Hey hey! I’ve got a quick recipe for you as we head into the weekend. These soft almond cookies are a perfect gift for mom on Sunday, and maybe she’ll share with you. 😉
There’s something about biting into a soft pillowy cookie with a subtle hint of sugar and almond that just makes the world better.
These cookies start out a lot like normal sugar cookies. Creaming the butter and sugar until it’s pale yellow allows the sugar crystals to punch small holes in the butter which will create light and soft cookies as the bake.
Another tip to great almond cookies is using good almond, vanilla and butter extract. It’s easy to over do with extracts, so stick with 2 teaspoons of the almond so you don’t overwhelm the flavor of the butter and sugar in the cookies. The butter and vanilla are just supporting players in this cookie, but still it’s important to use good stuff. I use Mexican vanilla extract by the Blue Cattle Truck Trading Co. and the butter extract is by McCormick. Butter extract is exactly what it sounds like, flavor extracted from butter and milk. It lends an extra butter flavor to baked goods so it’s a good staple to have around.
Speaking of sugar, I like to roll these cookies in Demerara sugar. Demerara Sugar is a light brown, partially refined, sugar produced from the first crystallization during processing cane juice into sugar crystals (this process is similar to what happens with naturally evaporated cane juice). Unlike brown sugar, which has the added molasses flavor, Demerara has a natural caramel-like flavor; this lends warm, caramel notes to whatever you add the sugar to. Sometimes Demerara sugar is also referred to as Turbinado sugar, which has more to do with how the sugar is processed in turbines, than where it originates. (Source) You can use either in this recipe, or sugar in the raw. You can also leave it out, but it lends just a bit of extra to this cookie that sends them over the top.
Hopefully you’re starting your weekend off right, but I bet these cookies would make it even better. 😊
Enjoy!
Xo,
Danielle
- 1 Cup white sugar
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tsp Almond extract
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp butter extract
- 2 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- in Demerara sugar or sugarthe raw
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream sugar, butter. Add eggs and almond, butter, and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt and add to butter/egg mixture.
- Use electric mixture to ensure dough is thoroughly combined.
- Roll 1 tbsp of dough (I used a small cookie scoop to make things easier) into a ball and roll in Demerara sugar. Place on prepared pan.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and gently press the tops of the cookies flat with the back of a spoon while they are still warm and pliable. (The cornstarch keeps them from spreading so they will be mounded up).
- Remove to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
- A tip:
- ~DO NOT bake longer than 10 minutes!! They may seem under-baked, but when they cool they will firm up.
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