Almond Honey-Buttered Thumbprint Cookies

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry. I’m so terribly sorry. And I wish there was a not-so-totally-cliché word for sorry but I can’t think of one at the moment.

No… I’m not mad at any of you. I haven’t been avoiding you. And gosh no… I’m totally not cheating on you. I’ve just been preoccupied with doctor’s appointments, medications, fevers, make up homework assignments, sleep, and lots and lots of tissues.

Oh, and nasal spray. I don’t do that stuff.

I didn’t forget about any of you. Actually, I thought a lot about you.

I’ve been taking a nutrition course this semester and now I’m basically an expert in the field. I know the different types of carbohydrates, the (very detailed) way your food is broken down in the GI tract, and cool terms like Triglycerides, Phospholipids, and Sterols. Yeah… I’m pretty much awesome.

Anyways, I thought about you so much that I wanted to make you a sweet and healthy treat. Que cookies. Duh.

This thumbprint cookies use honey as the only sweetener and tender ground almonds to give a nice, nutty kick in your mouth. Just a touch of butter mixed in with the filling gives it a rich flavor without too much saturated fat and whole wheat flour allows your body to process carbohydrates more slowly. Too much “bad fat” can increase your “bad cholesterol” LDL levels because saturated fat is a type of triglyceride that is transported through the blood stream by lipoproteins…

I sound awesome.

Almond Honey-Buttered Thumbprint Cookies

(yields 14-16 cookies)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1 cup white-whole wheat flour (or 1/2 all-purpose, 1/2 whole wheat)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup, plus 1-2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp canola oil

1 large egg

1 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

24-26 whole almonds, for topping

Preparation:

Process almonds in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and add flour(s), baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined.

Beat 1/3 cup honey, oil and butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add egg, then vanilla extract, and beat until blended. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Continue to stir until combined. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and coat 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper.

Roll tablespoons of dough into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Press the tip of your index finger in the center of each cookie to make an indentation. Bake the cookies until set and barely golden on the bottom, about 12 to 13 minutes.

Once done, transfer to a wire rack and top each cookie with 2 whole almonds. Lastly, warm up 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey for 10 seconds then drizzle on top of cookies. Let cool for 30 minutes.

Happy noming!

Nutritional information (per cookie): 145 calories, 8.5g fat (1.5 sat, 3.5 mono, 3 poly), 14.5g carbohydrates, 1.5g protein