Another Damn Cooking Blog

No eggs, no dairy, no wheat, no soy, no refined sugar…what IS in them?

This is my first time cooking with almond meal (also called almond flour.) I have seen all of these flours and thought…whatever. If it’s gluten free, what’s the difference between almond flour and my go to, rice flour?

It’s like the difference between sugar and salt. They are both great. They just have completely different uses.

I’m trying to eat less sugar, because it’s not good for me. I haven’t eaten wheat in years, and almost never eat dairy. I’ve lost 30 lbs since April just paying attention to my refined sugar intake. By default I follow a quasi paleo diet, so the lean meats and lots of vegetables seems to be working out, and I feel better. Which is kind of the point of eating healthy, right?

These cookies are crisp with light, lacy edges. The almond meal adds lots of protein and also acts as an extra emollient in the cookie, but you can’t taste the almonds…just the nutty texture. The middle is just slightly softer than the edges. Fresh ginger is a must for us, but if you don’t have any, powdered ginger will still work. The second day, the cookies get soft, but will crisp back up in the oven.

• 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 T ground ginger
• 1/4 t cardamom (optional, but really makes a difference)
• 1/3 cup oil (I used an olive/grapeseed mix)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 T fresh shredded ginger

• Put all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix. Put all of the wet ingredients into a small bowl and mix.

• Pour the wet bowl into the dry bowl and mix it all up. It should look a little like this:

• Drop by teaspoons on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

• Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges start browning.

• IMPORTANT: slide the parchment off of the cookie sheet and onto a cookie rack. The whole parchment. With the cookies on it. Like this:

• When they are slightly cooled, move the cookies from the parchment to the cookie rack until totally cool.

• Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, maybe 20 depending on how big you make them. I dropped them by a teaspoon, and they spread out considerably, so unless you have an abnormally large cookie sheet, you’ll just want to drop 6 at a time.

(Recipe adapted from “Elana’s Pantry“)

Nutritional Information:

Nutrition Facts   18 Servings Amount Per Serving   Calories 121.2   Total Fat 8.3 g     Saturated Fat 0.8 g     Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g     Monounsaturated Fat 2.7 g   Cholesterol 0.0 mg   Sodium 2.5 mg   Potassium 84.5 mg   Total Carbohydrate 11.3 g     Dietary Fiber 1.0 g     Sugars 8.1 g   Protein 2.0 g     Vitamin A 0.0 %   Vitamin B-12 0.0 %   Vitamin B-6 1.5 %   Vitamin C 0.0 %   Vitamin D 0.0 %   Vitamin E 13.9 %   Calcium 3.5 %   Copper 1.4 %   Folate 0.0 %   Iron 3.9 %   Magnesium 9.7 %   Manganese 17.9 %   Niacin 0.2 %   Pantothenic Acid     0.4 %   Phosphorus     0.2 %   Riboflavin 0.1 %   Selenium 1.2 %   Thiamin 0.2 %   Zinc 2.5 %   *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.