Almond Snowflake Cookies Food

ALMOND SNOWBALL COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 3/4 size cookie sheet or 2 regular cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together 1/2 lb butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla, until smooth.
• Switch to paddle attachment and gradually mix in 2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Once incorporated, add 1 cup almond meal and 1/2 Tbsp orange zest and mix until well blended. The dough will stick slightly to the spatula but not to finger tips. If very sticky, add 1-2 Tbsp more flour.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls (a small ice cream scoop makes it easy and exact). Place them on prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart. You should get 38-40 cookies. Don't make them too large or they won't bake through properly. Bake 11-13 min, or until bottoms are golden and edges are barely golden (I bake 11 min for softer cookies). Remove from baking sheet and cool 5 min.
• Fill a bowl with powdered sugar and roll the cookies in it while they are still warm (not hot). Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
• Once cookies are at room temp, roll in powdered sugar again or dust the tops with a mini sieve for a snowy look.

SNOWFLAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix granulated sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs until well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.
• Heat oven to 400°F. On lightly floured surface, roll about one-third of dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with 1 1/2 to 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake about 6 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
• In medium bowl, mix all glaze ingredients except coarse sugar crystals until smooth, glossy and pourable. Place cooled cookies together in pairs with about 1 teaspoon glaze, with points of top cookie between points of bottom cookie. Place cookies on cooling rack on cookie sheet to catch excess glaze. Pour 1 tablespoon glaze evenly over top and sides of each cookie, glazing only a few at time. When glaze is set but still soft, move cookies to another rack or waxed paper; sprinkle with sugar crystals. (Occasionally remove glaze from cookie sheet, and add a few drops of hot water as necessary to make glaze smooth and thin enough to pour; continue glazing.)
• In small bowl, mix frosting ingredients to make a frosting that can be easily drizzled or used in a decorating bag, yet holds its shape. Pipe snowflake designs on cookies. Let cookies dry completely before storing.

KRANSEKAKE

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.
• Add the almond flour and 1 pound of the confectioners' sugar to a food processor. Pulse about 10 times to combine. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Run the processor for about 20 seconds until the dough forms into a ball; it will be slightly sticky. Remove the dough from the food processor and form it into a disc. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Spray the kransekake molds with nonstick spray and sprinkle with semolina, tapping off any excess.
• Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, roll it out into a rope long enough to wrap into each mold. The width should be even and no thicker than 1/2 inch. (Keep the unused dough covered with plastic wrap.) Repeat the process until all the molds are filled. Transfer the molds to 2 baking sheets.
• Bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the molds. Carefully remove each ring from the molds onto cooling racks for 10 minutes.
• To make the royal icing, add the remaining 1/2 pound confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 4 tablespoons water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until stiff peaks form. If desired, stir a few drops of food coloring into the icing with a rubber spatula. Put the royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe icing onto each ring and stack them, largest to smallest. Dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

ALMOND SNOWFLAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, milk, vanilla, and almond extract until combined. Beat in the ground almonds and as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough about 2 hours or until easy to handle. 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough at a time to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3- to 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out dough. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. 3. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. To decorate: 1. Outline and flood cookies with glaze-consistency white Royal Icing. While icing is still wet, use a decorating bag fitted with a small round tip to pipe lines and dots of glaze-consistency blue-tinted Royal Icing on cookies. Swirl a toothpick through lines and dots to create desired designs. Royal Icing 1. In a large mixing bowl stir together the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and cream of tartar. Add the water and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined; beat on high speed for 7 to 10 minutes or until icing is very stiff. If not using right away, cover bowl with a damp paper towel and cover paper towel with plastic wrap; chill for up to 48 hours.

SNOWFLAKE COOKIE ORNAMENTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. , Divide dough into fourths. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion to 1/8-in. thickness. (Refrigerate other portions until ready to use.) Using a variety of sizes of floured snowflake cookie cutters, cut out snowflakes. , Carefully place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using small decorating cutters, cut out desired shapes to create designs in some of the snowflakes. Use a toothpick to help remove the cutouts. With a plastic straw, poke a hole in the top of each small cookie. , Bake medium and large snowflakes 6-1/2-7 minutes and small snowflakes 6 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough., For royal icing, in a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and meringue powder. Add warm water; beat on low speed 1 minute. Beat on high 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Tint half blue. Leave remaining icing white; cover and set aside., With blue icing and a round tip, outline half of the cookies; fill in centers with blue icing and let dry completely. With white icing and a round tip, outline each blue-colored cookie and create snowflake designs. Let dry completely., On the remaining cookies, repeat process using white icing on white frosted cookies. Thread a ribbon through the hole in each small snowflake and through the cutout in each medium and large snowflake.