Toasted Almond Brown Sugar Cookies

  • Toasted Almond Brown Sugar Cookies

    If you’re anything like me, the only thing you care about when looking at the picture of these cookies is the glaze.  The glaze that drips off the edge of the warm cookie, hardening into a little pool on the edge: the best part of the cookie.  (And I don’t say that because the cookie sucks and the glaze is slightly redeeming; the cookie is absolutely enjoyable to begin with, but severely enhanced with the addition of the almondy-sugary glaze-pooling effect.  It’s strangely mesmerizing to me.  I might have issues.)

    Adapted from Southern Food’s recipe…

    1 cup butter, room temperature

    1 cup sugar

    1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

    2 eggs

    1 teaspoon baking soda

    2 tablespoons vinegar

    4 cups all-purpose flour

    2 teaspoons baking powder

    1 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (1 cup for cookies, 1/4 cup for garnish)

    1 teaspoon almond extract (real, not imitation)

    GLAZE:

    1 cup confectioners’ sugar

    1 tablespoon almond milk (or regular)

    1/4 teaspoon almond extract

    1. Preheat oven to 400° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
    2. In a large bowl, beat butter for 2 minutes (until light); gradually add sugars, beating well at medium speed of mixer.  Add eggs, blending well and scraping bowl between each addition.
    3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in vinegar.  In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with vinegar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
    4. Stir in 1 cup of the slivered almonds (reserving 1/4 for tops of cookies) and almond extract.  Scoop dough into 1-inch balls (or heaping tablespoons if you don’t have a cookie scoop yet*) and place 1″ apart on prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
    5. ALMOND GLAZE:  Stir confectioners’ sugar with almond milk (or regular milk) and almond extract until smooth and the consistency of thick cream (add more sugar or milk to achieve the consistency you’d like).  Brush glaze over the cookies while still warm, and gently press a few slivered almonds onto icing (to set).

    Tips:

    • Brown sugar substitution- you can use light brown sugar if you’d like- the taste will be a bit more subtle.  Yes, use kitchen crack (white sugar) if you’d like, too.  SO flexible.  (Oh- just want to make sure- you ARE using real almond extract, right?  No subs there.  Of course you knew that.)
    • *No cookie scoop yet? You really must get one.  Make it your early birthday present to yourself.  Order from Amazon or King Arthur Flour… pronto!  Cookie-making will be SO much faster.  Faster cookie-making means faster cookie-eating.
    • Toast the almonds and don’t even think of arguing with me about it.  (Put them on a baking sheet in your hot oven for 8 minutes or so, turning halfway through.  Watch them closely to make sure they don’t burn.  Because they will do that to you- one minute they look all “getting there” and the next minute they’ll be burned to shit.)
    • The almond garnish must be added to the tops of the cookies while the glaze is still wet.  This means that you can only glaze a cookie or two at a time, then you’ll have to put the pastry brush down and sprinkle the almonds on top.  Don’t get all “efficient” and try to glaze all of the cookies at once.  You’ll screw everything up.
    • Regrets: not adding more glaze to these cookies.  Next time I will for sure.  I’ll drown them in the almondy-sugary-sauce.

     

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    January 12th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: ,

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