Iced Almond Cookie Bites

The family decided that we'd make a day of it yesterday; picnicing at a nearby park and having fun in the sun. The weather outside lately has been beautiful but very, very warm... so we thought not make the most of it by getting our lazy butts outdoors and enjoying it before we're hit by the gloom of a damp fall. My mom was packing the goodies into our picnic bag; chips, crackers, cheese, goldfish and drinks... this is when I began to crave something baked and something sweet. We didn't have any cookies lying around the house, and store-bought granola bars just weren't gonna cut my sweet-carb craving... so it was off to the kitchen for me.

Iced Almond Bites (Yield: 20, timbit sized cookies)
recipe adapted from "Butter Sugar Flour Eggs" by Gale Gand

- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/8 cup + 1 tbsp cup sugar
- 1/8 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp pure almond extract
- 1 recipe of Icing (see below)

Icing:
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tbsp egg white
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 1 baking sheet.

2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

3. Whisk eggs and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. Continue mixing and drizzle in oil, vanilla, almond extract.

4. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture; stirring until just combined.

5. Turn the dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Form the dough into logs 1-inch in diameter (work in batches if necessary).

6. Cut the dough into 3/4-inch-thick slices, roll cookies into spheres and arrange on baking sheet.

7. Bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

Icing: In a medium bowl, whisk milk, egg white, confectioners' sugar and almond extract until smooth. When cookies are cool, dip their tops into icing. Alternatively, use a fork or a squeeze bottle to drizzle the cookies with icing. Let set in a cool place 1 hour.


Since my sister is allergic to almonds and all other nuts, I wanted to make these cookies so that she would be able to enjoy them too. To do this, I used Artificial Almond Extract. Artificial Almond Extract contains no almond whatsoever, rather it gains its flavor from the chemical Benzaldehyde. Even the smallest drop of this artificial essense lent a wonderfully nutty aroma and flavor to this very delicate cookie.

The picnic was a success, we spent almost the entire day at the park. Thankfully, no one got seriously burned and we all enjoyed the fun with family and of course... the food!