Recipe: Gluten-Free Almond Cranberry Bites

With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought it was time to share these amazing cookies with you all. While the recipe calls for cherries, I didn’t have any when I made these last year, so I substituted dried cranberries. I liked that so much that I have never tried the cherries, however, dried cherries with chocolate drizzle on top would be awesome!

Almond Cranberry Bites
**Original recipe from Eatingwell.com; modified to be gluten-free by me

• • 1/3 cup whole almonds (I used Trader Joe’s raw almonds)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries
  • 2/3 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used Jules gluten-free Flour)
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or finely chopped dark and/or white chocolate, for decoration (optional- I opted not to add this, but will next time.)

Makes about 20 cookies – I will make sure to double this next time.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Grind raw almonds & sugar in a food processor until you have the desired texture; the finer the texture, the more intense the almond flavor & less crunch from the almond. Be careful not to turn the almonds into paste. Transfer mix to large bowl & mix in flour & cranberries.
3. Add egg white, oil, vanilla & almond extracts. Mix until well incorporated.
4. Shape dough into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom is slightly brown; the tops will not brown.
5. Transfer to a wire rack & cool completely.
6. Optional- melt chocolate & drizzle over cookies with a fork. Let stand until chocolate sets.

I can’t wait to make more of these! They certainly don’t last very long!