I enjoy peanut butter cookies.  However, I wanted to take advantage of the health benefits of almonds, almond flour and sourdough so I decided to make these sourdough almond butter cookies.  I have now decided that this is now going to be my go-to nut butter cookie.  It is definitely a softer, more moist cookie than other cookies, but the edges can be baked to crisp if that's your preference. My favorite part is the soft cookie and the hint of salt with each bite! They are definitely addictive and don't last long!

Tips for making sourdough almond butter cookies

Sourdough.

Sourdough discard is ideal for these cookies.  Do not use a levain that has been recently mixed as this results in bits of tough dough pieces that are scattered throughout the batter. Allow the starter or levain to ferment / relax before using. Sourdough in raw cookie dough is still active and continues to break down the gluten in the flour.  If the cookie dough is left in the refrigerator, over time, the sourdough will break down the carbohydrates and the cookies will not rise as well, and the fermentation process will start to make the cookies really sour!  To avoid this from happening, leftover cookie dough made with sourdough needs to be frozen.  See below on how to freeze these cookies.

Almond butter.

Use an almond butter that has no added sugar. Almond butter is already expensive relative to peanut butter so why pay so much for a cheap ingredient such as sugar.  If you only have almond butter with sugar in you cabinet, you may have to reduce the sugar in the recipe so that it won't be too sweet.

Almond extract

Almond extract gives these cookies the unique almond flavor.  However, for some, this may be overpowering.  This can then be subtituted for vanilla extract.

Making the sourdough almond butter cookie dough.

Using a paddle on a stand mixer, beat the cookie dough batter until light and fluffy.  

Add the flour after the butter-sugar mixture is light and airy.  When the ingrdients are thoroughly combined, add the almond butter.

At this point, the cookie batter is too soft to mold.  The dough requires refrigeration for 24 hours.  This allows the sourdough to work and the dough to harden.  Once the cookie dough has hardened in the refrigerator, the color will have darkened and the dough will be stiff.

Use a cookie scoop to make cookie balls. Flatten the balls with the tines of a fork to form discs.  

Bake the cookies to your preference.  The longer the cookies are baked, the crisper it will become.

Storing sourdough almond butter cookies

As mentioned above, the sourdough in these sourdough almond butter cookies dough will continue to consume the carbohydrate over time and the result will be very flat cookies. To prevent this from happening, freeze the cookie dough discs on the cookie sheet.  Once frozen, place them in a freezer bag and bake as needed.  Enjoy and let me know what you think of these sourdough almond butter cookies!