The best vegan Christmas cookies recipe made with almond flour and loaded with nutty almonds. Gluten free, without butter, eggs or oil and so easy to make. The perfect cookies!
In a separate bowl whisk the aquafaba with a small pinch of salt until frothy. Add the almond extract and the jam and combine.
1/4 cup aquafaba, 1 tsp almond extract, 1 pinch salt, 2 Tbsp apricot jam
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry mix. Use a spatula and fold until combined. Refrigerate the dough for about 20 minutes or so until chilled.
Once the dough is chilled use a tablespoon to scoop some out and shape into balls, they should look similar to golf balls. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Place the sliced almonds into a small bowl then roll each dough ball in them until covered. Us your hands to help press them into the dough. (Do not worry about the shape you are creating at all)
1.5 cups sliced almonds
Meanwhile preheat your ovum to 375”F.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place each cookie on top without touching each other.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 minutes and up to 14 minutes if you like the nuts extra toasty.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool before sprinkling them with some powder sugar or tossing to coat if a thicker coverage is desired.
Store uncovered at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Almond flour - make sure you are using almond flour not almond meal. The flour is made from blanched almonds while the meal contains the skins which is going to yield a denser cookie.
Aquafaba - the liquid from cooked chickpeas, a classic vegan substitute for egg whites is the base for our meringue style dough.
Jam - use a little bit of jam for the ultimate chewy but soft center.
Chill the Dough - make sure to refrigerate your dough for a good 20 minutes before baking. This will make it easier to shape your cookies and also help control the spread during baking. If desired the dough can be made a couple of days ahead and refrigerate in a lidded container.
Crinkle Cookies Variation - to turn these into crinkle cookies just omit the almond coating and toss each cookie in powdered sugar before baking.
Storage - the cookies can be stored at room temperature uncovered for a couple of days or in a lidded container for up to 10 days. Freeze any leftovers in containers up to 4 months, but let's not kid ourselves: what leftovers?!