Almond-Star Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole almonds
• 1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granular sugar substitute
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup tras-fat-free margarine, cut into small pieces and refrigerated
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

Makes 4 Dozen (2-inch) stars or 3 Dozen (3-inch) stars

1. Heat oven to 275 F. Spread almonds on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to e plate, and cool completely.
2. Pulse almonds, whole-grain and all-purpose flours, sugar substitue and a pinch of salt in food processor until nutsare finely ground. Add margarine and and pulse until margarine is incorporated. Add zest, vanilla and almond extract; pulse until dough just begins to come together.
3. Remove dough from processor to a work surface. Knead once or twice, divide in half, and form into 2 flat disks. WRap disks and freexe for 1 hour or refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Heat oven to 325 F. Lightly coat2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
5. Roll out 1 dish of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper to 1/8-inch thick. Cut as  many stars as possible, carefully transferring them to the baking sheets as you go. Use a beutter knife or small spatula to making transferring cut cookie dough from wax paper to baking sheets easier.) Reroll and cut the scraps. (If the dough becomes too soft wihle cutting, wrap and chill again until firm.) Repeat with the second disk.
6. Bake cookies until lightly golden on edges and bottoms, rotating sheets once halfway through, 16-18 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 2-3 minutes before transferring with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.
    

WW POINTS VALUE: 2  pts per 2-or-3-inch cookie

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook. I was really excited about making these cookies but they turned out to be a disappointment. I really love the flavor of almonds but these cookies tastes like almonds and grainy flour in cooked in a doughy substance. The key to a successful baking outcome is NOT TUBBED butter or margarine but butter or margarine sticks because they are more solid in texture. Also, these cookies did not have any eggs in them and eggs are also the key to making cookies chewy. This is one South Beach recipe I will not be cooking again.