Today we are so happy to welcome our long time friend Michelle to our table. Michelle is a new blogger, with a desire to share her gluten free culinary adventures and the love of food with family and friends. Her goal at Gluten Free Fix is to share easy to create, beautiful and delicious recipes. Word on the street is that her baking is amazing! We are delighted to have her join us at our table! ~Chris Ann & Kristin
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Before I begin, I just wanted to share with you all how amazing Chris Ann and Kristin are. I have known both of them for years and I truly admire them for being remarkable mothers, devoted wives, reliable friends, outstanding cooks, and creative gurus…. they pretty much rock….
Back in December of 2004, I was preparing for my first Christmas with my husband and I was able to start fresh and decorate anyway I wanted! Being the youngest of 4 girls and with a mom that is slightly particular about decor, this was new territory for me. I was so excited and ready to blast Mariah Carey’s Holiday album until I realized, I had NO Christmas decorations. So I went where any girl goes to get the goods. My favorite shop, Target. I picked up some lovely red and gold metallic bulbs and some strands of white lights and ribbon and got busy. After I dressed the tree, my husband looked at me and said “it looks like it came out of a catalogue”, but in his tone I could tell it was not a compliment. And he was right, it was pretty, but boring and kind of sad. I had to explain to him that our 4 week old daughter wasn’t quite able to make ornaments for the tree or help me make strands of cranberry and popcorn garland. So with that, I decided to raid my mom’s ornament boxes and pick out a few of my childhood ornaments to “help” my tree.
Meanwhile, after many years and after having 4 children, I have made it a point to craft and make decorations for our home and tree during the holidays. Not only has it been extremely fun for them, but it is a great way to spend time together and create memories. Our house is adorned with cut-out snowflakes, paper link chains and any other Christmas related craft you could think of. It’s very warm, inviting, personalized and special, especially for my husband.
My absolute favorite cookies that my mom makes every year on her cookie tray, are Florentines. These buttery, thin, crisp, toffee-like wafers, are sandwiched together with melted chocolate. They are ridiculously amazing and addictive. You soon will see. I have adapted this recipe to be gluten free, but don’t worry there are no weird flours or mixes involved. Anyone can make these with ingredients right out of their pantry. Did I mention that my version only uses 3 ingredients? Unlike other Florentine recipes, this one does not require cooking sugar, which can be a bit daunting for most cooks. These are super quick and easy.
Almond Lace Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 stick of butter, melted
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1 cup of whole almonds
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Line several sheet trays with silpats or parchment paper.
- In a food processor, chop the almonds. You want some of the nuts to turn into a flour-like consistency, while keeping some no larger than a size of a pea.
- Add melted butter and honey, pulse in with almonds.
- Drop by teaspoonful onto prepared cookie sheets, several inches apart. About 8 cookies per tray, as the batter will spread quite a bit.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, until golden brown. Be sure to watch them very closely at the end of baking time, they will turn dark very quickly.
- Remove from the oven and let cookies cool down before trying to remove. Use a very thin spatula to release the cookies. I use a small off set spatula. They are very delicate, hence the name “lace” cookie.
This recipe yields 4 dozen cookies or 2 dozen sandwich cookies. They can be made in advance and stored between pieces of parchment paper in the freezer.
Here are a couple variations for use:
- drizzle with melted chocolate
- sandwich together 2 cookies with melted chocolate (these are more durable for cookie trays)
- while cookies are still warm out of oven, they are very pliable and can be shaped into a bowl or cannoli shell by draping over small bowls or utensil handles. Great for serving ice cream or berries and whipped cream.
- serve them plain, just the way they are.
I love these because they are very versatile and make for a beautiful presentation. They are worth the extra time and effort, people will appreciate it! It will make a nice addition to any holiday cookie platter.
Thank you , Chris Ann and Kristin, for letting me, such a newbie blogger take part in your virtual Holiday Cookie Exchange! I hope to share a real lovefeast with you marvelous ladies soon!
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Thank you Michelle from Gluten Free Fix for sharing your recipe at our table! ~Chris Ann & Kristin
