Almond Cookies: Homage to Mrs. F

My brother-in-law’s mother passed away unexpectedly a few days ago.  Through the years we would see her at family functions and exchange pleasantries.  Every Christmas we were the lucky recipients of one of her signature pink cake boxes filled with a variety of delicious homemade holiday cookies.  We all had our favorites.  Me, I loved her almond cookies.  They were just like the ones in the windows of Chinatown bakeries, crumbly, full of almond flavor and finished with an almond pressed into the center.

Unfortunately I do not have her recipe but I do have one by Belinda Leong of B patisserie in San Francisco.  Bursting with almond flavor and buttery goodness this is an amazingly delicious cookie that for me pays tribute to Mrs. F.  Baking these lovely morsels conjures up the image of her pink boxes stacked on the holiday table. Most of all it reminds me of her warm smile and her kind and generous spirit.  She will be missed.

Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace)/Auld Lang Syne performed by Yo- Yo Ma and Chris Botti

The recipe for these wonderful almond cookies is from Andrea Nguyen’s blog post Viet World Kitchen.  The recipe was first published in the book Chef’s Table by Carolyn Jung.  There were some glitches in the recipe and luckily food people are of the most generous spirit.  No sooner had I emailed Ms. Nguyen she responded answering all my questions and updating her website.  Here is the link to the recipe on her blog, Viet World Kitchen.  I weighed the flour using the 8.75 ounces and used 1/2 cup volume measurement for the sugar.  Start checking the cookies early. My batch only took 12 minutes to bake.  If you like crisp, buttery, almond flavored cookies..BAKE THESE, you won’t regret it.

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Almond Cookies

Buttery, crispy, full of almond flavor.  These cookies from B's Patisserie are a winner.

Course cookies

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Almond Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups 8.75 oz / 250 g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 ounces 120 g almond paste
• 1/2 cup 3.5 oz / 100 g sugar
• 2 sticks 8 oz / 225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces 120 g sliced or chopped slivered almonds
• Powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C / gas mark 4) with a rack in the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and soda. Set aside.
• Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make the dough. Cut the almond paste into thick slices or big chunks. Put them in the mixer with the sugar. On low speed, mix the ingredients together until the almond paste has broken up into big pea-like pieces.
• Pause to add the butter. On medium-low speed, beat the ingredients until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined (you no longer see flour bits). Add the almonds and use the lowest speed (“Stir” on a Kitchen Aide) to mix into the dough.
• Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl or on your work surface. For slightly gnarly/textured cookies, pinch off balls of dough – each the size of a big cherry tomato (1.5 inch / 3.75 cm wide). Roll in powdered sugar, then place on the prepared sheet pan, spaced 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Flatten each ball slightly as you work. (If you want neater cookies, squeeze and roll the dough into a fat log and cut crosswise into pieces. Roll them into balls, coat in the sugar, etc. See the photo above.)
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown at the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for several days.