Try finding almond flour right now in the Twin Cities. It isn't easy. And it's our fault.
Almond flour's instantaneous popularity is linked to the key role (2 1/4 cups, to be exact) it plays in the winning recipe in our 2014 Taste Holiday Cookie Contest.
We're not surprised that Italian Almond Cookies have captured the attention of Twin Cities bakers. We love them, and it's not as if we haven't observed this phenomenon before; in past years, we've witnessed a skyrocketing demand for such items as pistachios, sliced almonds and chile-spiced chocolate bars.
Back to almond flour. Two days after we published our winning recipe, I conducted an informal in-store survey, dropping in at four randomly selected supermarkets and scoping out the almond flour situation. At all four, I encountered empty shelves. Turns out, my experience was not outside the norm.
"I stopped by my neighborhood grocery store, and they didn't have any," said Jennie Baltutis of Minneapolis. "And I thought, 'Wow, how many people are making that recipe?"
Plenty.
"We've definitely seen a pretty big increase in sales of almond flour," said Luke Friedrich of Supervalu, the region's largest supermarket wholesaler, which fills the shelves at Cub Foods, Lunds and Byerly's, Jerry's Foods and other stores. "Our supply is very low right now. But we've ordered a significant increase -- ten-fold over the normal amount -- and we'll have shipments in by Friday, and more the following week."
If you're planning on baking our winning cookie - and you should, it's fantastic, and so easy to prepare -- here's our tip: Shop at your local natural foods co-op.
Many stock almond flour in their chilled bulk section. We called around, and here's what we found:
All three Lakewinds Food Co-op locations are fully stocked ("Plenty of almond flour here," said the helpful person at the co-op's Minnetonka location, and "We just got more in this morning" said the friendly staffer at Lakewinds' Chanhassen location, although, let's face it, pretty much everyone in co-opland is friendly). Ditto Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville.
It's the same story at the Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis, which reports a sizeable inventory on hand (pictured, above) and more on order.
At Seward Co-op in Minneapolis, "We did have a run on almond flour when the recipe first came out, a pretty significant spike," said marketing manager Tom Vogel. "But we definitely have it, and we're bracing for the next run on demand."
A few co-ops — Eastside Food Co-op in Minneapolis, and both locations of Mississippi Market in St. Paul — skip the bulk-section thing and go the packaged route (find it in the baking supplies aisle). Still, all three stores say they've got almond flour on hand.
The best news? Buying in bulk at local natural foods co-ops is a fairly reliable best-value situation, with prices usually hovering in the $8.50/pound range. By comparison, some supermarkets charge as much as $14 for a l-lb. bag. Oh, and if you've never shopped at a co-op before, don't worry about membership issues; you don't need to become a member/owner to shop.
Two other options: We've heard from readers that they've seen plenty of almond flour on the shelves at SuperTarget stores. Almond meal — a coarser and less-expensive version of almond flour, and perfectly acceptable for this recipe — appears to be in stock at most Trader Joe's stores (TJ's private label almond meal is the ingredient of choice for winning baker William Teresa).
You could save the trip to the supermarket and buy online. At nuts.com, a l-lb. bag is $8.99, and at Honeyville, a 3-lb. bag (the smallest available) is $26.99.
Or make your own. It's easy: Buy blanched, shelled almonds and grind them in a food processor until they take on the texture of wet sand. Watch carefully; grind too much, and you'll end up with almond butter.
