blissful eats with tina jeffers: Salted almond butter cookies

I find inspiration for my cooking all around me.  I love to experiment with new flavor combinations and techniques.  I also find myself trying to recreate dishes that I’ve tried in some of our local restaurants. 

One of my favorite bakeries in town, Nuvrei, makes a cookie similar to this one and I found it so unique and unlike anything else I’ve ever had I knew that I had to try to recreate them at home.  They have the most amazing breads and cookies and their macaroons are out of this world.   Salty, buttery and studded with sliced almonds these are quickly becoming a classic that will be making an appearance whenever I’m asked to bake a treat.  It took a few tries but I’m really happy with the result.   You do need to bake these on a cookie sheet not a rimmed baking pan; otherwise, they will spread too much.  The salt is really important, don’t go overboard but a light sprinkling of a high quality salt elevates these cookies to something sublime. 

I’d love to hear about some of your favorite recipes, visit me at www.scalingbackblog.com to see more of my favorite creations!

Salted almond butter cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup almond flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for coating

1 large egg

¾ teaspoon almond extract

½ cup sliced almonds

1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel or good quality sea salt to garnish

Method: 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt to blend.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat in the egg and almond extract until thoroughly combined about 2 minutes.  Scrape the bowl again.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. 

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons into a bowl of granulated sugar and roll to coat.  With the back of a drinking glass lightly flatten the dough into a circle and then sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and cover the top of the cookies with the sliced almonds.

Bake until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and slightly soft in the center 14 to 16 minutes.  Let the cookies cool on the sheet for one minute before transferring them to a rack to cool.

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.