Friday, June 21, 2019

Almond Teacakes with Blueberry Filling


It’s the last regular week of the school year. Graduation is this week and soon many folks will either be gone for the summer or will be in the library working our limited summer schedule. It’s been a strange academic year, and I am looking forward to when things are a little more normal. I work in the summer, but not quite as much. I think summer will be great, as long as it isn’t too hot.

I pinned these cookies not that long ago, and I was really excited to make them. I wasn’t sure if blueberry jam would be easy to find or not, but the store had a few different varieties. I bought Bonne Maman, which is a French brand that I like a lot. I figured that we would have no issue eating any extra jam. The only other unusual ingredient is the almond flour. I looked at the store and it was really expensive, so I got some almond meal at Trader Joe’s. They must use whole almonds, as their meal isn’t as blanched. I figured it would work the same anyway.

These teacakes look fancy, but they are quite easy to make. The recipe has you shape the dough into balls, but you really don’t even need to do that. I placed them in the pan and made sure the cup was full and then pushed the dough down so it was set and then make the hole in the cookie. They baked up great, with a little dot of blueberry right in the center. My cookies look a little most rustic because of the almond meal I used, but they are still very good. The cookies are a little crumbly, but that is standard for this type of cookie.

Almond Teacakes with Blueberry Filling
2 cups flour
1 cup almond flour/meal
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

About ½ cup blueberry jam, room temperature, stirred
Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 24 mini muffin tin with baking cups.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder and salt until blended. Add the butter, vanilla and almond extract. Pulse until the mixture forms a soft dough. Shape the dough into balls, and then make an indentation in each ball with your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon. Place in the baking cup with the indentation facing up. Fill each cookie with a small amount of blueberry jam.

Bake for about 15, until the edges are lightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar when cool.


No comments: