but they do beg for a little decoration on top.  And I can tell you these chocolate amaretti cookies were delicious, being the familiar almond paste cookies I know and love.  You've got a ton of sticky chewiness in every bite.  The edges are just a little crisp giving way to a very chewy center.  The cocoa or chocolate flavor is actually not very strong.  I think it nicely tempers some of the sweetness of the almond paste and gives you a hint of cocoa but while they look dark and chocolaty, the almond flavor and chewy texture remain the star of the show.  I'm very good with that.

Jamie Oliver's chocolate malt cookies

It's time for some chocolate cookies!  February is just a few days away and to me, the month is synonymous with Valentine's Day and chocolate.  Needless to say, I'm a big fan of February and I'm ready to get an early start on the chocolate talk and consumption.

Chewy chocolate malt cookies with crushed Maltesers and milk chocolate bits

Most of us know our way around chocolate cookies but these called out to me because they're pretty unusual ones, different from what I'm used to here in the States.  It's a recipe from Jamie Oliver and, maybe not surprising given the British association, the flavor is a combination of chocolate and malt.  Specifically, malted milk powder and crushed pieces of Maltesers provide the malt flavor.  

Some key ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, dark chocolate to be melted into the dough, Maltesers, as well as some milk chocolate bits

But wait...the recipe stays interesting.  Condensed milk is the sweetener in these cookies and right away, I envision a very chewy cookie and that's exactly what we end up with.  A little bit of ground almonds make things even more interesting; it adds a tiny bit of texture in the background that maybe you wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly if you weren't the baker but appreciate nonetheless.  Dark chocolate - as in 70% to counter the sweetness of the condensed milk - is melted into the dough to create the chocolate base.  Along with crushed Maltesers, the recipe calls for a little bit of chopped white chocolate but I opted for milk chocolate instead. (While there's a place for everything and I remember an old fondness for Nestle's Alpine White chocolate bars, I just can't seem to gather much enthusiasm for white chocolate these days.)

As for dry ingredients, some ground almonds and malted milk powder make things more interesting

For me, there's so much that's unusual yet familiar about this cookie recipe.  Growing up in Hong Kong for the first handful of years in my life, I'm fairly familiar with British eats and snacks, and malt as well as milk powder are some of those familiar things. We are also no stranger to condensed milk; I've been known to put it on toast occasionally.

I totally thought of my husband when I saw this recipe.  He not only loves malted things - as in drinks, milk shakes, and cookies - but chewy cookie are also his favorite. Happily, he was a big fan of these cookies and devoured them readily (though I admit he is hardly objective when it comes to my food). 

For me, I'd say these cookies are largely about the texture - they are very chewy and moist.  The center is almost brownie-like (my husband goes so far as to say they're like a chocolate truffle).  Those are all good things.  Now let's talk flavor.  The malt factor isn't overwhelming but to be honest, neither is the chocolate.  I used 70% bittersweet Scharffen Berger chocolate in these cookies.  It's a dark chocolate with strong overtones that you usually can't miss.  Here, the sweet condensed milk wipes those flavors out so you don't get intensely deep chocolate taste.  Personally, I prefer chocolate intensity so that's not a selling point for me.  However, life is about variety and this is a great cookie experience for that special chewy texture and sweetness. It's just important to go into things knowing what to expect.

Nutella-hazelnut crinkle cookies...'Tis the season!

It's the holiday season!  It's cookie season!  It's the season for treats and indulgence, and quality time with family!  Can you tell I'm excited?  I have a feeling there's a good chance you're just as excited as I am.   

Chewy nutella-hazelnut crinkle (crackle) cookies perfect for the season

I just love December and Christmastime.  I try to get as much done as possible - as far as Christmas shopping and other to-do's - so I'll have time to savor the season.  

Aside from the twinkling lights and general goodwill floating in the air, one of the best part of the holiday season has to be all the good eats - the cookies and treats, all being washed down with cups of hot cocoa!  I made a list of family-favorites I'll be baking up this month both to savor at home and to pack up as gifts.  I have a ton of things I'd love to make but like all of you, I had to be realistic and narrow it down.  I hope to get to as much as possible while keeping things manageable so it's enjoyable instead of stressful (because if it's stressful, why bother).  It is indeed that time of year when I happily turn into a little kitchen elf, baking up old favorites and trying a few new recipes, too!

