thecookieblogger.com

when i was a young girl, my grandma would take me to her favorite chinese restaurant in parkchester. she always ordered chow mein. and though i don’t remember one bit what i used to eat for the main course, i remember vividly the anticipation i felt for dessert. always one scoop of chocolate ice cream, served with the most delicious almond cookie ever. well, for those of you who remember those savory almond cookies, this recipe will make you very happy. these are easy to make, and just as good as i remember them!

almond cookies
ingredients:
1 (1/2 lb.) cup lard (substitute plain crisco shortening if you can’t find lard)
1/2 cup baker’s sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 dozen whole blanched almonds*
small bowl of flour for flattening dough
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons cool water

*if you can find them, purchase whole blanched almonds. if they are not available, get whole almonds and blanch them yourself!

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. in your mixer bowl, beat the lard with both sugars until creamy and smooth.
3. add egg and almond extract until well-blended.
4. stir flour, salt and baking powder into the creamed mixture until well-combined.
5. with your #40 scoop, place scoop of dough about 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. dip the bottom of a flat glass into a bit of flour, then press dough until it is flat and about 2 inches around.
6. press one blanched almond into each flattened scoop of dough.
7. in a small bowl, combine the yolk and water until well combined, then, with your pastry brush, gently brush the yolk mixture over the top of each cookie.
8. bake for 11 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned. remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet.
9. remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
enjoy!
yield:32 cookies