Lemon Orange Zest Snowballs - Gluten Free

Lemon Orange Zest Snowballs - Gluten Free 

It has been a while since I added any new recipes to this blog. With the Holidays quickly approaching, I am well aware that all of my cookie recipes are filled with butter, wheat, eggs and deliciousness. 

Basically meaning, I can't use any of them. In the weeks since I last put up any recipes, I learned that wheat and dairy products are really bad for me. That, and sesame. Cheating on Thanksgiving put me in bed for three days. 

But, things like eggs and peanut butter, I have a little bit more wiggle room. So, today, I am going to work on a recipe that has egg white in it. My plan is to only use a little of certain ingredients, here and there, and substitute in places where it works easily. Or at least easier.

Lemon is one of my favorite flavors, so I have been looking at many recipes over the past several weeks. This is what I have developed from putting several different ideas together. This recipe has no butter or oil, only almond flour and other basic ingredients.

And, in typical fashion, I have lemon juice, but no lemons, so I am going to use orange zest instead of lemon zest. That way, not only do I get zest, I get to eat the fresh orange. Citrus season in California is fabulous.

These cookies turned out delicious! This is definitely a recipe to be repeated!

Ingredients

2 large egg whites

2 cups fine milled almond flour

1 cup white sugar

1 large orange zested (orange for snacking)

3 cranks of Himalayan pink salt mill or 1/8 teaspoon

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

powdered sugar to roll cookies before baking

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350°F 

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Start beating egg whites at medium speed in stand mixer until soft peaks form or use an electric hand mixer until the same soft peaks occur.  In separate bowl, mix almond flour and white sugar with a fork. Stir out majority of lumps from almond flour. Mix orange zest, lemon juice and salt into flour mixture. Add to egg mixture in two batches. Beat on medium until combined. Dough will be sticky.

Roll dough into 1 1/2 tablespoons size balls, and then roll them in the powdered sugar. Place cookies on parchment papered cookie sheet. Cookies do not spread, so as long as they don't touch, you can put them close together. 

This batch makes about a dozen and a half cookies, so depending on size of your pan, you could possibly bake entire batch at one time.

Bake for 15 to 16 minutes. The bottoms of the cookies will be lightly browned. Cool slightly then remove from baking sheet to keep cookies from over-browning. 

Cookies will have a firm outer edge and soft gooey middle. Because of soft nature, they are best when eaten within a couple of days.