Is it summer yet?

It's about this time of the year that I start craving the tastes of summer. Especially the delicious fruits of the summer: sweet, tangy and irresistible. I'm taking a culinary skills class this quarter and we were focusing on cookies and cakes. Since making cookies was my first culinary loves, I decided to pay my old flame a visit. I insisted that I must find a way to incorporate black berries into cookies, this was the best way I know how!

Almond Lemon Blackberry Thumbprint Cookies

Cookies
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
¾ cup ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup rapadura or sucanat
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest
½ cup chopped almonds

Filling
1 cup frozen or fresh blackberries
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons arrowroot

To make the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in the almonds. Roll tablespoons of dough to form balls. Place on greased cookie sheet and press thumb in center of cookie, creating an indentation. This is where the filling will be spooned

To make the filling: In a small sauce pan combine the berries and powdered sugar. Heat on medium-low until the juices start to come out. Make a slurry of arrowroot and 2 tablespoons of water and add to the mixture. Cook until it becomes thickened.

Spoon the filling into the center of each cookie. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm when touched.

These cookies are delightfully refreshing bursts of sunshine, great with a cup of tea