Almond Crescents
— About 4 dozen
Yet another member of the wide-ranging Mexican Wedding Cookie/Russian Tea Cake family, Almond Crescents are buttery, only lightly sweet, and somewhere between crisp and crumbly. Finely-milled almond flour and a touch of walnut oil are the secret to their rich taste and tender, delicate texture. Almond Crescents keep well stored in a tightly-sealed container, although their confectioner’s sugar coating can get a bit spotty-looking if they are stored for a while, so give them a final roll in the sugar before serving to restore their snowy-white appearance.
*Items marked in green are available from The Gourmet Corner.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour (poudre d’amandes)
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 8 oz (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 tsp walnut oil
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar for dusting the finished cookies
Making the Dough
In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk the flour, almond powder, 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and salt together.
In a food processor or with a mixer, beat the softened butter with the almond extract and walnut oil until creamy and smooth. Add the dry ingredients and process/mix just until a cohesive dough forms. Use a spatula to fold in any little unincorporated bits of butter or flour.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20-40 minutes, to make it easier to handle.
Shaping and Baking the Crescents
Heat the oven to 325F.
Roll a lump of dough into a 1/2-inch rope. Cut the rope into 2.5-inch segments. For each segment, gently roll the ends to taper them slightly, then bend the dough into a crescent shape. Place the crescents on a baking sheet, 1″ apart (they don’t spread much as they cook, so no need to space them widely).
Bake until the tops are pale gold and the bottoms are just beginning to brown, 17-19 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through the baking time.
Cool crescents on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes to allow them to firm up, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Put 2 cups confectioner’s sugar into a medium bowl. Put a few Almond Crescents at a time into the bowl and gently roll them around to thoroughly coat them with the sugar. Put the cooled cookies into a container with a tight-fitting lid, then sift or sprinkle the confectioner’s sugar over them, shaking the container a little to distribute the sugar.