On the "new" side of things (for me, anyway), I'd love to share these nutella-hazelnut crinkle cookies with you.  Crinkles/crackles, I can't decide which to call them!  Because of how wintry they look, I like to make them at Christmastime.  Plus, my little one is partial to them and if you have a child, you know it's all about what your child likes - particularly, at Christmastime!  Last year, I really enjoyed adding a little almond extract to our batch of chocolate crackles and this year, I've been saving up this hazelnut version to try for the holidays.

I added chopped hazelnuts to half my batch of cookies and left the other half plain

I'm glad I kicked off our holiday cookie season with these because they were awesome! While chocolate crackles are generally like a light brownie, moist and soft, these nutella-hazelnut crinkles are nice and chewy.  I am a big fan of chewy cookies so they were right up my alley.  With these, I also finally got a chance to make cookies with nutella and I'm happy they didn't disappoint one bit.

I divided my batch of cookies into two: half without chopped hazelnuts inside (for my son) and the other with.  My son loved these cookies and was very grateful for his hazelnut-free half batch - though he wanted a lot more.  For my part, I think the toasted hazelnuts balance out some of the sweetness of these cookies and heighten the hazelnut flavor.  The original recipe called for rolling the outside of the cookies with additional hazelnuts but I opted to keep things simple.  Instead, I upped the amount of hazelnuts I used inside my cookies and skipped the additional roll in nuts.  This way, they also keep the classic, snowy, crackled look I love for this time of year.

Fudge oatmeal cookies

I think most of us would agree that oatmeal cookies are a classic.  We can never have too many oatmeal cookies, right?  Every so often (it's really more like very often), I crave one and recently, I was mesmerized by these oatmeal cookies I saw over at The Kitchn - they're soft, chewy oatmeal cookies, studded in the center with a dollop of chocolate fudge!  The very word, fudge, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  And since you really shouldn't have oatmeal cookies without chocolate in some form, here was a great new way to combine the two.  I had to make some of these cookies!

While I would have personally preferred it, I omitted the walnuts from the recipe because I made this batch to take along to my son's final soccer game of the season.  Aside from potential nut allergies, I think it's generally a better bet to remove nuts from the equation when serving a group of kids.  They either love it or they hate it, and many of them tend to fall into the latter group.

These cookies are very easy to make - even simpler when you skip the nuts like I did.  The oatmeal cookie base is a familiar one, which you can easily prepare a couple of days in advance and store in the fridge.  The fudge filling - simply condensed milk and chocolate chips - comes together in minutes on the stove-top.

Once baked, the cookies spread around the little pool of fudge.  The fudge itself sets and firms up so that you can easily store, stack, and transport these cookies.  The texture of the fudge filling is wonderfully chewy.  

I think these oatmeal fudge cookies are familiar yet just jazzed-up enough to appear on any holiday cookie platter.  I'm pretty confident they'd be popular at any bake sale, too.

Happily, my batch of cookies were very well received by the kids, my little one included.  The boys were undoubtedly hungry after their game but you know that kids are brutally honest so I trust that their enthusiasm was genuine.  There's nothing like seeing a group of people devour and enjoy something you made so I was the true beneficiary of these cookies.  

This recipe's a keeper.  And for all you peanut butter devotees out there, there's a peanut butter version too!  

Honey & oats

It's not Christmas yet but this is a great time for baking cookies.  If you're thinking any time is a great time for cookies, I totally agree with you (and like the way you think!) but with the cooler temperatures, I feel an unmistakable urge to turn on the oven and permeate the house with the warmth and smell of cookies baking away.  I want to tuck those homemade cookies into a jar and have them around and ready for my son when he comes home from school.  I want to sit down, have a warm cookie and something hot to drink.  Is anyone else craving hot chocolate or am I just a little bit crazy?

Personally, I'm craving all sorts of things right now as the temperature drops. Soups, stews, cookies, and everything in between that's a bit more hearty. I've been daydreaming about oatmeal cookies lately.  Talk about a wonderful creation! I absolutely love, even crave, oatmeal - particularly the steel cut variety - but if you're not like me and don't like oatmeal, chances are you enjoy a good oatmeal cookie, right?  My son is one of those people.  He asked me for chocolate chip cookies the other day.  Apparently, he was craving cookies too.

So I made a batch of these honey oatmeal cookies, inspired by a recipe I stumbled upon in a magazine. They caught my attention because honey is the only sweetener in them.  I really liked the sound of that because honey & oats just go together and since honey is my sweetener of choice when it comes to my oatmeal, this is right up my alley!  I also know that I love what a little maple syrup can do for oatmeal cookies so with this, I envisioned a soft, chewy cookie, flavored with the natural sweetness and goodness of honey, and that's essentially what I got!

