Almond flour, our winning cookie's key ingredient

Raise your hand if you've ever baked with almond flour.

That's what I thought. Here's the paradox: It's not exactly a mainstream ingredient, yet it's widely available, a staple in the baking aisle at most supermarkets. It's also a key component in the winning entry in our 2014 Holiday Cookie Contest.

Almond flour is exactly what it sounds like. The nuts are blanched, to remove their dark skins, and then finely ground. That's it, no additives. Just pale, gently fragrant almonds, taken to a sand-like texture. And yes, you can make it yourself, using a food processor, but don't go too far, or you'll end up producing almond butter.

It pays to shop around.

The brand that most supermarkets carry, Bob's Red Mill, is generally available in 1-lb. bags (pictured, above). In the past two weeks, I've seen prices all over the place. The lowest? It was at my local natural foods co-op: $11.69 (although I recently saw it on sale for $7.99). At Lunds and Byerly's, as well as CobornsDelivers, it was $13.99. The top price, $14.59, was at Kowalski's.

But the consistently lowest price for Bob's Red Mill product? In the bulk section of your friendly neighborhood natural foods co-op, of course. At Seward Co-op, the bulk version (pictured, above) is regularly priced at $8.99 per pound.

Our winning 2014 baker, William Teresa, has a favorite almond flour source. He buys the house brand at Trader Joe's. There's a slight difference: it's almond meal (pictured, above), not almond flour. The former skips the blanching process, so the end result is a variegated mix of golden and dark brown bits of ground almond, a blend that Teresa says gives his cookies an eye-catching appearance.

Another reason to love? The price: $5.99 for a 1-lb. bag. Find it (pictured, above) in the nuts aisle.

When stored in a cool, dry place, almond flour (and almond meal) has a six- to nine-month shelf life. Better yet, keep it in the freezer, just be sure to bring it to room temperature before using.

Gluten-free almond flour has many uses. Put it to work in place of bread crumbs. Make this exceptional cake. Add a delicately nutty spin on cookies (chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin both come to mind) by substituting a 1/4-cup to a 1/2-cup of all-purpose flour with almond flour. And definitely bake our winning cookie.