Gluten Free Almond Cookies with Lemon Curd
My favorite cookie is short bread cookies and I wanted to be able to share this buttery cookie with my daughter who is gluten free. Replacing all purpose flour with gluten free flour presents a problem with dense and flavorless cookies. I combined white rice flour and almond flour to give this crumbly cookie a delicious taste. The secret to working with gluten free flour is to sift it. Yes, the old fashion method of sifting flour still works. Finishing the cookie with a dollop of lemon curd or using it as a dipping sauce, compliments the almond flavor.
Let’s get baking, you’ll need:
ALMOND COOKIE
350 degrees for 20 mins 9x12 pan ungreased Bake
425 degrees 10 mins to toast cookie
2 sticks of cold butter – cubed
½ cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cup ground fine almond flour
½ cup of white rice flour
LEMON CURD
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp spoon lemon zest
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
½ c butter – cubed
To make the cookies, in a large bowl mix (by hand – yes get your hands in there and squeeze. The heat from your body will melt the butter and bring this batter together. Some are “HOT MAMMAS” and their butter will come together faster, others, like me, need to really work this batter to bring it together. Call it an arm workout and you’ll thank me in the end.) butter, sugar, vanilla and both flours. I only use Bob’s Red Mill White Rice Flour (keep unused flour in the freezer for freshness)
and Bob’s Red Mill Fine Ground Almond Flour (again keep extra in a bag in the freezer).
The batter will feel like sand and you’ll think it will never come together, but it does. Squeeze the butter until you have little crumbles that are pea size and then incorporate the flour. Your batter will have lumps of butter and that’s great.
The butter will melt in the oven making pillows of air pockets that will make your cookie crumbly. Yes, I know “that’s the way the cookie crumbles” but you’ll see, this cookie is awesome with the sour lemon curd and you’ll be fighting over the crumbs left on the dish.
Press the batter into a 9x12 pan (ungreased) and allow it to bake 20 minutes or until edges are brown and the middle is still soft. COOL COMPLETELY.
Slice the cookies into small squares and top with a slice of almond and put on a cookie sheet. These will be put back in the oven for 10 mins at 425 degrees to toast the top of the cookie. Cool and store the cookies in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
LEMON CURD
Once you make this easy lemon curd you’ll use it on top of everything. Just think, if the Queen decides to come to your house for afternoon tea, you already have this recipe for the lemon curd and we’ll master the crumpets at another time. This is perfect to serve with warm blueberry muffins or to use as a the base layer for lemon meringue pie. You can get creative with this gluten free recipe and instead of lemon, try blood oranges or any citrus fruit you like.
It’s your kitchen, you can get as creative as you want. We don’t have recipe “fails” just ones that don’t get a repeat appearance. Those we say, “thank you for coming, but you’re not welcomed back”.
Let’s make the lemon curd:
In a heavy pot (don’t use glass) combine lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest on low heat. In a small bowl, crack your eggs and whisk them and add SLOWLY a little bit of the lemon mixture from the pot into your egg bowl. Look at you, you’re tempering eggs like a professional chef! Keep whisking the egg mixture until about 1/3 of the lemon mixture is in the bowl. Then add the egg mixture to the pot with the remainder of the lemon mixture. Don’t stop whisking. (warned you would get great arm workout) Drop the butter into the pot one piece at a time, whisking so the mixture doesn’t burn. Repeat until all the butter is incorporated into the pot. Allow this mixture to come to a simple boil (bubbles will appear around the side of the pot but NOT a rolling boil).
Cook this mixture for 6 mins or until it’s thick and you can coat a spoon. (you’ll know it’s done with you put a spoon in and slide your finger over the back of the spoon. Can you see where you ran your finger? Good, it’s done.”
Allow the lemon curd to cool completely (you may want to taste to make sure it’s to your pucker – I like mine really tart). Top your finished curd with more lemon zest and refrigerate left overs.
(suggested delightful: Iced Limoncello Liqueur)
