Almond Shortbread Snowballs Food

CHERRY-ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until slightly darkened, about 10 minutes; let cool completely. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the flour and pulse to combine.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, the vanilla and almond extracts, and salt and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the dried cherries, amaretto and 1 tablespoon water in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds; set aside until the cherries are plump, about 20 minutes.
• Scoop out a tablespoonful of dough, press a dried cherry into the center, then shape the dough into a ball, enclosing the cherry. Repeat with the remaining dough and cherries and arrange about 1 inch apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Bake, switching the position of the pans halfway through, until lightly golden on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Put the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a large shallow bowl. Let the cookies cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then carefully transfer to the bowl with the sugar and gently toss. Transfer to racks to cool completely, then toss in the sugar again.

ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Beat or mix together flour, butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
• Cut the almond paste into 1/2-inch slices, then cut slices into 1/4ths.
• Shape 1-inch ball of cookie dough around each piece of almond paste; roll gently and form a ball.
• Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are golden brown.
• Remove to a wire rack.
• Cool for 30 minutes; dip tops into Almond Frosting, then into glitter or coarse sugar.

ALMOND SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Blend and pulse the 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor with the sugar until mixture resembles coarse sand. (If there are a couple small chunks of nuts that is fine.) Add the butter, vanilla and almond extracts, and the salt, and pulse until creamy. Add the flour and continue to pulse to make a soft dough.
• Turn the dough out into a 9-inch tart pan and spread it out evenly with an off-set spatula. Dip the spatula in a little warm water to help smooth and even the surface of the shortbread. Cover and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and dock (prick) the dough all over with a fork. Generously sprinkle the top of the shortbread with sugar. Toss the remaining whole almonds in the egg white; evenly arrange and press the nuts into the dough around the edge of the pan. Bake until golden brown and set, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Cool the short bread in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the tart ring and cut the shortbread with a sharp knife into wedges, each with a nut. Cool shortbreads on a rack completely. (Alternatively present the shortbread as 1 large cookie. Cool the shortbread in the pan completely and remove the tart ring. Cut the shortbread into wedges as desired.) Serve. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt to soft peaks, then add sugar and beat again until peaks are stiff. Beat in almond flavoring. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in half of the coconut. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and flour, stir, then fold in the remaining coconut.
• Using a melon baller or other small scoop, or working with 2 spoons, form 9 "snowballs" a couple of inches apart on each of 2 cookie sheets. Bake snowballs 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and garnish each snowball with half a cherry and a couple of slivered almonds. Transfer to a rack or serving plate to cool.

ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Bake almonds in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool completely (about 20 minutes). Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
• Process almonds in a food processor 30 seconds or until finely ground.
• Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add vanilla and 1 cup powdered sugar, beating well. (Dough will be crumbly.)
• Combine flour, salt, and almonds; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended.
• Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
• Bake at 325° for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and cool 10 minutes. Roll cookies in 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD I

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter with 1/2 cup sugar and almond extract until light and fluffy. With a wooden spoon, stir in flour until smooth and well combined. Divide dough into 2 parts. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• On lightly sugared surface, roll out dough, one part at a time, about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out cookies with a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie with the end of a wooden spoon.
• Bake in preheated oven until cookies are light golden brown around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. While still warm, roll in sugar. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air-tight container.

TOASTED ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast the almond flour, stirring constantly, until golden brown and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately pour flour into a small bowl to cool. Watch carefully: Once the flour begins to toast, it will happen very quickly.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar on low speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, brandy and almond extract until well combined.
• Reduce speed to low and gradually add all-purpose flour, salt and toasted almond flour until just incorporated.
• Scrape the dough into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Using your hands, roll dough into 1-inch balls and place balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, until cookies begin to brown at edges. Rotate cookie sheets halfway through for even baking.
• Place 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar into a sieve. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sift a thick layer of confectioners' sugar over the tops. Once cookies are cool, put remaining 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (plus any sugar in the sieve) into a shallow bowl and toss cookies again in confectioners' sugar.

ALMOND ICED SHORTBREAD BALLS (GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Combine butter, sugar, and 1 cup of flour, using sturdy wooden spoon or mixer with dough hooks.
• Add eggs and mix in thoroughly.
• Gradually work in the remaining flour, until dough will roll into balls without being sticky.
• Roll into one or two-bite size balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet, or silicone baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.
• Cool on cookie sheet before moving cookies to sheets of waxed paper. Space the cookies at least 1/2" apart on the waxed paper so you don't have to move them to put icing on them.
• Combine icing ingredients and stir until smooth.
• The icing should be runny enough to drop from a knife onto the cookies, but thick enough that it doesn't all run off. The icing will thicken as it sits. Add more water if needed.
• To ice, leave the cookie on the waxed paper, and drop enough icing onto it to cover the top and drip down the sides a bit. While the icing is still wet, you can add little drops of icing to ensure coverage.
• Try not to have too much icing ending up on the waxed paper, or you may not have enough for the whole batch.
• Let the icing dry before placing in shallow storage containers, in a single layer.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD ROUNDS

Steps:

• Put the almonds in a food processor with 1/4 cup of the flour. Process until almonds are coarsely ground. Add the remaining flour, sugar and salt. Process until well combined. Add the butter, lemon rind and almond extract. Process until mixture begins to come together.
• Divide the dough into 4 portions. Shape each portion into a log about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working in batches or as needed, cut the dough into 1/4-inch slices. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until cookies just begin to brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Put on a rack to cool.