Almond Meltaways Food

ALMOND MELTAWAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract, mixing until combined. Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until completely combined.
• Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into small circles and then press with hands (or with the bottom of a cup) into a disk shape. Place on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will not look browned or cooked, but they are! Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To Ice: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk and almond extract - until smooth.
• Using a spoon, smooth icing onto the top of each cookie and let set for 10 minutes, or until hardened. Store in the fridge, let come to room temperature when ready to serve.

CINNAMON-ALMOND MELT-AWAYS

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350˚. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and bake on the lower rack until toasted and lightly browned on the inside, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely, then pulse in a food processor until very finely ground (do not grind to a paste). Add the all-purpose flour, rice flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the salt. Pulse until combined.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the butter and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture. Turn out the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, flatten into a rectangle and wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into an 8-by-9-inch rectangle (about 1/3 inch thick). If the dough starts to crack around the edges, pinch it back together with your fingers. Peel off the plastic wrap. With a short side facing you, slice the dough lengthwise into eight 1-inch-wide strips, then slice the strips crosswise into 1 1/2-inch rectangles (48 total; if the dough becomes too soft, refrigerate 15 minutes). Arrange the rectangles 1 inch apart on the prepared pans.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are set around the edges, 16 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the pans.
• Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Gently toss the warm cookies in the sugar mixture to coat, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Toss the cooled cookies in the sugar mixture again.

ALMOND MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Beat together butter and 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar in bowl until smooth and creamy. Beat in almond extract.
• On low speed, beat in flour and nuts.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Pinch off pieces of dough in heaping teaspoonfuls.
• Roll into logs and taper ends; bending into crescents.
• Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in 325 degree oven for 16 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned.
• Remove cookies to wire rack. While warm, dust with a generous layer of remaining confectioners' sugar.
• Cool completely then sprinkle again with any remaining confectioners' sugar.