almond cookies

This recipe makes makes about 8 generous sized cookies

-> 1/2 stick salted light butter (normal or vegan butter would also work).. 1/2 stick = 4 tablespoons.. you could use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt. Or if you are using salted almonds, dont add any salt.

-> 4-5 tablespoons sugar.. I used 4 and it was just right for me. But if you like things on the sweeter side, you may want to do 5.

-> 9 tablespoons 50/50 (whole wheat+white) flour.. this is what i used, you could use all white flour as well. I dont know how all whole wheat will taste. If you generally dont like "fat free substitutes" I would not recommend all whole wheat.

-> 5 tablespoons finely chopped almonds or whatever nuts you want to use. to chop/powder my almonds, i put them in a ziplock bag and ran a rolling pin over them a few times. worked like a charm. you cannot be gentle and delicate about it, you'll need to use some force will rolling them.

-> 4 tablespoons club soda (can be substituted with eggs,baking soda, baking powder but im not sure what their proportions will be.)

note: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons for dry ingridients

1. mix butter and sugar for 5 minutes. the more you whisk the butter, the "lighter" the cookie will be. make sure the butter is at room temperature before you add the sugar.

2. preheat the oven to 350F.

3. add flour and almonds to the sugar butter batter. things may be a little dry. thats ok. make sure everything is evenly mixed.

4. open a fresh can/bottle of club soda and pour 4 tablespoons into the batter. be quick to avoid losing any carbonation. tip: open the bottle in the sink, dont learn the hard way ;)

5. mix the batter for 1 minute. it should become smoother as the soda does its magic. dont mix it too much. you dont want all the fizz to go away.

6. scoop the batter out on a cookie tray or a sheet of aluminium foil. most recipes ask you to grease the tray with butter but i didnt since the cookie batter has butter and mine came off the aluminium foil without the slightest fuss. if you are using foil, take out the rack from the oven and assemble everything on the rack and then put it all into the oven. Essentially, treat the rack like a cookie tray with aluminium foil.

7. bake at 350 for 12-20 minutes, depending on the oven, how well done you want your cookie and how long it was pre-heated. i would say that wait atleast until the edges are beginning to look brown. some cookies are nice when a bit chewie, but almond cookies taste better when nice and crisp. Also, put the rack approximately in the middle of the oven if you're using an electric oven so that the cookie is done evenly.

8. toothpick the cookie to check if its done. if it comes out clean it is done even though it may seem a bit soft. it hardens considerably on cooling.

enjoy! :)

Note: I didnt add any almond essence cos i try and avoid artificial flavors. you could add 1/2 a teaspoon if you want the flavor to be more intense.