Holiday Cookies

MAKES 18 COOKIES

Ingredients

2Вј cups almond flour

4 tablespoons coconut flour

Вѕ cup palm sugar

Вј teaspoon salt

16 tablespoons coconut oil, cut into ВЅ-inch pieces and slightly softened

2 tablespoons coconut milk

1 teaspoon tapioca flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

1.В В Place palm sugar in food processor and grind until superfine. Remove from processor and set aside in a bowl.

2.В В Whisk flour, palm sugar, tapioca flour, and salt together in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the coconut oil into the flour mixture one piece at a time. Continue to beat the flour-coconut oil mixture until it looks crumbly and slightly wet.

3.В В Beat in the coconut milk and vanilla until the dough begins to form large clumps (about 30 seconds). Knead the dough in the bowl by hand a few times until it forms a large cohesive mass.

4.В В Transfer the dough to a clean counter and divide into two even pieces. Press each piece into a four-inch disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the dough is firm yet malleable (about 30 minutes).

5.В В Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough out between two large sheets of parchment paper to an even quarter-inch thickness. With the dough sandwiched between the parchments, slide it onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm (about 10 minutes).

6.В В Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375В°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

7.В В Working with one sheet of dough at a time, remove the top piece of parchment and stamp out cookies using cookie cutters. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet with a thin metal spatula, spaced about one inch apart.

8.В В Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until light golden brown (about 10 minutes), rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating as desired. Repeat with the remaining dough using freshly lined baking sheets.

DECORATING GLAZES: Use your favorite paleo jams (see Fruit Jam Recipe, page 221) as a glaze to decorate, or pipe non-dairy dark, milk, or white cacao nibs. Cacao decorating glaze can be made smooth by adding a small amount of coconut oil and coconut milk while heating to reach desired consistency. Heat cacao nibs in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.