I love Sundays! No gym in the morning, no after-school activities to schlep my kids to. Zero commitments… On Sundays, it is ME time from the moment I wake up!
I spend most of my ME time either in the kitchen or the art room… Concocting extravagant breakfasts, making cards and jewelry, painting, sketching, photographing my favorite peeps, coming up with new recipes, writing Cucee posts…
This past Sunday, I woke up with nothing but cookies on my mind. Which is a problem, because all the common baking ingredients, such as flour, sugar and dairy, are strictly prohibited on my gut-healing diet. So, if I really wanted those darn cookies, I had to get uber creative and think outside the high-carb cookie jar.
Which I did.
I crept into the kitchen, trying to stay quiet so as not to wake anyone up, and started experimenting. An hour later, the family (including the dogs) was neatly assembled in the kitchen, drawn by the scent of sweet vanilla. They all waited hungrily and impatiently for me to finish assembling the fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies.
The cookies did not have the longest lifespan. Most of them were snatched off the cooling rack before they even had a chance to get comfortable (or photographed.) Everyone got a bite of them, even the dogs; the crumbs, dropped on the floor, had their names written on them in bold letters.
Lemon Curd Almond Sandwich Cookies (vegan & gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp Stevia Original Liquid Extract (or more, depending on how sweet you like your cookies. If you feel adventurous, add ½ cup of sugar instead)
- 1 tsp almond liqueur or ½ tsp almond extract
- 1.5 cups sliced almonds
- Lemon Curd (see recipe below – you will have some leftover)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites, stevia and almond liqueur/extract until foamy
- Fold in the almonds and mix until well coated
- Spoon 1 tbsp of batter onto prepared baking sheet and, with a spatula, spread into a 2 to 3-inch circle. Spoon the rest of the batter on baking sheet with each cookie at least 1-inch apart
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until pale gold in color. Cool on a cooling rack
- To make sandwich cookies, place a teaspoon (or more) of the lemon curd between 2 cookies and serve
Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, cut into cubes
- 1 tsp Stevia Original Liquid Extract
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup lemon zest
- 6 egg yolks
Directions
- Fill a medium saucepan with 1 – 2 inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low and keep the water at a low simmer
- Place egg yolks, lemon juice, zest and stevia in a large heatproof bowl and whisk to combine. Set the bowl over, but not touching, the simmering water and whisk continuously until the yolks thicken and the mixture forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted from the bowl, about 5 to 10 minutes
- Remove the bowl from the simmering water; whisk in the butter one piece at a time, until each piece is completely melted before adding the next
- Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour
Drink Pairing
Kefir and freshly baked cookies go hand in hand. The tangy fermented drink really balances out the vigor of the sweet cookie flavor.