Almond Sablés (Almond Shortbread Cookies)

These buttery sablés (French shortbread cookies) are made using ground almonds and a couple of drops of almond extract to take the almond flavor up a notch. Only four ingredients and no eggs required !

Lire la recette des sablés à l'amande en Français

I've had a bag of ground almonds in the cupboard for months now ; I received it in the Vahiné box I won last Spring (which also had the chocolate caramel chips I used for these brown butter cookies). I've been wondering what to bake with the powdered almonds ever since, and I finally got around to using them (and no, they thankfully weren't expired, ha !).

I made almond sablés ! Sablés are the French version of shortbread cookies : think roll-out sugar cookies, but more crumbly. These almond sablés only require four ingredients, and they're made without eggs ! These almond cookies are buttery and out-of-this-world delicious, believe me. I added just a couple of drops of almond extract to kick the almond flavor up a notch, but that's optional as the ground almonds already give that amazing almond taste to the sablés.

If you're making these almond shortbread cookies, here's an important piece of advice : don't overbake them ! For me, 10 minutes in a preheated oven were enough ; the almond sablés will definitely look like they aren't fully baked, but that's how you keep them soft for days. If you bake them until they look, well, baked, they'll just become rock-hard as they cool, and that's not what we want. We want soft crumbly almond cookies, not break-your-teeth-hard cookies.

Are you going to try them or do you still need convincing ? If you still need convincing, here goes : my little brother was the first one to taste them and he kept saying they were really good, so delicious, can I have more ? Haha ! Oh, and also : do you know how hard it is to look at the pictures I took of the almond sablés, craving one (or four) but knowing they're all gone ? It's torture. I just had lunch but I'm hungry now :(


Here's how to make these almond sablés (or shortbread) :

ALMOND SABLÉS
by A Cup Of Sprinkles
Adapted from La Mère Pierre

These buttery sablés (French shortbread cookies) are made using ground almonds and a couple of drops of almond extract to take the almond flavor up a notch. Only four ingredients and no eggs required !

Cook time : 10 minutes

Ingredients :
300g of flour
230g of butter, softened
100g of sugar
125g of ground almonds
Almond extract (optional)

Instructions :

Whisk together the flour and sugar. Cream the butter

Gradually mix the flour/sugar to the butter.

Add in the ground almonds and a couple of drops of almond extract and knead until everything is incorporated. The dough will look very crumbly but it will come together the more you mix it.

Cover the dough with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface using a rolling pin (about 5mm/¼ inch thick) and cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a baking paper covered baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes (300°F/150°C). Don’t overbake (the cookies wouldn’t stay soft as they cool) ! The edges on the cookies should barely look golden. The cookies will harden as they cool.

Let me know in the comments if you make these ground almond cookies ! You can also share a picture on Instagram by tagging @acupofsprinkles and using the hashtag #acupofsprinkles !

See other cookie recipes.
See other egg free recipes.
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Double Chocolate Cookies

Soft double chocolate cookies are made with white chocolate chips folded into a dark chocolate cookie base.

I called these cookies "double chocolate cookies" because "chocolate white chocolate chip cookies" or "white chocolate chip chocolate cookies" seemed like a mouthful.
These double chocolate cookies are amazing : the rich flavor of cocoa in the base and the sweetness of white chocolate make these cookies the perfect after-school snack for kids, and they'll be perfect with a cup of coffee for adults, too ;) I based this recipe on my best ever chocolate chip cookies recipe, as always. I told you it was versatile !
These double chocolate cookies don't spread much, so don't forget to gently press down on the cookie dough balls before baking ! Eat warm straight out of the oven, while the white chocolate chips are still all gooey and melting, or keep in an airtight box to eat when the mood strikes :)


Here's how to make these white chocolate chip chocolate cookies, aka double chocolate cookies :

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
by A Cup Of Sprinkles

Soft double chocolate cookies are made with white chocolate chips folded into a dark chocolate cookie base.

Cook time : 12 minutes
Makes about 16 Cookies

Ingredients :
170g of butter, softened
200g of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
210g of flour
80g of cocoa powder
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
200g of white chocolate chips

Instructions :

Cream the butter and sugar.

Add in the eggs and vanilla, mix until well incorporated.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, and gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/eggs.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven. Form cookie dough balls (using an ice scream scoop, or spoons), and place them on a baking paper covered baking sheet. Gently press down on the cookie dough balls to flatten them a little.

