Weekly Recipe: Holiday Nut Cookies by Spread The Love

Holiday baking can be a fun family activity or a way to create personal and delicious host gifts. Some holiday dishes can feel heavy, but these three cookies are healthy and nourishing. Created by founders of Spread The Love, an L.A.-based small-batch, natural nut butter and jam company, all of these cookies can be made in less than 40 minutes and explore nut butter's versatile range to create filling, healthy snacks for all to enjoy.

“The holidays can get overwhelming, and baking on the weekend is a great way for us to slow down and to spend quality time with the family,” says Val Fishbain, Co-founder and President of Spread The Love. “Spiced almond butter snowball cookies are so much fun to make with the kids. It doesn’t snow here in L.A., and with the powdered sugar on the cookies, we can pretend they’re snowballs.” The recipe features classic holiday spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.

See also: Weekly Recipe: Chanukah Croquembouche by Eitan Bernath

If you prefer chocolatey desserts, try the shortbread peanut butter cookies covered in chocolate.

“One of my favorite Girl Scout Cookie flavors is Tagalongs," Fishbain says. "This recipe was shared with us years ago by a great friend and healthy recipe creator Ciarra Siller of Peanut Butter Plus Chocolate. Making it at home is fun and a healthier alternative to store-bought cookies.”

For the peanut butter fans, “a perfect way to step it up is to use our salted honey stuffed peanut butter cookie recipe,” Fishbain says. “The ooey-gooey center and salty-sweet crust will have any true peanut butter cookie fan jumping for joy.”

Try one or all of the festive cookies below. Enjoy them during the holidays or all-year long!

Spiced Almond Butter Snowball Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups blanched almond flour
• ¼ cup plus 2 to 3 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tbsp Spread The Love Naked Unsalted Almond Butter
• 3 tbsp butter or vegan butter substitute
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp cardamom
• ¼ tsp cloves
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• Zest of one small orange
• Note: if preferred, the cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg may be swapped out for 2¼ tsp of your favorite pumpkin pie spice mix.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, ¼ cup powdered sugar, all the spices, salt and orange zest.
3. Melt the butter and almond butter together in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until well combined and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until a dough forms. It will be on the dry side. You may need to use your hands to get it to fully form.
5. Using a 1 tbsp measure, create 12 balls of dough and roll them in the remaining powdered sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit more powdered sugar just before serving, if desired.

Shortbread Peanut Butter Cookies Covered in Chocolate (a.k.a. Tagalongs)

Ingredients:

Shortbread Cookie

• ½ cup almond flour, finely ground
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 to 2 tbsp warm water
• 1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling

• ¼ cup Spread The Love Naked Organic Peanut Butter
• 2 tbsp sugar

Chocolate

• 2 ½ oz dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Other

• Tapioca flour for rolling or flour of choice
• Flaked sea salt for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325° F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, stir together the almond flour and protein powder. Add the melted coconut oil and vanilla, then stir using a fork. Every protein powder is different so add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a dough consistency.
3. Dust a clean surface with tapioca flour and roll dough out very thin, about ⅛ inch or less. Use a small round cookie cutter (I used the cap to my cinnamon spice) to cut out cookies. Repeat until you have used all the dough. Recipe will make 20 to 22 cookies.
4. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 5 minutes.
5. Once cooled, stir together peanut butter and sugar. Evenly distribute about ½ tablespoon of the peanut butter mixture on top of each cookie.
6. Melt chocolate and coconut oil together in a microwave safe bowl or double boiler.
7. Spoon chocolate over each peanut butter-topped cookie, using the back of the spoon to help spread the chocolate over the edges.
8. Place cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes before sprinkling with flaked salt and serving.

Salted Honey-Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

Filling

• ¾ cup Spread The Love Naked Organic Peanut Butter
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ tsp salt

Cookie Dough

• ½ cup butter or margarine, at a cool room temp (not melted)
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup white sugar, plus extra for rolling
• ½ cup Spread The Love Naked Organic Peanut Butter
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

Other

• Sea salt flakes, for finishing

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Combine ¾ cup peanut butter with honey and salt, stirring well until thickened slightly. For ease of scooping, put the mixture in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Using a teaspoon-sized scoop or spoon, scoop chilled peanut butter mixture into 18 to 20 small balls. Place balls in the freezer while preparing the cookie dough. (For best results, do not freeze peanut butter balls for more than 10 to 15 minutes. If making balls ahead, store in the refrigerator and move to the freezer for just a few minutes before forming cookies.)
4. Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, cream together butter, brown and white sugars until fluffy. Add ½ cup peanut butter and applesauce, and blend until well combined.
5. In a separate bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and ½ tsp salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in two to three batches, mixing until well combined and a dough has formed.
6. Using a medium cookie scoop or large spoon, scoop dough into 1½ tbsp-sized balls. Flatten each ball into a palm-sized circle, and place a chilled peanut butter ball in its center. Gently fold the dough around the peanut butter ball, pinching the edges closed to ensure that the ball is completely covered with dough.
7. Roll stuffed cookie dough ball in additional white sugar until well coated, and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Press down very gently on the top of the ball to flatten slightly, taking care not to let the edges crack. If desired, gently press a fork in a criss-cross pattern on the top of each ball.
8. Bake until the cookies are golden brown underneath, about 11 to 12 minutes. Serve warm with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes on top of each cookie.

Visit Spread The Love online to shop the goods and find more fun recipes using all-natural nut butters.

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