From Sketchbook to Kitchen: Spiced Almond Hedgehog Cookies

Hello friends,

Some of you might follow me on Instagram and know that on stories each Saturday or Sunday I usually try a new recipe. This weekend’s experiment was hedgehog cookies.

I’ve been drawing and painting hedgehogs as part of my drawing challenge this week, so when I spotted a bag of slivered almonds in the pantry that needed using up, the idea just made sense.

I asked my AI assistant to help me turn the ingredients I had on hand into a cookie recipe, and together we came up with these little spiced almond hedgehogs. They’re rolled in slivered almonds for their “spikes” and I gave each one a chocolate chip nose and tiny eye holes using a skewer.

They turned out delicious and absolutely adorable.

If you’d like to try making them too, here’s the recipe.

Spiced Almond Hedgehog Cookies

Soft, warmly spiced cookies with a slightly nutty texture and crunchy almond “spikes.”

Ingredients

• 90 g butter, softened
• 80 g dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon treacle (or molasses)
• 1 egg yolk
• 70 g almond meal
• 80 g all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

For the spikes:

• ½–¾ cup slivered almonds

For decorating:

• Chocolate chips (for noses)

Method

• Cream the butter and brown sugar together until soft and fluffy.
• Mix in the treacle and egg yolk.
• Stir in the almond meal, flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder until a soft dough forms.
• Chill the dough for about 20–30 minutes so it’s easier to shape.
• Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F and line a baking tray with parchment.
• Scoop small walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll them into little teardrop shapes for the hedgehog bodies.
• Roll the rounded back of each cookie in slivered almonds, pressing them in gently to make the “spikes.” Leave the pointed end plain for the face.
• Gently press a chocolate chip into the pointed end for the nose. Use a skewer to poke two tiny eye holes just above the nose (repeat after the come out of teh oven if needed)
• Place the cookies on the baking tray and bake for 12–15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the almonds are toasted.
• Let them cool completely before serving (if you can wait!).

They’re soft, cozy, a little rustic from the almond meal, and very fun to make.