Low Carb Almond Shortbread

I've been experimenting again.

One thing that we low-carb folks tend to miss out on most are the sweets.  Well, OF COURSE - sweets are what got some of us into this situation in the first place (and some of us just can't tolerate carbs or high-glycemic foods, just because our metabolisms are under-performers).

I don't miss sweets mostly...but sometimes, you just want a biscuit (cookie), you know.  Luckily there are a lot of low-carb alternatives out there and there are plenty of shortbread recipes too. This is one I made up one evening, based on the traditional shortbread recipe in the Be-Ro booklet.

MARY'S LOW-CARB ALMOND SHORTBREAD

Obviously, no one can beat Walker's when it comes to shortbread, but if you are cutting carbs and still want a treat, this recipe should help. With less than 2 net carbs per 1" x 3" piece, you CAN have tea and biscuits!

Minutes to Prepare: about 20 (+30 or more in refrigerator)

Minutes to Cook: 25

Number of Servings: 16

Ingredients

12 oz Almond Flour
6 oz butter
1/3 cup Splenda, or your favourite sweetener (more or less, to taste)

Tips

Using almond flour/meal produces a lovely, nutty flavour. These shortbreads will be softer than regular shortbread, and quite crumbly (as Carl Sagan might say: "Crumbly, but good"). I also like to add a few drops of vanilla essence.  In the batch pictured above, I also added 1/3 cup of dark-chocolate chips - and, it could do with more, actually!  I imagine you could add nuts or dried fruits as well, and have a really lovely treat.

Any almond flour/meal should work, but I've found Wellbee Super Fine Almond Flour to be most like regular flour, texturally.

If you're just doing the grain-free thing, you can use regular sugar* - this might alter the texture, so you may have to adjust the other ingredients to achieve the desired consistency.

Directions

Mix almond flour/meal and Splenda in bowl, rub in butter. Knead well. Normally, this would produce a smooth paste, but this recipe will be squidgier than using wheat flour. Pat dough out into a 1/2" thick rectangle (about 6" x 8") on a baking pan covered with parchment paper. Refrigerate dough for AT LEAST 30 minutes so dough will be easier to manage. After refrigerated, carefully cut dough into 16 1" x 3" "fingers", and place about an inch apart on parchment-covered baking sheet. Decorate with fork markings, if desired. Bake at 325F for 20 - 30 minutes (25 worked for me, but ovens vary) until pale and golden.

Serving Size: Makes 16 1" x 3" pieces

©Mary Layton

Nutritional Info (base recipe - no additions)

• Servings Per Recipe: about 16
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 138.6

• Total Fat: 14.1 g
• Cholesterol: 23.9 mg
• Sodium: 66.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 2.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
• Protein: 2.3 g 

 * A note about sugar vs Splenda - in my experience, Splenda is at least twice as sweet as regular sugar, so I use half as much Splenda as called for in recipes usually - so if you do this recipe with sugar instead of Splenda, you may wish to double the sugar amount.  This is why I don't even bother with sodas sweetened with Splenda - they taste overly sweet to me, so I rarely ever have soda at all, and when I do, I splash out for the regular stuff.

Three-cheese Paleo Croutons

I've been on a low-carb kick again, because I had good success with it before, and for Bob's sake, I could stand to lose a stone or 10...  I slipped up with the carbs over the holidays and during a recent visit to the UK, and boy did I reap what I sowed...re-gained weight, osteoarthritis pain went into overdrive...felt bloody miserable.  So, I decided it was time to bid the carbs adieu again (mostly - I still eat low-glycemic veggies), because I'm getting too old to feel so old...Wait - what?....

Anyway, a few weeks ago, friend (and outstanding artist) Brigid Ashwood recommended Julian Bakery's Paleo Bread (Coconut) on her Facebook Page as a suitable alternative to naughty, carb-y bread, and since I value her opinion on matters of the palate (she's posted several wines that are lovely, and she's a fantastic cook), I decided I'd give it a try.  I did, and I found it to be....meh.  It's a bit too chewy for my liking and has a funny, chemical-y after taste (I tried it as toast, since morning toast drowning in butter is one of the things I miss most about low-carb living).  I got to thinking (because that shit's expensive and I didn't want to waste it) and it occurred to me that making it with something with a strong flavour might help to hide that funny after taste, and that perhaps baking it would make it more toasty.  I LOVE Panera Bread's Asiago croutons (as found in their Chicken Caesar Salad), so I decided to try to make something similar.  I used a Parmesan-Asiago-Romano blend, and I am very pleased with the results.  Here, then, is my recipe:

Three-cheese Paleo Croutons
Prep time: about 5 minutes
Cooking time: about 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Paleo Bread (I used Julian Bakery's Paleo Bread-Coconut)
Butter (to taste, but enough to coat bread - I used about 2 tbsps for 3 slices of bread - olive oil would probably work well, too)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Cheese (I used about 1/4 cup of Parmesan-Asiago-Romano blend)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a saucepan, melt butter with garlic powder and pepper.  Cut or tear bread into cubes and place in a medium bowl.  Pour the melted butter mixture over the bread, and toss to evenly coat.  Add cheese and toss again.  Place on a baking sheet (I recommend lining it with a sheet of non-stick aluminium foil for ease of turning, and clean-up) in a single layer, making sure each bit of bread has some cheese attached.  Bake for about 10 minutes (ovens differ, so YMMV).  Paleo bread does not toast quite like regular bread, so after 10 minutes, I recommend flipping the bits over and baking for an additional 3-5 minutes.  Remove from oven, allow to cool, and eat 'em!

(ETA: This is several servings...depending on how you use them.  I had a handful as a snack, and have plenty left over for salads or more snackage!)