Holiday Cookies

MAKES 18 COOKIES Ingredients • 2¼ cups almond flour • 4 tablespoons (60 ml) coconut flour • ¾ cup palm sugar • ¼ teaspoon salt • 16 tablespoons (240 ml) coconut oil, cut into ½-inch pieces and slightly softened • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) coconut milk • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) tapioca flour • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract Preparation 1. Place palm sugar in food processor and grind until superfine. Remove from processor and set aside in a bowl. 2. 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. 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. 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. 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. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 7. 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. 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.

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Holiday cookies are the roll-and-cut canvas of the paleo baking season: a tender almond-coconut dough that stamps cleanly and bakes pale golden, ready for jam glazes and cacao piping. Crisp at the edge, buttery through the middle. Make a double batch for decorating day.

Pro Tips

• Grind the palm sugar superfine first. Coarse sugar leaves grit in a dough this delicate.
• Beat the coconut oil into the flour one piece at a time until the mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet. That texture is the cookie's structure.
• Chill the discs 30 minutes until firm but malleable, then roll between parchment and chill again 10 minutes before cutting.
• Stamp the cookies close together and lift them with a thin metal spatula so the shapes stay perfect.
• Cool completely before decorating. Jam glaze and melted cacao need a cold cookie surface to set.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I decorate these cookies with?

Paleo fruit jams thinned into a glaze, or melted cacao nibs smoothed with a touch of coconut oil and coconut milk for piping.

Why is my dough cracking when I roll it?

It is too cold. Let the disc sit 5 minutes until firm but malleable, and always roll between two sheets of parchment.

Can I make these ahead?

Yes. The wrapped discs keep 3 days in the fridge and 2 months in the freezer, and the baked cookies hold a week in an airtight tin.

Are holiday cookies paleo?

Yes. Almond flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, coconut milk, palm sugar, and vanilla, with no grains or dairy.

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