*National Almond Day may have been two days ago but there’s still time to enter to win an almond prize pack.*

I get asked a lot whether almond flour can be used in a recipe in place of almond meal and vice versa. I’ve never found much of a difference when baking with either one. Almond flour is lighter and finer than almond meal and generally better for light and airy baked goods.

I used a very fine almond flour for these and couldn’t believe how much they melted in your mouth for something that’s grain-free. The almond butter and almond flour together make a great flavor that’s more than your average blondie has.

These are definitely on the cakier side of blondies. I would love to figure out how to make them more fudgy, but still had no complaints with this recipe. Next time I would consider making a buttercream frosting to put on top of them.

White Chocolate Almond Blondies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour or almond meal
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup natural almond butter
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
3. Beat in the eggs and almond butter until fully incorporated.
4. Slowly mix in the melted butter and vanilla extract until evenly mixed.
5. Pour the batter into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan.
6. Sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the batter and gently press them in.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center of the blondies has set.
8. Let them cool before cutting.

I never understood why Christmas cookies are a thing, why cookies take priority over cake or mousse or any other number of desserts. But in reality who ever has time to sit down for desserts around Christmastime? Between cooking, opening presents, and talking everyone is usually standing or in the other room, and cookies are the perfect grab-and-go dessert for that.

When I think of iced cookies, I usually think of the stale ones from the grocery store with neon pink frosting that taste like pure sugar. I would always eat the frosting(because who doesn’t love pure sugar?) but the cookie usually got left behind. These are far from those iced cookies. There’s nothing quite like a fresh cookie with a smooth and soft icing on top to step up the game for the rest of the desserts.

The almond extract is the special ingredient that makes these cookies irresistible. If you don’t have any it’s worth running out to the store to find. Making an icing that’s part butter adds a touch of richness to the balance out the sweet.

Iced Vanilla-Almond Butter Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 18 cookies):

• 1 cup almond butter
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the icing:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the almond butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt.
3. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and put them on a non-stick baking tray. Press down on the balls lightly to flatten them to about 1/2-inch.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges of the cookies begin to brown.
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool.
6. Combine the butter and milk in a medium-sized bowl.
7. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl.
8. Beat together the sugar, butter, and milk until smooth. Add in the vanilla and almond extract and continue mixing until smooth.
9. Spread a Tablespoon of frosting on top of each cookie. Let the cookies sit at room temperature uncovered until the frosting sets.

You can decorate these with green and red or white sprinkles to make them a little more festive.

I love almond butter. I like it even more than peanut butter most of the time. But I don’t buy it nearly as often because it’s over twice the price. That just isn’t fair, is it? These cookies were worth the splurge.

The nice thing about almond butter is that the flavor is simple and delicious. It’s easy to dress up and make fancier with extracts and spices. These taste incredibly like a gingersnap and have a very similar texture, too. It’s hard to believe the ingredients are so simple and naturally gluten-free. 

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice handy, just use about a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg.

Spiced Almond Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12-14 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 cookies):

• 1 cup almond butter
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until it forms a dough.
3. Line a baking tray with a non-stick surface. Make the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on the tray, flattening them with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
4. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges begin to brown.
5. Remove from the oven and let them cool before transferring them to a serving plate.

I promise you these taste way too good to be made with 4 ingredients.

Cookie recipes can be hard sometimes. You need to preheat the oven, mix the ingredients in a certain order, chill and slice the dough sometimes—it’s usually more work than I want to do for a quick sweet fix.

I love macaroons since they’re about as easy a cookie as you can make and still have a satisfying dessert to bite into. As a bonus, they’re naturally gluten-free and have a healthy dose of fats and fiber. It’s even more fun when you make them extra big like they just came from a bakery and eat them warm.

You could try to make these with an egg substitute, but definitely use some sort of binder since the almond butter alone isn’t really enough to hold them together.

Honey Almond Macaroons

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen):

• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
3. Either fill an ice cream scoop with dough and release as mounds on a lined baking tray OR roll balls of dough in your hands, flattening one side and placing it on the baking tray.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the outside has browned slightly.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool.

These aren’t too sweet, so I like a little extra honey drizzled on top. They’d be perfect for dessert with some tea or coffee.