Grain-free sandwich cookies with pumpkin butter

I have been on a kick, going back to old Foraged Dish recipes and taking new photos. It is insanely satisfying to compare the old ones to the new. Progress is difficult to measure day-by-day, but all of those days add up! I’m sure, in three years, I’ll look back at my photos from 2018 and roll my eyes. C'est la vie.

These sandwich cookies were one of my recent victims, and since it is the season for baking and pumpkin, I thought it would be a good opportunity to update the whole post. That means a few updates to the recipe, too:

Simplified. The original asked for both almond flour and coconut flour, but since 2015 I’ve discovered a much simpler grain-free shortbread cookie using just almond flour. I quite like the texture of the cookies, too! They are a bit chewy, stay together well, and have great almond and honey flavor.
Drizzled with chocolate. How can you make a boring cookie look a little fancier? Maybe you’re thinking frosting, which is true, but since this cookie is a sandwich I wanted the filling to shine. I drizzled each cookie with chocolate, which was just the right touch!
Doubled it. More is better right? In this case, there’s no doubt: the original recipe made about 6 sandwich cookies… what was 2015-me thinking?!?! A dozen is much more reasonable (but you still may want to double that if you’re cooking for a crowd).

Once baked, these cookies are stuffed with pumpkin butter, so the end result tastes a bit like pumpkin pie. Perfect match with a cappuccino! But I also experimented with filling the cookies with salted caramel. Oh. My. Goodness. Now that’s a treat! A bit like an alfajore, if you are familiar. I am definitely going to need to make an alfajore recipe now (Foraged Dish style, of course!).

Grain-Free Sandwich Cookies with Pumpkin Butter

Published October 26, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yield: 12-24, depending on size | Active Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups finely ground almond flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup pumpkin butter

1/4 cup dark chocolate

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until incorporated. Add the melted butter or coconut oil, honey, and vanilla, and stir until a dough forms. Shape dough into a disc (about 1 inch thick), wrap in plastic wrap, and place in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour to chill.
Preheat oven to 325°F. After dough has chilled, remove from fridge. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your baking pan.
On a separate piece of parchment, use a rolling pin to roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut circles out of dough and place on baking sheet, with at least 1/2 inch between each cookie. Bake for 9 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool.
Once cookies are fully cooled, spread pumpkin butter on one cookie, and then use another to create a sandwich. Set aside, and then continue until all of the cookies are sandwiched.
Heat the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for 30-second intervals (string between each!) until chocolate is glossy and smooth. You can also do this in a double boiler (stir frequently). Drizzle melted chocolate over sandwich cookies. Allow chocolate to set before serving cookies.
Tip: You can use any sort of jam to fill these cookies! I also made a few with salted caramel sauce and they were SO. GOOD.

Featured

Paleo Double Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

Coconut Snowball Cookies with Cacao Nibs (No-bake & Paleo)

Have you even tried Verdejo wine? It's nutty and fruity but not too sweet. It's my new favorite summer wine, and I'm usually more of a red wine person. Verdejo with figs works well because the wine is subtle enough to let the fig flavor come through. The nuttiness of the wine is also a nice compliment to the fruit. And what's better than eating a fig straight? Eating a fig juicy with your new favorite wine. Chilled with pears, a few allspice berries, and a tiny bit of cinnamon, this is the beginning of fall in a glass – the evenings are still warm, but there’s a hint of cool breeze, and the best crops of the year.

White Wine Sangria with Figs and Pears

Published August 31, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4-6 | Total Time: 10 active minutes

Ingredients:

5 figs
1 bartlette pear
1 lemon
1 three-inch cinnamon stick
2 whole allspice berries
3 whole cloves
2 cups white wine, preferably Verdejo (A drier Sauvignon Blanc may be a good sub)
1-1/2 cup pear juice (apple juice will work in a pinch)
2 cups sparkling mineral water or peach-pear La Croix

Directions:

Wash the fruit. Half the figs, and slice the lemon into thin slices, removing seeds. Core the pear and slice it into very thin slices.
Put the sliced fruit and whole spices in the bottom of a jar or pitcher. Pour the wine and juice over fruit. Close the jar. Let the wine marinate with the fruit for at least two hours in the fridge.
To serve: Spoon fruit into glasses, pouring wine to fill half the glass, and top off with sparkling water.