Almond Holiday Sugar Cookies Food

SOFT & CHEWY ALMOND SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set cookie sheets aside.
• Combine dry ingredients: In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cream or tartar and salt. Whisk well to combine.
• Combine wet ingredients: In a large bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk and almond extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. NOTE: Use a spatula to stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed while making the dough.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet: With the mixer on low, slowly add ½ of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just barely combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining ½ of the dry ingredients and mix on low until ALMOST combined. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold until the ingredients are JUST combined to form a cohesive ball. The dough should be thick and sticky. DO NOT over-mix! (Optional: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days)
• Roll cookies: Add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to a small bowl. Use a cookie scoop (or your hands) to roll the cookie dough into balls (about 1 ½ tablespoons each). Gently roll each ball in the sugar. Transfer the cookie dough balls to the prepared cookie sheets and arrange them 3-inches apart.
• Bake: Bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes. The cookies will be puffy, and the centers will look soft. Remove the cookies just before the edges turn golden brown - don't over bake the cookies!
• Cool: Remove the cookies from the oven and place the cookie sheet on a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies from the baking sheet to the wire rack to cool completely.
• While the cookies are cooling, make the icing (optional): In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup and extract. Whisk until well combined. If the icing is too thick, add more milk, a splash at a time, until desired consistency is achieved. (You want the icing to be thick enough that it slightly holds its shape when drizzled.)
• Ice the cookies: Once the cookies are completely cooled, dip the top surface of each cookie into the glaze, pulling the cookie straight up and out of the glaze. Transfer each glazed cookie, icing side up on the wire cooling rack. Top each cookie with a few sliced almonds.
• Serve: Serve and enjoy! For hard icing and stackable cookies, let the icing set completely - set the cookies aside for a few hours at room temperature, or until the icing is hard to the touch. Stack and store or enjoy!

ALMOND SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in almond extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Roll into 1-in. balls. , Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Coat bottom of a glass with cooking spray; dip in sugar. Flatten cookies with prepared glass, dipping glass in sugar again as needed. , Bake until edges are lightly browned, 7-9 minutes. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks., In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, almond extract and enough water to achieve glaze consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired; drizzle over cookies. Sprinkle with almonds.

SPICED HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight until firm.
• 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface* to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with favorite cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets.
• 3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• 4. For the Icing, mix all ingredients except food colors. (Stir in additional milk to thin icing or more confectioners' sugar to thicken, if needed). Place small amount of icing into small shallow bowls, using one bowl for each color desired. Stir drops of food color into icing until desired shade is reached.
• 5. To ice cookies, hold cookie by its edge and dip top of cookie into icing. (Or spoon the icing onto cookie using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack set over foil-covered baking sheet to dry. (The foil-covered baking sheet will catch drips.) To add decorative details to cookies, spoon tinted icing into resealable plastic bag. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner. Squeeze icing through hole in plastic bag to decorate cookies. If desired, Colored Sugar may be sprinkled onto freshly iced cookies.
• For the variations below, omit the cinnamon and the nutmeg. Use the following extract in place of the vanilla extract in the cookies:
• Almond Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Almond Extract.
• Orange Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract.
• Lemon Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract.

ALMOND EXTRACT COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix butter, sugar and extract in a large bowl. Beat until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients and stir till mixed well.
• Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.
• Bake at 375 for 7-9 minutes or until edges are barely lightly browned. Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before moving to cooling racks.
• Cool completely. Frost cookies and decorate with sprinkles if desired.
• Frosting: Beat together all ingredients till smooth and creamy, adding as much cream or milk as needed.