This is the story of the accidental cookie.

Trying to make a cashew coconut butter, I forget to soak the cashews before throwing them in the processor.

Unsoaked cashews are bad news for my stomach.

But adding a flax egg, almond extract, salt, and liquid stevia gets me some mighty fine cookie dough.

Rolling them into one-inch balls and cooking them at a low temperature makes a super buttery, tender, and slightly crumbly almond cookie.

I cook them at two different temperatures for my test batches.

The lower heat is my favorite for a tender cookie.  But if you don’t have the time, just turn it up and watch them closely until they lightly brown underneath.

If only it was this easy to figure out which liquid stevia to use.

But after some covert investigation, decisions were made!

Stay tuned for next week when I tell you all about it.

Note: This recipe was shared with the following blogging communities: Wellness Weekend, Gluten Free Fridays.

Almond Shortbread Cookies

From PartTimeHealthNut.com

Makes: 14 one-inch cookies, Cook time: 50 to 60 minutes, Oven temp: 250 degrees F

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashew pieces
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. almond extract
• 12 drops liquid stevia
• 1 flax egg (1 T. ground flax seed mixed with 3 T water, let sit for ten minutes)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (or 300 degrees F for faster cooking).
2. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Pulverize shredded coconut to a paste in food processor, scraping down from the sides until oils begin to release and it looks glossy.  This may take up to 10 minutes.
4. Add raw cashew pieces to processor and blend until you get a paste, about two minutes.
5. Add flax egg, salt, almond extract, and liquid stevia to processor.  Blend to mix, about 90 seconds.  You should be able to roll the dough into balls by hand.
6. Scoop out a heaping teaspoonful and roll into a ball.  Pat the ball to flatten.
7. Cook for 50 to 60 minutes and until just lightly brown on the bottom.  I used a spatula to gently flip and look at the underside to see if they were lightly brown.  If they are too crumbly, allow them to cook longer.   Alternately, increase oven temperature to 300 degrees F and check cookies at 15 minute intervals until lightly brown underneath.  This will shorten cook time to approximately 30 minutes.
8. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Nutrition information:

Serving Size: 1 cookie, Calories: 105,Carbohydrates: 4.8g, Protein: 2.0g, Fat: 8.9g, Fiber: 1.2 g, NET CARBS: 3.6g
Please note: Nutritional information is not guaranteed and will vary based on the ingredients used.