I generally don’t mess with recipes if it involves flour and baking. I’ve had some baking disasters and have learned my lesson on one too many occasions so I’m not sure why I was feeling so bold, but I took liberty with changing a number of things with this Rachael recipe. Thankfully, I can report back that it turned out perfectly.

I’m so glad that I made them into cookies instead of bars; I plan on giving them away this weekend to a very special Mother and I think the round shape looks much sweeter than a bar.

And being in the bakery field, I know the importance of quality control, so I made sure they tasted ok

Jam & Shortbread Cookies - adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine – makes 24 cookies

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup NuNaturals Stevia Baking Blend
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Crofters South America Superfruit Spread

Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pan with liners. Using a food processor, mix flours, almonds, sugars, baking soda and salt until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Beat egg and vanilla in medium bowl. Pour over dough mixture and place dough and egg mixture back in bowl. Knead with your fingers until clumpy.

Add about 1 1/2 Tbsp of dough mixture into the baking cups, pressing with fingers to form a crust. Drizzle with 1 tsp jam, heating the jam in microwave for about 15 seconds to melt if necessary. Top with 1 Tbsp crumbles. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.