Some key mix-ins: chopped semi-sweet chocolate, toasted walnuts, oats, and the honey

Since the original recipe is very much about the honey, it actually calls for Tupelo honey, which isn't all that easy to get your hands on.  With it being the sole sweetener for these cookies, use the best quality honey you can find, which basically just means a honey you love the taste of.  I went with a recent farmer's market find - a regular wildflower honey that I've been enjoying immensely with my regular bowls of oatmeal.

The cookies in the original recipe also included raisins and pecans but since I'm not a fan of either of those ingredients (particularly the raisins), I switched it up and added chocolate and toasted walnuts instead.  I used coarsely chopped semi-sweet chocolate here but if you're low on time, chocolate chips would work nicely, too.  Putting chocolate in the picture means that some of the flavor of the honey will be overpowered by it, but I'm totally okay with that!  My family would not be happy with me if I made oatmeal cookies without chocolate in it.

The end result: a chewy oatmeal cookie chock full of dark chocolate and toasted walnuts, with the notes of honey and a hint of cinnamon.  With just half a cup of honey in my batch of cookies, they're not overly sweet and you taste each ingredient.  I think there's just something really satisfying about an oatmeal cookie and this was no exception.

Another reason to break out the almond paste

I've proclaimed my love of almond paste in the past and I'm saying it again!  Aside from chocolate, almond paste is one of my favorite ingredients to bake with.  I love how fragrant it is, how good it tastes, and how it gives cookies that delectable chewy texture.  Use it in cake or bread and the almond paste gives it a ton of almond flavor and a wonderful moisture. 

Almond-Orange Cloud Cookies - with chocolate on the right

Since my family and I love these intense almond cookies and they're easy to make, I'll make a batch every so often for no other reason than to enjoy them together. 

Over time, I've made a few variations of the basic chewy almond cookie recipe.  The cookies are basically flourless macaroons (not the French kind).  Generally, they're a simple combination of almond paste, egg whites, and sugar, with a little something added on top.  I've gone with just almonds, made the pignoli/pine nuts version, and added candied cherries for the holidays. 

This recipe was another excuse to play with almond paste and this time, these cookies feature orange zest.  I've been buying citrus like orange and grapefruit like mad since they're in season and because I need fruit to balance out all the chocolate I eat! 

I adapted the recipe from Joy the Baker, who traces it back to cookies she tasted at King Arthur Flour.  Her version uses orange zest and vanilla beans, which sounds terrific.  I love how you can tweak these cookies and take it in slightly different directions, and I imagine I'll make other variations in the future.

There are a few differences between this recipe and the other variations I mentioned.  Instead of confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar is mixed with the almond paste, although a generous coating of confectioners' sugar goes over the top of the cookies before baking.  You poke a few holes into the thick cookie dough and that, along with the coating of powdered sugar, gives them a cloud-like look.  I was pretty amazed that the confectioners' sugar didn't melt during baking and I think the finished cookies looked very nice (I was a little doubtful going in). 

Also in this recipe, instead of just adding egg whites into the mix (like I'm normally used to doing), the whites are whipped so they can be poured in gradually.  This is a practical way to do it because it allows you to control how much egg whites go in; if you need to, you can stop once the mixture thickens to a stiff paste.  I'm not absolutely sure but I suspect whipping the whites and even the use of granulated sugar creates more of a meringue like outer crust on these cookies.  However, the edges and center are still wonderfully soft and chewy.

To satisfy my curiosity, I added chocolate to some of the cookies!  I've never used chocolate in any almond paste cookies before but to my mind: almonds + orange + chocolate = a delicious combination.  That's one of my favorite combinations in a chocolate bar but, to be fair, I have a lot of "favorite" chocolate bar combinations.  I decided to finely chop the chocolate I used because I didn't want any big crunchy chunks to compete with the chewy texture because these cookies aren't meant to be eaten warm.

After tasting them, I say if you want a strong, clear almond and orange flavor, go with the plain orange zest.  If you like a bit more complexity and something to cut through the sweetness a bit, add the chocolate.

To try a simpler method, I also baked some without the indentations or confectioners' sugar on top.  They don't look as good as the "cloud" like ones but have the same crisp shell and deeply chewy edges and center.

