As I promised last week, this post will feature a recipe. I've tried a couple of different almond cookies recipes before. Each has merits. I couldn't say that I like this one more than the others, but it's the one I tried most recently. The kids and I liked it fresh. After being in the fridge for a few days (hubby kept it in the fridge at work as they have mice there), hubby said it tasted like a biscotti...a lot crunchier than it was when not refrigerated. So, you can try keeping it on the counter or the fridge, depending on whether you like crunchy.
2 1/2 C AP flour
1 C sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1 C butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 t salt
1 T almond extract
1/4 lb whole blanched almonds*
Preheat oven to 325F
In food processor, mix flour, sugar, butter, salt, and baking soda until the dough forms little balls**
Add eggs and extract***
Roll out dough on floured surface
Cut with 2 1/2" cookie cutter
Put on greased cookie sheet****
Place almond in center of each cookie
Bake for 25 minutes
*I never use blanched almonds. I like the way the brown skin adds color interest to my recipes.
**I would put all the dry ingredients first and pulse it a few times to mix before adding the butter
***that's all the recipe says; I combined the extract and eggs and poured the mixture in through the spout of the food processor
****I used parchment paper instead of greasing the sheet
One more note: I also finely grounded about a 1/4 C of almonds and added it into the flour mixture. Without this, the cookie is pretty much just an almond flavored shortbread, which is fine but is not almond-y enough for me. I also like speckled look my unblanched ground almonds gave the cookie. You may have to adjust the liquid amount to compensate for the extra dryness...or cut back on the amount of flour.
If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it! I'm still in search of the perfect almond cookie recipe. :)
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams
