Recipes

You can fill these fun, festive cookies with an assortment of jam or preserves.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup no- or low-trans fat margarine with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon (such as Land O' Lakes® Fresh Buttery Taste Spread or Take Control®)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup Splenda®
• 1 large egg yolk (or substitute 2 tablespoons egg substitute)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
• 1/3 cup less-sugar preserves (or lemon curd)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, beat the margarine with sugar and Splenda® on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
2. Add egg yolk or egg substitute and vanilla and almond extracts; beat well.
3. In a 4-cup measure, whisk the flours and salt together. Beat flour mixture into the margarine mixture gradually on low speed, just until combined.
4. Put almonds in a small food processor and process until nicely ground. Beat into cookie dough mixture on low speed, just to combine.
5. Use a cookie scoop (1/8 cup) to put dough on nonstick cookie sheet or jellyroll pan, about 2 inches apart (line with parchment paper if desired). Make a deep indentation in the center of each ball with your thumb.
6. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove from oven. Fill center of each cookie with a slightly heaping 1-teaspoon measure of jam (if necessary, press down center of cookies again before filling with jam). Bake about 8 minutes more or until golden brown. Place cookies on wire rack to cool.

Yield:
About 15 large (bakery size) cookies

Nutritional Information:
Per cookie: 136 calories, 2.5 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat (1.2 g saturated fat, 3 g monounsaturated fat, 2.5 g polyunsaturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 1.3 g fiber, 78 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 49%.

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