I wish I could photograph the smell of these cookies. Seriously.
And don’t take that lightly – the glory of mid-fall brings with it so many sensory pleasures that it takes a lot for anything to wow me these days. You know what I’m talking about – unbelievably crisp air, the awesome sound of leaves crunching under your feet, that unparallelled fall light … not that I’m complaining here, but it kind of makes most other things pale in comparison. Smells that normally do all sorts of good things for me – coffee in the morning, cut flowers, even really awesome Chinese food (which usually has a whole forbidden-thing going for it too since its rarely available gluten-free) – get an “eh.” But these cookies – oh my gosh. When copious amounts of butter meet rose syrup, raspberries, and almonds and then decide to party together in an oven, even fall takes a backseat to the sensory pleasures that unfold.
I think it’s because these cookies are also decidedly un-fall. There’s no pumpkin, there’s no squash, and there’s no heartiness; this is a cookie that’s light, delicate, and perfumy — more reminiscent of spring than any other season. And I’ll be honest, I’m getting kind of sick of pumpkin. (Hopefully you aren’t though, because I still have some pumpkin recipes I want to share with you before fall ends!) But for now, I’m enjoying this glimpse into spring. (Let’s just ignore the elephant…er…arctic woolly mammoth in the room, okay? We all know that spring comes RIGHT after fall. No other season, especially nothing that includes biting cold and heavy snowfall – comes between the two, right?)
Anyway, back to these cookies. They are absurdly buttery, delightfully crisp on the bottom, and soft and chewey on the inside. The best time to eat them is ten minutes after they come out of the oven, with or without a pot of tea. Don’t be dissuaded by their color – the coconut sugar makes them a bit darker than normal tea-time cookies, but they taste of elegance. And butter. Have I mentioned the butter? If you don’t like butter, please don’t make these. If you do like butter, please make them immediately. You’re in for a treat.
Oh, and these cookies are pretty quick to make – you only need 1 bowl and prep time is about 15 minutes.
A couple notes about this recipe:
-Almond flour varies greatly across brands. Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, especially, is much coarser than other almond flours and probably would not work in this recipe. I use Honeyville almond flour in all my recipes, because I can order it fairly cheaply in bulk. (I definitely recommend this way of purchasing almond flour because one bag of Bob’s Red Mill is usually over twelve bucks!) Please feel free to try this with other brands of almond flour, but keep in mind that you may need to make some adjustments.
-My guess is that the quality of your rose syrup, raspberry jam, and butter matters here. I used Fiordifrutta raspberry jam, which is sweetened with fruit and contains no added sugar. I used Mymouné rose syrup because it’s made from rose petals, sugar, and lemon juice – nothing else. (Many rose syrups use artificial flavors and colors instead of just using actual rose petals.) I used a butter that was described as “perfectly salted” – Finlandia brand – and I have to say that it was! Be wary of using a very salty butter – the flavor will definitely be negatively affected. While I haven’t tried using an unsalted butter, my guess is that you’ll still be successful provided you add a pinch or two of sea salt to your batter if you go this route. (And don’t worry, I’m not being compensated by any of the brands I’ve mentioned!)
-When the cookies first come out of the oven, they should be browned on the bottom but may look underbaked on top since they will still be quite soft and delicate. Don’t worry, the cookies will firm up during the ten minute cooling period, after which you can feel free to pick ’em up without worrying about any crumbling or breaking.
-I think the flavor of these cookies is best when warm. At ten minutes out of the oven, they have the perfect crisp exterior and melt in your mouth insides. At room temperature, the rose flavor is more intense, and the cookies are less crisp. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, my personal preference is for the warm version. Because of their high butter content, I store them in the fridge, and they are also quite delicious chilled – they become chewier and more bar-like after some time in the fridge.
-I almost never use electric mixers when baking (gasp!), and this recipe is no exception. When I say “cream together the butter and sugar” and “beat in the egg,” I mean with a fork – no mixer necessary!
Raspberry-Rose Cookies
Makes 16 cookies
- 7 oz lightly salted butter, softened (I used Finlandia brand)
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup fruit-sweetened raspberry jam
- 1 teaspoon rose syrup
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (see note above)
Preheat the oven to 350.°
Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, jam, and rose syrup. Fold in the almond flour – the batter will be quite stiff and it will look like there’s too much flour – there isn’t. When everything is incorporated, the batter should have the consistency of a thick nut butter.
Drop by rounded tablespoons on a large parchment paper lined sheet tray, and press down gently on the top of each cookie to flatten it slightly. The cookies should be two inches apart, as they will spread during baking. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the bottoms are browned but the top is still quite soft. Cool for ten minutes – the cookies will firm up during the cooling period. Enjoy!
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