When pressed (by me), my husband thinks he prefers the ones with chocolate best, which surprised me.  I kind of feel like maybe the chocolate is better reserved for that full-on warm, melted chocolate chip cookie experience as opposed to here where the almond paste is the star.  Frankly, I have no complaints about any of these cookies.  I roll my eyes in happiness while eating them but to be severely picky about it, I'd have to say the no-fuss basic almond cookies with nuts on top are still my favorite.

On a different note, I mentioned Joy's blog earlier.  It's one I've gotten used to checking in on in the past couple of years.  The other day, she wrote an interesting post on blogging and invited bloggers to leave their blog addresses in the comments.  As I was clicking away at some of them, it really hit me how much we all have in common in this gigantic community of food bloggers (and readers).  What we do and the scale of it may be vastly different but we all have this wonderful love of food, of cooking-eating-sharing and making memories around it.  I love this camaraderie of people who love to cook and eat, knowing that we all exist whether you have a food blog or not.  I really think food is one of the greatest bonds we all share with each other.

"Smart" cookie

I have a special little place in my heart for Smarties - not the American candy rolls you see during Halloween but the sugar-coated chocolate ones that are basically the European version of M&M's.

Growing up as a kid in Hong Kong, they were probably my favorite candy/chocolate after the Toberlone.  I certainly enjoyed the taste but I think the colors - those bright yet pastel hues that make me think of Easter - appealed to me just as much.  The ones we had in Hong Kong came in a round paperboard tube, with a little plastic pop top that I'd take on and off (I think the tops came in different colors too but I can't be sure now).  I loved shaking my little tube around.

While it's not impossible to find Smarties around here in the States, they're not exactly everywhere in your local drugstore either.  Whenever I see them, I can't resist snapping one up, particularly if I'm on vacation and feeling indulgent.  So when I saw Smarties while shopping in Paris recently, I grabbed a few packets to bring home.  Just couldn't resist...

So I found myself with extra tubes of Smarties even after divvying up some of my stash, and thought it'd be fun to make some Smarties cookies.  I've dubbed them "Smart cookies" but I'm certainly being tongue in cheek about the whole "smart" thing since we are talking candy in our cookies here (although you'll notice they're no longer made with artificial colors or flavors - that's something, right?).  So we won't take the name too seriously; I wouldn't make these very often but I was in the mood to do something silly and fun.  I made an oatmeal cookie dough and stirred in some Smarties as well as mini chocolate-chips (since my cookies are on the small side) to make these.

My "Smart" cookies

I thought about incorporating the Smarties as part of monster cookies and throwing in some salty pretzels (another thing I have a lot of lying around since my son decided he was no longer into them - right after I'd bought a 50-pack sack of them for his school snack, of course).  In the end, I kept it simple and used an easy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and substituted some of the chocolate chips with Smarties.  Truth be told, you can't see the Smarties too well in the cookies after baking but I think they're fun nonetheless.  And if Smarties aren't your thing, stick with regular chocolate chips and make yourself and your family a nice batch of chewy oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies instead.  I divided my cookie batter in half and did both.

Plain oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies

Monster cookies

I thought this would be a perfect time to try a batch of monster cookies - you know, with Halloween just a couple of weeks away.  I'm not totally sure why these cookies are called monster cookies.  I guess because they're supposed to be big, hearty cookies...or maybe it's the kind of thing cookie monster would gobble right up. 

Sometimes these are called kitchen-sink cookies or anything cookies because you can add whatever goodies you like in them.  In general, we're talking about oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and M&M's.  That's the equation we have going here but you can get creative and mix in whatever you like: nuts, dried fruit, pretzels, puffed cereal, Reese's pieces, toffee bits, and on and on.

I was a little dubious about these cookies.  Though I enjoy M&M's, I'm usually not a fan of cookies with M&M's or other types of candy in them.  At the risk of sounding snooty, it just seems kind of "junky".  And peanut butter cookies tend to taste a little too rich for me (spoken by the girl who loves ridiculously rich and gooey chocolate desserts).  But these turned out to be really good.  There is a ton of oats in this recipe that provides a delicious chewiness.  The peanut butter adds richness (not overly so) and a wonderful fragrance.  Of course, the chocolate chips are always welcomed in any cookie and surprisingly, I get the role of the M&M's.  Like my husband says, the M&M's add a nice little crunch with its candy coating.  Best part, these cookies are not too sweet.  They were a pleasant surprise.  This is another great recipe from the guys at Baked.