A Healthy Cookie

My Father's Daughter, 2011

If it weren't for the fact that jealously is an unattractive quality, I could be quite jealous of Gwyneth Paltrow.  Not only can the woman act, she sings, she struts in impossibly high heels, and she cooks -- well. No takeout for Gwyneth.  She brings home the bacon and fries it up in a pan.

Several months ago I bought Gwyneth's cookbook My Father's Daughter and I have been cooking from it ever since.  Not only are the recipes delicious, they are, for the most part, healthy takes on some sinful dishes.  I have tried several of the recipes, and I haven't been disappointed.  This is high praise coming from me because at first I thought this was going to be another one of those celebrity cookbooks that relied more on celebrity and less on good food.

One of my favorite recipes from My Father's Daughter is this recipe for Lalo's Famous Cookies.  Apparently this recipe comes from Gwyneth's mother, Blythe Danner, and Gwyneth's kids Apple and Moses love them.  Now, while my kids are not as creatively named as Gwyneth's, Charlie and Kate love these cookies too.

Recipe:  Lalo's Famous Cookies
(My Father's Daughter, 2011)


Ingredients:


4 cups barley flour
3 cups raw whole almonds crushed in a food processor (about ten 2-second pulses)
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup canola oil
1 cup real Vermont maple syrup
Your favorite jam (blueberry, raspberry, and apricot are all very nice)

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Combine all the ingredients except for the jam together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Form into tablespoonful balls and space them evenly on cookie sheets. Using your index finger, make an indent in each cookie. Fill each indent with a small spoonful of jam. Bake until the cookies are evenly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool before eating.