The subtitle for this entry should probably be "Why the hell did I make vegan, wheat-free cookies?" or, alternatively, "WTF, Karen?" I assure you I have a good answer, since as you're probably aware, vegan stuff is decidedly NOT my bailiwick.



In brief, I have some family members who can't do dairy so I'm always intrigued by no-dairy desserts. As well, I was trying to do the no white flour thing, so the idea of using almond meal appealed to me. Then, I heard a vegan was coming over to our house and I wanted to be hospitable. (She ended up cancelling due to illness.) So it was a perfect storm.

Do they taste good? If you're a vegan, hell yeah. Meaning, it shouldn't come as a shock that they don't taste quite as good to me as cookies with butter and eggs and flour and sugar in them, but they are surprisingly satisfying considering they're basically just a bunch of nuts deconstructed and then reconstructed. They have no wheat, no sugar, no dairy, no eggs, so considering that, they are pretty darn good. I got the recipe from Sweet Savvy, which is a TERRIFIC site if you want to learn more about alternative natural sweeteners, but I changed it a little bit.


Vegan, Wheat-Free, Sugar-Free Almond Shortbread Cookies
Plus side: since there's no gluten... you can beat and roll the heck out of this dough and it won't get tough!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almond butter (stirred to mix oil evenly)
• 2 cups almond meal
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• big pinch of salt

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Put almond butter in a mixer and beat.
• Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Cut with cookie cutter or a small glass turned upside-down. (For crisper cookies, roll the dough thinner.)
• Transfer to cookie sheet (nonstick or with parchment on it) with a spatula. They will be pretty soft and smooshy.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, until edges brown. Remove from oven. Let cool about 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.
• note: I sprinkled them with powdered sugar for the photo but obviously if you do that they won't be exactly sugar-free... I'm just saying.