Biscoitos de Mel e Amêndoas

I had just enough honey left from my jar to create something special, and I had the urge to bake cookies, which is rare. Craving honey and nuts, I naturally turned to our cookbook on Greek cooking. While flipping through the pages on our sofa, the sun was coming through the windows, warm on my shoulders. I closed my eyes and savored the feeling. That gentle heat in the middle of winter made me think of olive oil. The sun always makes me want olive oil, even more than I regularly want it. Sweet pastries based in oil have brushed my life several times, and I have always enjoyed them. Oil seems to be the underdog in baking, at least here in America; Butter cannot always have the spotlight. That I definitely learned while living abroad. Why not try it out?

I was convinced I could bake something using as little ingredients as possible, and I wanted to keep those ingredients just as wholesome. The honey was my inspiration after all. I did not want to add too much. The science of baking has always been a mystery to me. Turning to an American classic, Betty Crocker, I looked up the simplest cookie recipe available for science and ratios. I converted the fats and ingredients to those that I wanted to use. Thanks to Seabra, our Portugese grocer across the street, I am ever so lucky to have imports from Portugal. I miss Lisboa. There is no doubt that the capital of Portugal had nuzzled its way into a corner of my heart. On this wintry afternoon, the sun was on our side, and there was a little bit of Portugal in our kitchen. At least I like to think so. Eu sinto sua falta, Lisboa.

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup organic whole-wheat flour 

1/4 tsp of Mexican vanilla extract 

2 cups ground almonds

2 tbs organic cane sugar

1/3 cup of Portuguese honey

1/3 cup of Portuguese Olive Oil

Grind the almonds with the turbinado. Mix the dry ingredients seperate from the wet. Combine then drop cookies on an oiled baking sheet. Makes about 1 and 1/2 dozen cookies. Apreciá-los! Enjoy them!