Snack: Cinnamon-Almond Cookies

Recipe by Roberto Santibañez This recipe makes a lot of dough. If you don't need all of it, freeze the extra. For impromptu entertaining, you can slice the still-frozen dough into cookies and pop them in the oven for a quick dessert.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Cinnamon-Almond Cookies

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter,room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sliced or blanched slivered almonds

Instructions

Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in both sugars. Add egg and egg yolk; beat to blend. Beat in vanilla and salt. Add flour mixture and beat until dough comes together in moist clumps. Add almonds and knead gently in bowl with hands until blended.
Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each into 10-inch-long log, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap dough in 2 layers of plastic and place in freezer until frozen, at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared 1 month ahead. Keep frozen.)
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Working with 1 log at a time, remove plastic and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on ungreased baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.
Bake until light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 4 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

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