Almond crescents

With the little one hankering for more of those Italian almond star cookies, I thought I'd give another type of almond cookie a try.  I'd never made almond crescents until now.

The cookie dough is super simple to make.  In fact, the recipe I started with seemed almost too easy.  It called for 4 ingredients - ground almonds, butter, flour, and some sugar - that you simply mixed together.  So I tinkered a bit, adding a pinch of salt, and some vanilla and almond extracts.  I also decided to add a little lemon zest to subtly brighten up the flavors.  In the spirit of embellishment for the holiday season, I dipped half the crescents in chocolate ganache.

Without any eggs in the recipe, I expected a challenge in shaping the cookies into their crescent shapes.  It did turn out to be a little tricky but do-able and not an issue if you're not overly concerned about some cracks at the bends. A great big dusting of powdered sugar would distract you from that imperfection if it's a concern.  The most important thing is they turned out really tasty!  I'm not sure why I was kind of surprised by how much I liked them.  

The texture is nice and sandy.  Around the holidays, I embrace these buttery, crispy, sandy-textured cookies and welcome them as cookies I don't eat often enough. They are excellent with a cup of tea or with your mug of hot chocolate.  

My son might not have devoured these crescents quite as greedily as he did the almond stars but they were still very appreciated.  I really enjoyed the ground almond texture and flavor, with the hint of lemon.  I am very thankful for the holidays for the gift of Christmas cookie variety!


As you can see from the recipe that follows, this cookie dough is very easily put together.  If you use almond meal like I did, it saves the step of grinding almonds yourself.  Once the dough is mixed together, cover it and let it sit at room temperature for a couple of hours. 

When it comes to shaping the cookies into their crescent shapes, I grabbed a ball of dough and rolled it and pressed it a bit in my palm to warm it up and smooth it out. Then I rolled it into about a 3-inch or so long log.  Bend it and give the ends a little pinch to mimic a crescent shape.  At least, that's my interpretation of it!

There will be cracks along the bend of some of the cookies.  I didn't want to over-handle the dough so I didn't try to mend it or re-roll it too much.  

They bake for about 25 minutes or so in a 325 degree oven until just lightly golden brown.  

To finish these cookies, a coating of powdered sugar is classic.  So is a roll in vanilla sugar.  I choose to dip my cookies in chocolate ganache.  In general, I think I prefer dipping most cookies in a thin layer of pure dark chocolate but when I have cream in the fridge, I tend to take advantage of it and make some ganache (tip: extra ganache is great for making hot chocolate).  Ganache makes for a thicker coating and takes longer to set but you get a nice shine and don't have to worry about the chocolate blooming (white/grey specks) like you would when dipping with untempered chocolate.   

For a few of the cookies, I placed some sliced almonds on top of the ganache. Sprinkles naturally come to mind, too.  And you don't need to give up on the powdered sugar altogether.  Take a piece of wax paper and hold it over the chocolate coated half of the cookie and dust powered sugar over the remaining/exposed half for contrast.

Making Christmas cookies is so much fun!

Recipe:

Almond Crescents
Adapted from Martha Stewart

- Makes approximately 2 dozen - 

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (optional)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup almond meal (or whole blanched almonds, finely ground)
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Decorating suggestions: powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, chocolate ganache* or melted dark chocolate 

Place sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add lemon zest (if using) over top and lightly rub into the sugar until moistened.  Add butter, salt, vanilla and almond extracts.  Beat using the paddle attachment, on medium-speed, until mixture is fluffy. Add almond meal and flour, beating together until combined.  Cover cookie dough and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.  Take about a tablespoon or so of dough and roll it into about a 3-inch or so long log (I find it helps to press the dough together with the palm of my hand, then roll).  Bend the log into a crescent shape, pinching the ends a little.  You may have some cracks in the dough at the bend and you can try to pinch it together but I wouldn't stress over it.

Bake until light golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.  Let cool on trays for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Suggested decorations: You can dip half the cookies in melted dark chocolate or in chocolate ganache like I did.  For the ganache, you will only need about 2 ounces of chocolate (or half this recipe) as the basis.  Alternatively, dust the cookies with powdered sugar.  If you have vanilla sugar, you can also roll the cookies - while they're still warm - in it.