Get Ready to Party!
We’re heading to several events in the next week or so, and we wanted to make some cookies and treats that stood well, or even improved, with age. Today, we’re making Orange Cardamom Crinkles and Ginger Spiced Nuts.
Here are the recipes we’ll be using today:
Orange Cardamom Almond Crinkles
A gentle riff on Aran Goyoaga's Crinkles*
Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 1½ c [150 g] almond flour
- 1 ⅛ c [145 g] icing sugar, divided into 1 c for the batter and ⅛ cup for dusting
- 2 tsp fresh orange juice [lemon juice may be substituted]
- 1 tsp orange zest [1 generous to 1½ tsp, or, as much as you can microplane from a small navel orange]
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Set your broiler on high [550°F].
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg and vanilla lightly with a fork.
- In a medium to large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, 1 cup of the icing sugar, lemon/orange juice, orange zest, cardamom, and half of that beaten egg mixture [eyeball it] with a spatula.
- Add the remaining egg mixture and stir with a spatula or mix with cool, clean hands until the dough is moist and sticky and forms into a bit of a ball.
- Allow this dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. [Don't skip this step!]
- While the dough is sitting, place ⅛ cup icing sugar in a small bowl or on a small plate.
- With a clean tablespoon and clean hands, gather approximately 1 tbs of dough, rolling it in your palms into 1-inch balls. Place the balls of dough on the parchment lined cookie sheet temporarily.
- Roll each dough ball in the icing sugar and place them back on the parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Now for the fun part! Place the baking sheet on the lower or middle rack of your hot oven.
- Immediately turn the oven off!
- Bake the cookies in the hot-but-turned-off oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until they are cracked and golden brown. At the 12 minute mark and not before, try to peer through the oven window rather than opening and closing the oven door. [I have a new and fairly efficient gas oven. I leave mine in the full 15 minutes. The cookies will be soft looking, but the bottoms should be slightly brown.]
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes.
- Cooled cookies can be stored in airtight containers or tins for up to seven days. The flavour may, in fact, improve with time.
Notes
*This recipe is a very gentle revision of Aran Goyoaga’s Orange-Flower Water & Almond Crinkles from her wonderful gluten-free cookbook, Cannele et Vanille Bakes Simple, also on the Splendid Table. What a treasure!
For a fun twist, try adding 1/2 a packet of vanilla sugar to the icing sugar you use for dusting the crinkles!
Ginger Spiced Nuts
Ingredients
- 3 cups unsalted nuts of any kind
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ tsp ground all-spice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup sugar [⅛ c sugar and ⅛ c honey]
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Place the nuts in a large heatproof mixing bowl.
- Stir in all of the dry seasonings except the finishing salt.
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium-high.
- Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the simple syrup over the nut mixture and toss with tongs or a large spoon to combine. The nuts will be shiny!
- Spread the nuts in a single layer on the lined baking sheet without transferring any of the excess liquid in the mixing bowl.
- Bake the mixture for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 3-5 minutes, until the nuts are golden, not burnt.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack, sprinkling the nuts with finishing salt.
- Let the nuts cool completely before breaking them apart, if necessary.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
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