Gluten-Free Cocoa Polvorones
In English they go by a host of names. Snowballs. Sandies. Mexican Wedding Cakes. And Russian Tea Cakes. Seems Russia is about the only place they don’t eat these morsels at Christmas time. Well, whatever you call them they are the perfect Christmas cookie. Easy for kids to make. Delicious but not overly sweet. And we’ve added another plus to the list. They’re gluten-free
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups almond flour plus 2 tablespoons. I used Bob’s Red Mill
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder I used dutch-process by Valrhona, but any unsweetened cocoa should work
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 6 tbsp dark brown sugar I used Alter Eco brand, but any unrefined or brown sugar should work
- 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt fine
- 1/8 tsp cayenne or more for spicier cookies
- 1 cup pecans raw pecan halves, chopped semi-fine (1/8-1/4″ pieces)
- 1 stick unsalted butter cold butter, in 1/2″ pieces
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered or icing sugar)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease lightly).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, tapioca starch, sugar, cinnamon, salt and cayenne. Add the pecans, scatter the butter pieces over the top, and sprinkle over the vanilla. Mix on low until the butter is incorporated and the dough forms large clumps, 1-2 minutes. (If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a pastry cutter to blend the butter into the dough.) Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes (or up to several days).
- Sift the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl. Form tablespoon-sized 1″ balls of dough and roll them in the powdered sugar, knocking off any large clumps, and place the balls on the baking sheet an inch or two apart (I was able to fit all of mine on one sheet).
- Bake the cookies until puffed and cracked, 18-22 minutes. It’s a bit hard to tell when these are done so I recommend setting a timer and using an oven thermometer if you’ve got one. The cookies will be soft at first but should crisp up when cool. (If they’re still soft when cool, return them to the oven to bake them a bit longer).
- Let the cookies cool, then roll each one a second time in the powdered sugar. I like these best the first day of baking when the spices are bright and the cookies are crisp, but they can be layered with parchment paper and stored airtight for up to several days. If they start looking bald, give them another coat of powdered sugar.
Notes
Since these cookies are a tad fussy, be sure to use the dip and sweep method if measuring by volume, or, better yet, use the weight measurements if you’ve got a kitchen scale. All ounce measurements are by weight.
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