Almond Chocolate Cookies

Happy 1st Advent! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. My kids had an extra day off from school on Friday, giving us some more time to decorate the house and just relax a little. The Christmas tree is up and we only have a few more wooden decorations we need to set up and find the perfect place to display.  We also started to do some baking and I’m excited to share the recipe for these yummy chocolate cookies. I’ve been making these for many years, this year I slightly changed the recipe, using melted chocolate and sweetened only with coconut sugar. The outside needs to be slightly crisp with a chewy soft center, and they are gluten free. These cookies need to dry/rest overnight and bake only for a few minutes. Forming the balls is pretty messy, just to warn you;) but you will not regret it!

 

 

Almond Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 250 g coconut sugar
• 200 g semisweet chocolate chips
• 300 g ground almonds
• 2-3 tbsp corn starch

-Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

-In a medium bowl whisk together eggs and coconut sugar.

-Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. Add to the egg mixture. Mix in almonds and corn starch until well combined.

-Cover and let cool in refrigerator at least 1/2 hour. Dough has to be more formable.

-Using a tablespoon or teaspoon, scoop out portions then roll into balls. Place onto baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest/dry over night.

-Preheat oven to 380F (convection setting). Bake for 3-5 minutes. Cookies should only have some little cracks, and lightly browned at the bottom. Do not overbake they will still harden a little while cooling down.

 

Hope you give it a try! Let me know if you do:)

Enjoy!

 

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sweet Domino Stones

We bake every year several kinds of Christmas cookies. Most of them are traditional Swiss and European cookies that I know and have liked since my childhood. I find most of the recipes in my old Swiss baking book that my mother had already before I was born.

A few weeks before I start baking, I take out my books and magazines and look through all the yummy cookies…and then all the amazing recipes online! If we could only eat that much, I would definitely like to bake way more varieties:)

So I settle on my usual ones and then I will add one or two new cookies. I found these Domino stones in an older German Magazine.  With European recipes I sometimes have to change things up a bit, just because I can not find the exact ingredient here.

Let your kids help with the decorating;) These are also cute just plain without the chocolate icing.

 

Sweet Domino Stones

• 125g          butter, soft
• 100g         sugar
• 1tsp          vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
• 2                eggs
• 50g           corn starch
• 150g          flour
• 3tsp          baking powder
• 1tsp          orange, zest
• 30g           almonds, ground
• 50ml        milk
• 3tsp          cocoa powder

Almond filling:

• 150g         almonds, ground
• 150g         sugar
• 1                organic orange, zest
• 1-2            orange, juice

 

• 500g        dark chocolate
• 50g           icing sugar
• 1-2tsp     lemon juice

 

-Preheat stove to 350F/180C. I used a 12×8 inch (30x20cm) baking dish.

-In a bowl mix butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, eggs until creamy.

-Mix in corn starch, flour, baking powder, orange zest, almonds and milk. Mix well.

-Divide batter into two. In one bowl mix in cocoa powder until well blended.

-In a third small bowl mix together almonds, sugar and orange zest. Add orange juice until mixture is moist.

-Spread vanilla mix into prepared dish, top with almond mix and last add the cocoa batter, spreading evenly.

-Bake for about 15 min. or tester inserted comes out clean. Let cool.

-Cut into domino stones.

-In a double boiler melt the dark chocolate. Carefully dip in dominoes, (or only the top).

-Mix together icing sugar and lemon juice and decorate with dots.

 

The almond filling tastes like Marzipan!

Aren’t they cute…

 

Happy baking!

 

 

 

 

Gingerbread Brownies

This morning I started decorating our house for Christmas. Hanging up lights on the windows and bringing out Candles…I know I am probably late compared to most people…I saw lots of decorated Christmas trees and such in November but that is just a little to early for me. Now it is December and I am finally getting into the spirit;)

I just love the smell of spices, especially Cinnamon. It is such a warming comforting smell! I do use it every day, all year-in my muesli, tea, coffee… Cinnamon is a very healthy lovely spice.

What better way to get into the holiday spirit then with some Gingerbread smell in the air:-)

 

Gingerbread Brownies

• 1/4cup    butter
• 1cup        dark chocolate, chopped or bittersweet choc. chips
• 1/3cup     molasses
• 1cup         brown sugar (the recipe calls for 1c sugar and 1/4c brown sugar)
• 2 large    eggs
• 1cup        flour (I used spelt flour)
• 1/2tsp     sea salt
• 1tsp         cinnamon
• 1tsp         ginger, freshly grated

 

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease a 9×9 inch baking dish, or line with parchment paper.

-Melt butter and chocolate, remove from heat.

-In a bowl whisk molasses with sugar, whisk in eggs. Add butter and chocolate, mix well.

-Add flour, salt, cinnamon and ginger until just incorporated.

-Pour in prepared dish and bake for 20-30 minutes.

-Let cool in dish. Cut into squares and dust with some icing sugar.

 

 

 

 

(recipe adapted from ihearteating)

 

 

Happy Holidays!