It is time to get back to some holiday baking and no Christmas with my family would be complete without a couple of batches of almond crescent cookies. These crescent cookies are basically a short bread cookie, which is nice and easy to make, with chunks of almonds mixed in and they are coated with a dusting of snow like icing sugar. As with most shortbread cookies, these ones are nice a crispy on the outside and all buttery and good on the inside, seemingly melting in your mouth. The almond flavour really comes through and the chunks of almonds that appear as the cookie melts away are like finding little crunchy gems as you go. You could easily replace the almonds with any other nut and pecans are really good but I find that I keep coming back to these almond crescent moons that my mother always makes.
Did one of those cookies just disappear when I turned around for a second?
Almond Crescent Cookies
Almond-y buttery crescent shaped shortbread cookies covered in snowy icing sugar.
ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup icing/powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
- icing/powdered sugar to taste for dusting
directions
- Cream the butter and sugar.
- Mix in the almond extract, salt followed by the flour and then the nuts.
- Shape 1 tablespoon of dough at a time into crescent moons and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet one inch apart from each other.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until they just start to lightly brown, about 12-15 minutes.
- Sift the icing sugar over the still warm cookies.
Is this dough suitable for cutting with a cookie cutter or will it spread while cooking? I have some ninjabread men cutters I've been dying to try out.
I have another question too. You have two lots of icing sugar. Do you mix 1/2 into the batter and sift the other 1/2 cup over the cookies? That seems like a lot of sugar on top.
Love almonds. They are super good. And those cookies look delicious.
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These look delicious! Tomorrow is definitely a baking day for me!
Zoe Sotet Art Studio: You can roll this dough out and cut it and they do not spread. The ninjabreadmen cutter sound fun! You can dust the cookies with icing sugar to taste.
Such simple yet tasty cookies! I can see why they disappear so quickly.
these are called 'kourabiedes' in greek! often have walnuts rather than almonds, both used. VERY traditional christmas sweet!
carole s.
What a fun looking cookie!
These cookies look so yummy. I am going to have to try these one day. Going through your blog is inspiring me to become a mini chef in the kitchen. When I do try one of your recipes I will be sure to let you know and link it back to your blog 🙂
Take care and keep up the good work.
Love this recipe. I am addcited to all nuts and almonds :). Love your recipe. Happy Christmas Kevin 🙂
These look like the Greek cocaine cookies that I love so much – totally addictive.
My family has their own version of these, known as "kipfels". Just made a big batch of them today!
Your mom makes really, really huge cookies, it seems to me – I tried really hard not to follow Czech traditions of small Christmas cookies, but despite this I ended with a lot more than 24 pieces:c)) But after tasting them I´m sure I´ll have to protect them with my own body, otherwise they won´t last till Christmas Eve…:c))
Surely the perfect festive bake?! Lovely recipe Kevin
as an almond fan, thanks for this!!
I've yet to start baking, these look amazing!
These sound delicious. I will definitely be giving this cookie recipe a try. thanks for posting.
I made them and they were delicious! And they worked first time, which for me is a minor miracle.
Just finished these tonight as part of a holiday cookie exchange…. I'll be making more tomorrow night because this batch won't survive that long!! Crazy easy and delicious! Thanks for the recipe 😀
I think that every nationality has some version of these cookies. I grew up with the Greek kourabiedes, now that I'm in an Italian family I make the Italian butter balls, and have also heard of Mexican wedding cakes (or something like that)!