Chewy Almond Cookies (Gluten Free)

Sometimes you just need a cookie.
A gluten free one.
A simple, homemade, gluten free cookie.
It’s friday. Treat. Yo. Self.

Chewy Almond Cookies (adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2010) makes about 20 cookies

Ingredients:

7 ounces almond paste (see note 4 below)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 egg whites
2 cups sliced almonds
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment.
2. In a food processor combine the paste, sugar and cinnamon. Pulse until combined. Add the egg whites. Process until blended. The cookie dough will be wet.
3. Place the sliced almonds in a shallow dish. Using a spoon dollop a heaping tablespoon of dough onto the almonds. Using your fingers, roll the dough in the almonds to form a log shape. Once covered in almonds, place on a cookie sheet and shape into a more uniform log. Repeat until all dough is used.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes watching closely as the bottoms will brown quickly around 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. You will probably think they aren’t done. They’re done. I promise. Sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Notes:

1. This recipe originally called to pipe thin strips of the batter onto a cookie sheet. I wasn’t feeling it. The plop and roll method is totally how  professionals do it.

2. This recipe also instructed you to take those thin cookies you just piped and baked, slather on a layer of jam and put two together for pretty, chewy,  jam and almond cookie sandwiches. That didn’t happen either. See note 1.

3. I tried to get jammy with some of them but to be honest, I didn’t like it. All I tasted was jam and the cookie was lost. It’s never good to lose a cookie.

4. I used Solo brand almond paste. It’s the only gluten free kind I could find. I will try to make my own next time. Anyone have a good recipe?

5. If you like pignolis, you will love these.

Roasted Pineapple Ice Cream with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

In case you haven’t noticed, I am a complete type A, organized, neat freak…until it comes to the sink. I hate doing dishes. Hate it. I doubt anyone really likes doing them, but I despise it. We are lucky enough to have a dishwasher, but I still do whatever it takes to get out of washing the dishes. I have two methods that I use regularly.

1. Let it soak. Every dish I use absolutely needs to soak. It doesn’t matter what it is. Water glass? Soak it. Fork? Soak it. Oatmeal bowl? For real, soak it. Which leads me to #2.
2. If I leave them “soaking” for long enough, Jon will do them.

At least he used to, until I made this ice cream. This ice cream is nothing short of amazing, but I’m pretty sure I used close to every dish we own in the process of creating it. Cutting boards, ice cream makers, mixing bowls, pots, cookie sheets, spoons (lots of spoons), spatulas, cup measures, measuring spoons and tasting bowls. Oh, and don’t forget about all the photo shoot dishes. More bowls. More spoons. More cutting boards. Did anybody tally that? I’ll tell you, it’s more than a sink full. And it was more than Jon was willing to wash.

-Wow. That’s a lot of dishes you’ve got “soaking” there.
-They need to sit awhile (<—that’s a lie). Then maybe you can help me wash them?
-By help you, you mean do them? No way.
-What if I load the dishwasher and you do the rest. I hate getting my hands wet.
Well, this my friends, is what I came home to the next night.

Designer dish gloves. “Don’t you love them. They’re extra long so even your arms stay dry. And they’re pink. And girly.”

Worst. Gift. Ever.

So for now I will do dishes. But only because this ice cream is totally worth it. It tastes just like summer. Roasted, fresh pineapple, pureed and mixed into a creamy, vanilla base. You can stop there, but I don’t recommend it. I went on and topped it with a bourbon caramel sauce. HELLO! No jokes. Bourbon+Caramel. Sweet, edible booze. Amazing. The sauce is the perfect compliment to the pineapple ice cream.  I am loving this combination so much that when I make this again, I think I’ll swirl the caramel right into the ice cream. Yes. I will. Then I can eat it straight from the container and that’s one less dish to wash.

Roasted Pineapple Ice Cream with Bourbon Caramel Sauce (adapted from Cooking Light and this Peach Ice Cream)

Ingredients:

For the pineapple ice cream:

1 lb chopped pineapple
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup whole milk
pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
1/2 vanilla bean
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut, toasted (for topping)

For the bourbon caramel sauce:

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons bourbon, divided
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Lay chopped pineapple in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle the pineapple with the brown sugar. Roast for about 10-15 minutes until pineapple starts to brown. Be sure to stir pineapple occasionally.
2. Let pineapple cool just a little. Puree in food processor.
3. Over med-low heat, warm the milk, salt and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean using the back of a knife and add them to the milk. Toss the bean in too.
4. While that’s warming, pour the cream into a large bowl. Place a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and leave that set up for later. I do this in my sink in case of any sort of tragic spillage.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Using a ladle slowly drip some of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks while constantly whisking. This will warm your egg yolks gradually so you don’t get scrambled egg ice cream. Once the yolks are warm and mixed, pour the egg mixture back into the milk saucepan.
6. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. It will coat the back of a spoon when it’s done. Remove from heat.
7. Strain the milk mixture into the cream. Using a spatula push the mixture through the sieve. Stir the vanilla and pineapple puree into the base and refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Chilling will take several hours, so it’s best to leave it over night. I put mine in the freezer for a few hours, since I didn’t have time to wait for it over night.
8. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
9. While churning, make the caramel sauce. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add the sugar, 3 tablespoons of bourbon, water and lemon juice. Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium. Let simmer for 10 minutes without stirring. The caramel will deepen in color. Be sure to watch closely as it can burn quickly. Remove from heat and add the cream, remaining bourbon and vanilla. The sauce will thicken as it sits at room temperature. This can be stored in the refrigerator.
10. When the ice cream is finished churning, serve soft right from the ice cream maker, or allow it to harden in the freezer before serving. Top with bourbon caramel and coconut.

Notes:

1. I roasted the pineapple only because I didn’t want the blackened pieces that usually result from broiling. You could surely broil and watch closely so it doesn’t burn.
2. I didn’t think I could love a tropical ice cream more than coconut…but this! And with the bourbon caramel…OMG. Those baby spoons up there are a joke. Let’s get real…you’re gonna need a grown up spoon.