Courtesy of Elaine Magee

Question: I’m looking for a nice cookie to bring to a tea party. Most of the ladies attending aren’t necessarily health conscious, so it has to be a cookie that will go over with that group as well. Thanks in advance!

Answer: I’m entrusting you with one of my favorite tea cookie recipes. I invented this cookie one day when I had some almond paste left over from another recipe I was testing. Pairing almond and raspberry flavors seemed like a perfect match for a tea treat.

I switched to a lower-fat margarine, used a lot less than normally called for in this type of cookie, and then used the almond paste as a fat replacement, along with some fat-free half-and-half. I used only a little bit of sugar because I knew some sweetness would be coming from the raspberry preserves. I also replaced half of the flour with whole wheat flour to bring up the fiber and whole grain nutrients a smidgen.

This recipe has 22% fewer calories, 47% less fat, and 78% less saturated fat. Similar cookies contain 100 calories, 6 grams fat, and 3.3 grams saturated fat per cookie.

Ingredients
(makes 34 tea cookies)

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons lower-fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon)

1/4 cup pure almond paste, firmly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1¼ teaspoon almond extract

1/4 tablespoon fat-free half-and-half

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 2/3 cup chopped almonds

About 3 to 4 tablespoons raspberry preserves (lemon curd can be substituted)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a jellyroll pan or cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the margarine and almond paste until blended. Beat in the sugar and almond extract. Once those ingredients are nicely blended, beat in the half-and-half.
3. In a medium bowl, combine whole wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk, then gradually add the flour mixture to the margarine mixture, beating on low speed just until blended.
4. Use a tablespoon of dough for each cookie, roll into a ball, then roll in chopped almonds. Place each cookie ball 2 inches apart on a nonstick cookie sheet, and make an indentation with your finger in the center of the cookie. Fill it with 1/4 teaspoon of jam.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until edges are just starting to brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.