Mandel-Melbas

 

I like a thin, crisp, not too sweet, sliced almond filled cookie to dip in my coffee especially on the days when I'm craving something sweet but not too rich.  We're still in January, the month of trying to eat lighter after  the indulgences around the holidays in December.  February signals the official return to chocolate and by March we're back to normal eating, hopefully.  I try to stay off the scale and  judge my weight by how my pants fit.  I really think that's the best way to keep weight off because there is nothing that feels worse than tight pants except having to put on a bathing suit in the month of December.  In any month of the year almonds toasting in the oven smell wonderful in the house.  I always throw a few extra in the pan to toss in a salad or vegetables for dinner. I feel thankful for all my blessings and when I display my toasted almonds in a pretty bowl before mixing them into the cookie batter I feel a deep sense of satisfaction and pride.  That's why I'm showing off my almonds so that you feel some of this love and pass it on!

The enjoyment that comes from tossing the fragrant toasted almonds into a thick cookie batter makes mixing the ingredients together in this recipe a pleasure.  I love a good cookie recipe that can be made in one bowl without a mixer.  Because these cookies are sliced so thin you can dip a few in your coffee guilt free.  I shared
a few with my husband at the office then he took the bag to his desk but I kept another bag for myself because the recipe makes 4 dozen, enough to share and keep a stash for yourself.

The cookie dough is baked in a loaf pan where it forms a weird lumpy cake.  Don't worry, this is normal!  The weird lumpy cake gets sliced super thin, as thin as you can before the slices are baked for the second time.  And from this weird lumpy cake comes the most delicious thin crispy cookies.

Ingredients and Directions for Mandel-Melbas
From Home Baking by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1&1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup whole almonds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees


Grease a 9x5 bread pan and dust with flour.

Beat the eggs and sugar together in a medium bowl until well blended.  Stir in the flour until the batter is smooth.  Add the extract and almonds to the batter.  Stir until well blended.  The batter will be thick and sticky.  Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth down the top with a spatula.

Bake for 40 minutes or until slightly browned and pulling away from the sides of the pan.  It will look like a weird lumpy cake that didn't rise.  Let stand in the pan until slightly cooled, about 15 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack.

Place the cake in the freezer, wrapped in plastic for about 40 minutes, firming the cake up to make slicing cookies  easier.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Slice the chilled loaf as thin as you can, getting about 6 slices per inch.  Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.  Take out when slightly brown.  Let stand over night to cool and crisp up.  Store in a well sealed container.

Makes about 4 dozen thin crisp cookies