day 15: Carpe’ Season
I am so excited to have today’s guest blogger as she is one of my most favorite recent blog finds. Liz, a witty, photographically-gifted foodie, fills her blog Carpe’ Season with beautiful things and tasty items. She is a fellow Minnesotan and I’m tickled to have her here today.
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Hi! I’m Liz over at Carpe´ Season, where I blog mostly about the trials and joys of eating seasonally and all of the cooking that goes into that effort in my Minneapolis kitchen.
Occasionally, I also share tidbits from my life as a teacher and a wife, as well as situations that I find strangely funny…like obese squirrels’ bending thin branches or awkward interactions with people on the bus. I’m excited to be part of this wonderful cookie series, because really, what’s more seasonal than holiday cookies?
I had a fantastic time dreaming about the cookies I could make for this post, and drooling over my cookbooks, but in the end, I went with a cookie I’ve grown up with around Christmas: Almond Crescent Cookies.
These cookies have been a staple in my family as far back as when my dad was a kid; this recipe comes passed down from his side.
They are almost like a softer cousin of biscotti: a bit crumbly (but not crunchy) and perfect with a cup of coffee. With only 6 ingredients, they come together really simply. These cookies have a distinctly almond flavor that stops just short of being overwhelming, with tiny bits of almond crunchiness scattered throughout each cookie.
You can make them crescent-shaped, or as a time saver, roll them into 1-inch balls that you can festively call snowballs. Either way you shape them, these cookies are simple and the perfect sweet bite after dinner…or as a second dessert…or, let’s be honest, as breakfast, because what’s better than cookies with coffee? Warning: if you try to sneak these in as a pre-breakfast snack, you will fail. The powdered sugar WILL betray even your stealthiest efforts.
Recipe for Almond Crescent Cookies
(recipe from my Aunt Mar)
(yields about 24 crescents or around 50 snowballs)
2 sticks butter
3 heaping tbsp. sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 3/4 c. chopped almonds (I food processed mine to get them really tiny)
powdered sugar for rolling (I probably used about 1 c.)
Preheat oven to 300* and put rack in the center.
Mix the ingredients together in the order given.
Shape into crescents or 1-inch balls.*
Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Feel free to place them really close together; they don’t really spread at all while baking. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges will just be beginning to brown.
When cool, roll in powdered sugar.
*The dough will seem too crumbly to shape, but it isn’t. Get your play-dough hands going and squeeze it together several times before shaping, and they will hold together.
Happy Holidays, everyone, and enjoy!
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Thanks Liz! Check out Liz’s other recipes and musings over at her blog here.
Take care.
♥amy c
