Cookies for Santa!

Spending my first couple of years Christmasing here in the US, made me realize how important cookies are during this season.  There are parties dedicated to cookies where you swap your favorites and exchange recipes, they are a great gift for neighbors and teachers, and they certainly are a big hit with kids.  I understood later on that you bake them for Santa, when he visits your home and leaves your presents. 

I have never been a big fan of cookies, so I always passed until now.  My kids are still innocent enough, where they believe in Santa, and I’m not going to ruin it for them.  The challenge lies in making GF/DF cookies, as we have sensitivities to them.

I looked for a recipe and found a simple one, so I decided to give it a try.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of blanched almond flour	1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I used vanilla extract)
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened (or use butter instead)	1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup raw honey

For the frosting:

2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened	1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons raw honey	pinch of fine sea salt

I’m not a big fan of frosting, so I decided against it and tried instead a chocolate one (who doesn’t like chocolate…yum!)

• 2 tablespoons coconut  oil
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 2 tablespoons raw honey

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cookie ingredients until a thick, creamy batter is formed.

Notes:

My coconut oil was not soft, so I softened it, but the batter became weird and wasn’t sticking together.

Chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Chilled dough rolls out better.

Rolling out the dough: Roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper, then remove the top sheet and cut out your cookies.

As explained before, I am not a cookie person, so I do not have any cute shapes for the cookies, so I used the cup measure to give the cookies a round form. 

3.  Using a knife or whatever kitchen tool you have handy, slide the ready-to-bake cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

4.  Bake for about 8 minutes at 350F, or until the edges turn golden brown.

5.  Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes.

6.  For the frosting, simply stir the coconut oil, honey, almond extract and salt, until well combined.7.  Enjoy plain, dipped, covered, or drizzled with chocolate.

How to dip in chocolate: If dipping in chocolate, wait until the cookies have cooled to room temp before dipping.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until the chocolate hardens (about 30 minutes).

We tasted them before leaving the cookies for Santa to enjoy, and all of us, including my sweet tooth husband, approved! Merry Christmas! 🙂