Strawberry Almond Birds Nest Cookies

January 31, 2011 By Leanne Vogel July 22, 2015

I went down memory lane making these cookies yesterday. I grew up in a fairly healthy household. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my mom tried the best she could to feed us the healthiest and highest quality ingredients. My dad was another story. He grew up with the notion – food is food. You eat what’s here, and that’s that. So, when my mom was working late, we’d get to have sausage and pierogi’s, cheese and bacon’s [bread with melted cheese and cooked bacon], or crackers, kielbasa and cheese. Eating with our dad was awesome. So much butter, bacon grease, and love came from his cooking. Another fantastic part to growing were treat Fridays, where my sister and I got to chose 1 treat each week to take to school with us. Mom had several things saved up so we had quite the selection. Fruit snacks, granola bars, dried fruit, and these cookies. My sister and I called them birds nests. I cannot tell you what their actual name was, or what company made them. I can only remember the taste, and after 3 tries on Sunday morning, I got it bang on. These are delicious, and couldn’t be easier to whip up!

Strawberry Almond Birds Nest Cookies

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Gluten free, Dairy free

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 18 mins

Total time: 38 mins

Serves: 12 cookies

A chewy, cake like cookie, sweetened with honey and topped with organic jam. Enjoy these cookies around the kitchen table with your family, because everyone needs a treat once in awhile!

Ingredients

½ cup almond slivers, crushed
2.5 cups almond flour
1 cup quinoa flakes [oats could also be used]
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unpasteurized/raw honey
½ cup earth balance [butter could also be used]
1 egg
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure almond extract
½ cup [depending on how big you make the nests] organic strawberry jam

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.
Combine almond flour, quinoa flakes, and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. Whisk until lumps are broken down and ingredients combined. Set aside.
Add honey, earth balance, egg, and extracts to a large bowl. Mix with an electric hand mixer. Once combined, add the dry ingredients to wet and mix until incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky and lose. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be like this.
Place crushed almond slivers on a plate. Spoon 1.5 tablespoon or so into your hand and roll into a ball. Place ball on the almond slivers and put it down into a patty. Flip it over, and do it to the other side.
Place the cookie on the cookie sheet and, make a little nest in the cookie with your thumb. Be sure not to push all the way through the cookie.
Leave 2 inches between each cookie to allow them to grow in the oven!
Bake for 15-18 minutes [mine were perfectly baked at 17 minutes].
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.