Hi guuuys,
It’s been so long! I SURVIVED. I say that only half-jokingly–there was a time when I literally thought I wasn’t going to make it. It was a close call, guys. I didn’t sleep much. Ate a lot of granola. Cried a lot, screamed a lot, etc. Now, I’m paying for abusing my body with a fever and so much achey soreness that I am almost completely unable to move any of my limbs. At least now that I’m home I have my bed and an endless supply of tea to nurture me. After finals, moving out of my apartment, and getting home, I can finally relax. My family is happy that I’m home–both for baking/cooking reasons and for other me-being-home reasons. When we’re not screaming at each other, that is. Standard family shenanigans.
Obviously I needed to bake something immediately when I arrived to take full advantage of my family’s FULL-SIZED and FULLY-STOCKED kitchen (what luxury). I’ve been stressed. Baking is my stress relief. It was only a matter of time before I went cooking/baking crazy.
I was actually pretty proud of these cookies. My lovely friend Cheski came over and helped me bake and I just kind of made up the recipe as we went along. They turned out great. A little crumbly, but that’s shortbread for ya.
1 c. flour
1 c. almond meal (blanched might make these prettier, but it doesn’t really matter)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp. vanilla
3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips (or baking chocolate), melted
Combine your flour, almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk your egg until it gets a little light and fluffy (you don’t need to meringue it by hand, just until the yolk and white are fully combined and it expands a little). Whisk in the melted coconut oil, vanilla, and honey. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and fold until just combined–the mixture should be a little crumbly. Form into a ball in the bowl (if you want to use your hands for this part, by all means, go for it) and stick it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. When you stick it in the fridge, preheat the oven to 350. After you remove your chilled dough from the oven, roll into a cylinder in wax paper. With a sharp knife (to avoid crumbling), slice your cookies about 1/4″ thick like those terrifying but wonderful slice-and-bake holiday cookies you buy at the store. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Take them out and let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before very carefully transferring them to a cooling rack. Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring between 30 second intervals until fully melted. Use a spoon to spread a thin layer onto the bottom of your cookies once they’re cool enough, place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and refrigerate until they’ve set.
Aren’t they beautiful? I highly recommend eating these with tea or coffee. They’re like little tea biscuits! They make me feel proper and British. Kinda. These are nice, simple holiday cookies without overdoing it on sweetness. I recommend ’em!
More holiday goodness to come, I’m sure. Just you wait.
Love, Emily
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