Almond crescents are classic cookies, frequently seen on festive plates along with other holiday cookie favorites. They are sandy-textured, rich in almond flavor and exceptionally tender. I’ve gussied these up a bit by dipping them in chocolate and garnishing them with toasted sliced almonds, but a dredging in confectioners’ sugar while they’re still warm is a good alternative (and less work). If you do go for the chocolate dip, use dark or white, and if you’re feeling inspired, leave out the vegetable oil and temper the chocolate (you’ll find excellent instructions here), or, if you’re not, proceed as directed or use chocolate coating wafers.
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Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients
Almond Cookie Dough
- 1 1/4 cups (162 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (170 grams or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup (60 grams) almond flour (preferably Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Garnish
- 3 ounces (85 grams) bittersweet or white chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (42 grams) blanched sliced almonds, lightly toasted
Instructions
Make the cookie dough
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the almond flour, sugar and almond extract and beat at medium-high speed until light in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour mixture just until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour (or up to 3 days), until it is firm enough to shape.
Shape and bake the cookies
- Position two racks near the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Pinch off pieces of the chilled dough (about 18 grams per cookie) and shape into 1-inch balls. Shape each ball into a 3-inch log with slightly tapered end (if the dough is sticking, you can use a little flour on your work surface). Form each log into a crescent shape and arrange, 1 inch apart, on the baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.
Garnish the cookies
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. In the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate. Whisk in the vegetable oil. Place the sliced almonds in a bowl.
- Dip about 1/2-inch of the end of a crescent into the chocolate, letting the excess drip off. Hold the cookie over the bowl of almonds, and sprinkle a few almonds onto the top of the chocolate-dipped end of the cookie. Set the cookie onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Let the cookies stand at room temperature for about an hour, until set. (You can refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes to speed up the setting process.)
