The easiest gluten-free almond shortbread cookies yet!

Shortbreads are one of my favourite cookies. Scottish in origin, these rich, tender and crumbly cookies are served every holiday in the Smart house. I've gotten wiser however and tweaked the traditional shortbread recipe of flour, butter and sugar using ground almonds and healthy sweeteners to make decadence and health come together. Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease.

Try them for yourself and let me know what you think.

Ingredients 2 cups ground almonds 1.5 cups brown rice flour 1/3 cup organic sucanat or coconut sugar 1 egg beaten 1/2 cup coconut oil 1/3 cup agave nectar or coconut nectar 1  teaspoon almond extract 1/3 cup  whole raw almonds

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Combine ground almonds, rice flour and sucanat in a large bowl. Blend egg, butter, agave nectar, and almond extract in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ½ cup at a time until well blended.

3. Roll dough into small, round balls, flatten slightly with fingers or a fork and then press a whole almond into the center of each cookie.

4. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Makes 36 cookies

Nutrition facts (per cookie) Calories 86 Total fat 5 g Saturated fat 1 g Cholesterol 6 mg Sodium 4 mg Potassium 87 mg Total carbohydrates 9 g Fibre 1 g Sugar 2 g Protein 3 g

This recipe was taken from Live The Smart Way a gluten-free and wheat-free cookbook from Kathy Smart, North America’s gluten-free expert and National Health Activist of Canada. Get more from Kathy Smart.