Bake at 180°/350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges of the cookies should look baked while the center should still look a little soft. Let the baked double chocolate cookies cool on a wire rack.

Let me know in the comments if you make these double chocolate cookies ! You can also share a picture on Instagram by tagging @acupofsprinkles and using the hashtag #acupofsprinkles !
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The Best Vanilla Cupcakes Ever

This recipe makes the best vanilla cupcakes ever : they stay soft & moist for days ! They'll be the perfect base for any cupcake creations you come up with !

I've shared my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, now it's time to share my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe !
I've tried a lot of vanilla cupcake recipes in the past, but I'd never be happy with them : the cupcakes wouldn't taste the way I wanted them to, or they'd dry out in a day. Then I found this recipe from LilieBakery ; I tested the recipe once, but the order in which I was supposed to add the ingredients didn't really work. The cupcakes still ended up tasting amazing, so I knew I had to try the recipe again, and this time I added the softened butter at the end, instead of mixing it with the eggs and sugar, as that's what I'd had trouble with the first time. Success ! I had finally found the perfect vanilla cupcakes recipe !

This recipe is the one I used for these raspberry mascarpone cupcakes. You might also recognize the cupcakes in these pictures as the ones from this 2 ingredients chocolate buttercream recipe post. This recipe for vanilla cupcakes also pairs up wonderfully with mascarpone whipped cream frosting !
These vanilla cupcakes stay soft and moist for days ! I actually left one, uncovered, on the kitchen counter to see how long it'd stay soft and delicious, and four days later it hadn't dried out !


Here's how to make the best vanilla cupcakes ever :

VANILLA CUPCAKES
by A Cup Of Sprinkles
Adapted from LilieBakery

This recipe makes the best vanilla cupcakes ever : they stay soft & moist for days ! They'll be the perfect base for any cupcake creations you come up with !

Cook time : 25 minutes
12 cupcakes

Ingredients :
100g of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1 pinch of salt
2 eggs
100g of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
100g of softened butter

Instructions :

Preheat the oven.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together.

Mix in the dry ingredients. Add in the softened butter and, using a hand mixer, beat on medium speed until well combined.

Line the cupcake pan with baking cases, and fill them with about 1 1/2 tablespoon of batter (about halfway).

Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the cupcakes are a golden color, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

Let me know in the comments if you make these vanilla cupcakes ! You can also share a picture on Instagram by tagging @acupofsprinkles and using the hashtag #acupofsprinkles !
See other cupcake recipes.
See other "best ever" recipes.

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The 5 Most Popular Recipes of 2017

I know, I know, you're probably getting tired of seeing these "most popular posts" everywhere on the blogosphere, but I really wanted to look back on the recipes I posted this last year and see what you readers liked ! I started this blog in 2015, and being the procrastinator that I am, didn't post my first recipe until October 2016.
And then I didn't post again for months. *facepalm*
Last February, though, I started posting regularly (though still not as regularly as other bloggers), and I feel like I finally reached a nice blogging rythm these past few months, which contributed to getting more traffic to this little ol' blog of mine.

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Two Ingredients Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Here's how to make a fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting with only two ingredients. This frosting can even be made in the microwave !

Do you ever get a craving for chocolate frosting but don't want to wait for butter to soften, or you just can't be bothered to cook egg whites to make swiss meringue buttercream ? Well then, I've got a recipe for you !
This chocolate buttercream frosting is made using only two ingredients : chocolate, and unsalted butter. You can either make it on a double-boiler (bain-marie) or in the microwave. You just have to use the same amount (weight) of chocolate and butter, melt them and stir to combine. Once it's cooled and set, you use a hand- or stand-mixer to beat the frosting until it's all fluffy. And that's it !

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White Chocolate Truffles

White chocolate truffles are an easy no-bake treat that only requires four ingredients.

I really thought making truffles would be more difficult. It turns out truffles are simply ganache that you've let set overnight before rolling it in cocoa powder. That's it.
Making these white chocolate truffles requires no baking : you only have to melt the chocolate, butter and cream in a bain-marie, add in some icing sugar, and then wait for it to set. You'll then have to shape the truffles by rolling them between your palms, then coat them with cocoa powder or sprinkles.

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