Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies with Spiced Pear Filling

Recipe from D.I.Y. Delicious by Vanessa Barrington (Chronicle Books, 2010)

Time Required: about 1 1/2 hours active; about 1 1/2 hours passive (excluding almond butter preparation)
Yield: 24 sandwich cookies

Here you have almonds and pears, a classic dessert flavor combination repurposed into a cookie. Fragrant mashed pears are gently infused with sweet spices and sandwiched between thin, nutty, crispy-chewy cookies to make this common dessert combo into something both homey and elegant. On its own, this pear filling makes a wonderful companion to ice cream or the Fresh Cheese Crepes. I like to bake these in the fall when pears are at their best. Off-season, you can experiment with other fillings (jam, chocolate, or applesauce) or simply make almond butter drop cookies-like peanut butter cookies, only more interesting. The dough is a little crumbly and a bit difficult to roll out, but if you work with your fingertips to keep it together as you roll, it won't be too laborious. You'll need a spatula to transfer the cut cookies from the rolling board to the cookie sheet.

amazon.com

• 1/3 cup unsalted Cultured Butter or store-bought unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup Raw Almond Butter (see recipe )
  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 3 d'Anjou or Bartlett pears, peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• One 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 4 whole cloves
• 4 whole green cardamom pods
• 1 star anise pod
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split down the side

PermaLink