This is not a cookery blog... but these pumpkin seed biscuits are goooood!

Thanks to the flu, which ties me to the house at the moment, and thanks to Dan Lepard in The Guardian, and thanks to eggs and pumpkin seed butter (PSB) being in the fridge, I could try out this recipe today: Dan Lepard's almond butter cookies.

I had neither almonds nor almond butter, so I used a glass of greenish pumpkin seed butter that had been frittering its life away in the fridge. On top are pecan nuts (Konni says "pee-kaaahn", which David always corrects into "PEE-can").

The PSB gives them a slight green hue, as if from pistachios. Mmmm, they're delicious (says even the other half, even though he can't taste much because he has the flu as well).

Here's Dan's recipe. Apart from the substitutions mentioned above, instead of little balls of dough, I made two long strips and cut them into slices. Otherwise, they were delightfully easy to make. 

Almond butter cookies

The dough is a bit tricky to handle because it's slightly crumbly, but this also means that the texture is delicate once baked and rather good for a petit four with coffee. Otherwise, these are dead easy. If you don't like almonds, just use any other type of nut butter instead, for instance a good-quality peanut or cashew, but you will have to adjust the amount of flour to get a good texture to your dough (and depending on the fat content of the butter). Makes about 30.

350g plain flour
175g icing sugar
250g almond butter (from healthfood shops)
175g unsalted butter, softened
3 egg yolks
3 tsp vanilla extract (or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod)
Blanched almonds, to finish

Put the flour and icing sugar in a bowl, then add the almond butter, unsalted butter, egg yolks and vanilla. Work together with your hands into a smooth, soft dough, then take pieces about 30g each, roll into balls and flatten gently on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Heat the oven to 170C (150C fan-assisted)/335F/gas mark 3, press a single almond into the top of each and bake for 25-30 minutes, until slightly firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you bake the remainder.