ALMOND COOKIES

Leia em PORTUGUÊS

I had all the best intentions to make Spritz cookies today. I've had a cookie press for ages, unused. It was time I put it to work :o)

I adapted a recipe from my friend Marly at Saboreando a Vida. To her recipe I only added some lightly toasted almonds.

 I made the batter and it seemed malleable enough for the cookie press, so I formed a cylinder to make it easier to feed the gun.

I chose one of the decorative plates...

... made a few tests...

...then I started making the cookies on a sheet. Before I even filled the first sheet the cookie press stopped working. Maybe it had been kept for so long that the plastic parts got fragile :o( I was so disappointed! I didn't even have the chance to try out the other cute shapes. I baked that half sheet of cookies and packed the rest of the dough for something else some other time.

After baked they looked like this, so cute and easy to make!

It was only two days later that I returned to that dough and made some cutout cookies and with the dough scraps I made little balls that were flattened into discs and I used a fork to make an indentation.

After they were baked and cool I coated them in fine sugar. 

The cookies were delicious!

ALMOND SPRITZ (or cutout) COOKIES

1 cup butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar 

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pinch of salt

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup slivered almonds lightly toasted in the oven and processed 

Use a mixer to beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla and salt and continue beating. Add flour and almond meal and beat on low only until it comes together. Do not overmix.

Fill your cookie press with the batter and start piping the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.

If you are not using a cookie press, roll the dough between two sheets of plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting the cookies with a knife or cookie cutters.

Alternatively, you may want to make little balls of dough and flatten them to form discs then stamp them with a fork or cookie stamp. 

Bake at 350°F (180°C) for about 12 minutes or until it starts to brown on the edges.

Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely 

After they are cool, sprinkle with fine sugar (optional)