It’s baking season again! And this is a great excuse for me to experiment on new recipes. This almond cookie bake was somewhat inspired by my previous trip to Greece – we noticed that most restaurants would have a couple of trays of cookies and treats at the door, literally a “to go” treat for patrons of the restaurant. I’m not too sure if this was customary for the restaurants (like an after dinner treat) or whether it was because we were traveling during the festive season. I didn’t try any of the treats as I was sure they were sugar-laden, but they were usually amply dusted with a thick coat of icing sugar.
Still, there is nothing more appealing than a tasty cookie and a cup of coffee. The cookies can also be packed as little gifts although I’m pretty sure they have to be eaten very soon as almond cookies do tend to get more moist over time. But I liked the flaky and crusty exterior of this cookie and the soft succulent center.
A little take out carton with some cookies and homemade dried cranberries. Quite a pretty combination if I may say so myself!
So this may be a great option for holiday baking for homemade food gifts. Friend M who is my happy guinea pig seemed to approve; the rest is going to a large party coming over for Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow. These are a lot easier than making my customary gingerbread cookies and my friends may have a surfeit of these caterpillar like cookies this Christmas!
Last year’s Christmas bake that disappeared in less than 2 days!
Low Carb Almond Crescent Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 cups almond flour
- 1 cup sugar substitute
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 egg whites
- 5 eggs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g almond flakes
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Prepare trays lined with baking paper or silpat.
- Mix the almond flour, sugar substitute, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and salt together.
- In another bowl, beat the egg whites till stiff peaks are seen.
- In another bowl, beat 5 eggs, olive oil and vanilla extract together till just mixed.
- Add the egg mixture to the almond flour mixture and mix well. Add the egg whites and beat the mixture lightly till cookie dough just comes together. The dough will be a little sticky.
- In a food processor, chop the almond flakes in batches, about 5 good pulses per batch, so that the flakes are a little smaller but not too fine. Put the chopped almond flakes into a bowl.
- Take a tbsp of cookie dough and drop into the almond flakes. Using the tips of the fingers, roll the dough into a cylinder, coating the exterior with almond flakes. Place on the cookie tray and arrange the cookie in a crescent or curved shape.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then set aside to cool down for 5-10 minutes. The cookies will harden slightly with cooking.
- Mix the cinnamon and icing sugar together. While the cookies are cooling, dust the cookies with the cinnamon sugar.
- Serve with a cup of coffee.
Note: as these cookies are not too sweet you may want to add 12-14 drops of stevia to the cookie dough.
Still Feeling Peckish 
How long will these cookies taste fresh? I was thinking of making them for a party, but would need to make 2 days ahead. Is that too long? And should I use the stevia or not? I won’t have time to make a prep batch ahead of time.
Its actually too long. I made a batch yesterday and kept in air tight container and it softened. Tasted decent still but I would recommend this for eating the day itself because when it’s fresh it’s crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
OK, thank you!
You’re welcome!