Almond Joy Bites (with a chocolate foot)

In need of a gluten and dairy-free cookie?  Need it asap?  Don't have a lot of time for detail and fuss?  I have you covered!  These little almond-y tasting bites are sweet and tender, chewy and delicious.  They are a bit more exotic with a chocolate foot, sprinkled with a bit of hemp seed hearts <3  You know those "keeper recipes" that you bring out when you need some oohs and ahhs?  Trust me, this little cookie should be a part of that treasured collection.

August has been pretty busy for me (and you too, I'm guessing).  It's a pleasure to eat cleanly with so many fresh options, especially vegetables and fruit grown locally.  Whether you cook light (i.e., steaming, sauteing) or prepare raw, summer produce is out of this world.  Crispy salads or grain bowls with charred vegetables, colorful roasted fruits, lean protein, and a sweep of whatever herbs you are growing are my ideas of daily happiness.

"But what about dessert?" you ask.  Great question!  What is better than stone fruits over bowls of
oh-so refreshing sorbet or ice cream after a frazzled day?  And the crumbles, crisps, and shortbreads covering dark berries finished with whipped cream dollop?  So yummy!  See?  I do understand the resistance to turning on your oven, but maybe you can deal with a 300º F temperature for just 20 minutes?  If so, keep on reading.  Almond Joy Bites to the rescue.  They are perfect scoopers for that vanilla frozen yogurt that's on your mind and in your frig.

Notes

1.  Before rolling the cookie dough between my hands, I gave the edge of the dough a dip in confectioner's sugar.  The rolling is a breeze, and the sticky-factor gone.

2.  I have made these a few times this month and decided to add the chocolate foot.  I microwaved dark chocolate chips in a glass bowl in small intervals (10-15 seconds), stirring after each interval to melt.  When the chips were mostly melted, I just stirred to melt the rest of the chocolate.

3.  Holding onto each cookie, I dipped halfway into the melted chocolate, let the excess drip off (helping it with a fork), and then placed it back on the baking tray to solidify.  If you need them sooner, place into the refrigerator to speed up the process.

Almond Joy Bites
(mentor recipe here)
Yield:  approx. 36

2 cups almond meal
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 cup dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet, milk, etc.)
Hemp seed hearts (or other chopped nuts) for sprinkling, optional

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 300ºF.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
2.  Place the confectioner's sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
2.  In a large bowl, place the almond meal, sugar, and corn starch.
3.  In a second bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until they are just shy of forming peaks but are quite foamy.  This took me less than 5 minutes.
4.  Whisk in the almond extract.
5.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until everything comes together.  Feel free to use your hands to knead the ingredients into a sticky dough.  Before proceeding, you may want to rinse your hands.
6.  With a spoon, grab about a tablespoon of the dough.  Before rolling into a ball, dip the edge into the confectioner's sugar.  Then start rolling.  Smooth and easy!
7.  Place rolled cookie onto tray and repeat with the rest of the dough.  I was able to make about 3 dozen and used only one large baking sheet.  They do not spread.

8.  Bake for 20 minutes until the tops are cracked and dry.  Remove from oven.
9.  Cool on baking sheet.

10. Remove from baking sheet and enjoy.  Store leftovers in an airtight container or in ziplock bags.
11. If adding a chocolate foot, see notes above.

12.  Layer leftovers in an airtight container between sheets of parchment.

13.  Now that's how to make a hot summer a bit more bearable :)

Tweed Bars

I know that it's scorching outside and you have every right to avert your eyes after you skim this posting and see that I've turned on my oven for this (boo).   I completely understand if you want to move onto a blog that posts a chilly, no-bake appetizer, dinner, and dessert.  I kinda want to do that too!

There's someone in my kitchen that continues to roast vegetables, cook grains, and bake.  There's someone here that tries mightily to use the oven for many recipes or parts thereof with just one turn-on.  This someone's efforts are to produce meals for a few days with minimal oven usage subsidizing with those easy throw-together crispy fruit and veggie salads, quick stovetop heating (if necessary), and microwave assistance.  We could go out to eat, you say?  Yes, but... I really like being in the kitchen and I do really resist overuse of the oven in summer's prime.

So in the crushing heat of the summer, I bake and roast at the same time.  I plan for this in the morning.  Cookies or bars, corn or beets, potatoes or eggplant, peppers or garlic. They.all.go.in.simultaneously.  Yes, the cookies likely come out first, and yes, the oven temperature might have to be adjusted for the veggies, but I think overall oven time is reduced.  Rest assured that this little number above was not alone, but nestled in with other oven food friends, providing parts of future meals yet to be assembled.

Why tweed???  Well, the bars have that speckled look that is a hallmark of some tweed fabric like this one.  The speckles are due to Heath Bar bits, but you could achieve a similar look using mini chocolate chips (or a combo of both).

So very easy to put together, this shortbread can be baked in a pie pan as you see above, an
8 X 8 square pan, or round cake pans. The key to serving shortbread is to score while still warm. Once cooled your portion shapes will abide by your wishes.  If you wait until the shortbread is completely cooled, your pieces may shatter and crumble into their own shapes.

Notes

1.  I usually cut the mentor recipe in half to yield only one tweed bar cake.

2.  Because of the look, I used a glass pie pan.  It travels well too.

3.  The photo below illustrates the light scoring of the warm shortbread.  The resulting triangular pieces were perfect.

4.  I cut the butter down to one-half stick for ease.

5.  How do I measure 3/8 cup sugar?  Measure 1/4 cup first, place it in with the butter, and then fill the 1/4 cup up halfway (as best you can).  That's 1/4 + 1/8 = 3/8 cups

6.  How do I measure 1 and 1/6 cup flour?  Well, measure the one cup, and fill your 1/3 cup up halfway.  That's 1 + 1/6 = 1 and 1/6 cups

7.  I used the Heath brand of toffee pieces.  They did not need any additional chopping.

8.  During the month of July, I made this recipe a few times.  On one occasion, I was short on toffee pieces and so modified with mini chocolate chips to accommodate.  You will see these chips in some photos.  Still good!

Tweed Bars
Yield from a pie pan: 12
Mentor recipe

4 Tablespoons salted butter (1/2 stick), room temperature
3/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/6 cups ap flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
3/4 cups of chopped pieces of chocolate covered toffee

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 300ºF.  Grease your pan of choice (or line with parchment paper).

2.  In your mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and mix.

3.  Add in the flour and salt, if using.  Mix until dough comes together.

4.  Add in toffee bits.  Mix.

5.  Pick up the dough from the bowl and press it into the pan, leveling and smoothing with your fingers.

6.  Using a fork and spoon, prick the dough and add visual touches.  For example, crimp the edge as if this were a pie, press the spoon's tip into the dough to make pretty indentations, or use your fingers to push the dough into small ridges.  You decide what looks nice!

7.  Bake the Tweed Bars for about 40 minutes until golden.

8.  Remove and set on a wire rack to cool.  After 5 minutes, lightly score your pieces with a knife.

9.  When completely cool, a sharp knife cutting through the scored lines will give you the pieces you want.

These were made with mini chocolate chips and toffee bits!