Happy Accident.

Have you ever really taken the time to think about all the good things in life and how they never would have existed without the influence of some bad things? It's kind of mind boggling actually. I guess that's the balance of life, or karma, or the universe working itself out. Whatever you want to call it, it happens.

This is going to sound silly but it's all true. My wonderful boyfriend, Lee and I, for example, never would have met if it weren't for some random chance encounter on an online video game. That's right. We're nerds. When we met, which was years ago, we lived a grand total of 3,373 km apart. I was in Ontario and he was three provinces away in Alberta. Needless to say, we endured some hardships before we were finally able to be together like we are today.

Happy together. Happy accident. I feel so lucky to have somehow found the love of my life through the random chaos of life. It was not without struggle, but our relationship is stronger for it.

You must be wondering what this all has to do with those delicious cookies up there. That's what you're really here for. I can tell. Well that's a happy accident too. See my original recipe for these cookies calls for corn syrup and shortening, but I don't have either of those so I improvised. I used honey and butter instead and I am so glad I did. The honey gave them a warm, flowery sweetness and the butter made them soft and chewy.

Baking, like life, seems scary with all the precise measurements and specific ingredients, but it's important to remember there's always room to play. You never know what you might end up with. Warm chewy cookies or ooey gooey love.





Honey Almond Flower Cookies

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Source: My own imagination.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

4 tbsp honey

2 tsp almond extract

3 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Slivered almonds for garnish

1 egg yolk for egg wash

1 tsp water for egg wash






Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper then set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light a fluffy. Add the egg, honey and almond extract then beat it until it's combined well.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt then add it to the butter mixture and mix it well.

Scoop a heaping tbsp of dough for each cookie and roll them into balls. Lightly compress the balls into thick discs between your palms. Carefully press five of the slivered almonds into each cookie in a flower arrangement. Whisk together the egg yolk and water then, using a pastry brush, coat the tops of each cookie in the egg wash making sure not to knock off the almonds. This will make the cookies shiny, golden brown and act as an almond flower glue to hold the garnish.

Bake them for 10 minutes until they turn a light amber brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!