All my life, I've always marveled at those delicate looking concave cookies neatly stacked in the glass cases at fancy French bakeries, categorizing them under "things that should not be attempted at home". Consequently whenever I saw a recipe for them, I'd promptly turn the page. But recently I was leafing through Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri, a great low-calorie dessert book (see, I do try to be sensible--after all, it's bathing suit season!) when I came across this recipe for almond tuiles and looked down to the bottom of the page and saw that each cookie is only 25 calories!!! Inspired by that number and the thought of how many cookies I could consume guilt-free, I decided to muster up the courage and try these curvy treats. And you know what--they were easy to make!! And of course, delicious! Living almond tuile-free for years is my punishment for being such a fraidy-cat! So learn from my mistake and seize your courage and the moment and make these today! 25 calories a cookie, guys!!!

It's really, really hard for me to not have some sort of a "goodie" at night--it doesn't have to be huge, but I need SOMETHING!! Doesn't everyone feel that way?!! Lately, I've been all about ice pops which are totally sensible and very refreshing, but sometimes after a long crazy day I just want a cup of tea and a few cookies. Which brings me to these amazingly light yet indulgent little wafers, that in no way taste like you're eating "diet food"--would I do that to you?!!

Plus they're easy and so much fun to make--the curving part is a snap--once they come out of the oven, you just drape them over a rolling pin or the cardboard center of a roll of paper towels and a few minutes later voilá, you've got that fancy curved classic french cookie.

And if by some miracle you are not counting calories like my teenage-bodied hubby, (grrrr!!) these are the perfect crunchy accompaniment to a creamy dish of ice cream.

They're sweet (but not overly so), crunchy and full of almond-y goodness! 25 calories never tasted so good!! Have a guilt-free night!!

25 Calorie Almond Tuiles

Makes about 45 cookies

Prep Time:  15 minutes: Bake Time:  6-7 minutes, plus another minute or two to curve the cookies over a rolling pin

Ingredients

• 3 ounces (3/4 cup) whole unblanched almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon dark rum (optional--I didn't use)
• 1/4 cup unbleached, all purpose flour

The Recipe

1.  Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line 2-3 cookie sheets with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2.  Place the almonds and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the almonds are finely ground but not pasty.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to gently stir together the egg, egg white and salt together. You do not want to beat air into this. Stir in the ground almond mixture. Add in the rum if using and then the flour. Stir until all the flour is incorporated.

4.  Use a measuring teaspoon to drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto the prepared pans, spacing the mounds 3 inches apart, as these really spread. Flatten the mounds with a fork.

5.  Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes, until they are golden, one pan at a time. If you don't want to curve these and just want flat but still delicious cookies, you can bake two sheets at a time. If you are going to shape the cookies have a rolling pin or a cardboard center from a roll of paper towels ready.

6.  As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, use a wide, but thin metal spatula to take the cookies off of the pan and drape them over the rolling pin to curve then a bit. When the cookies are cool, remove them from the rolling pin and repeat with the remaining sheets. Serve immediately or store them in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri.