Sunday, December 8, 2013

Almond Crescent Cookies


leaves and flours vegan Almond Crescent Cookies

Today marks the first snow day in the District. Luckily I had the day off, so I slept in a little and didn't mind waking up to a sky full of flurries. I tucked myself into an extra layer and laid on the couch watching Love Actually before everyone else woke up. I will never under-appreciate the joy of lazy, quiet mornings. After I was moved to tears a few times even though I have the seen movie roughly nine hundred times, I decided it was time to start baking cookies. What better treat for the first snow then a powdered sugar dusted almond crescent cookie?!
I only had a handful of almonds on hand, and there's no way I was trudging out into the slippery streets or taking off my pajamas, so I used almond meal for the majority of the almonds in the cookies. Most recipes you will look out call for coursely ground almonds, and almond meal is quite a bit finer than that. That means my dough is a little more crumbly than you might expect from another recipe, but it still has the melt in your mouth almond flavor and a bit of a smoother texture.

leaves and flours vegan Almond Crescent Cookies


Almond Crescent Cookies
Approximately 30 medium sized cookies

1 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 cup sugar
2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond meal
1/3 cup almonds, ground into small pieces
1/2-1 cup powdered sugar, for dusting the cookies

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the margarine and sugar together. Add extracts and beat until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Add flour and almond meal and beat until dough forms. Fold in the ground almonds. The dough will be crumbly, but should hold together when squeezed in your palm. Taking roughly 1 tablespoon of dough, roll it in your hands to form a log while applying more pressure to the ends so they are slightly tapered. Curve the dough into an exaggerated crescent moon shape, as it will be less apparent after the cookies are baked. Bake on parchment covered trays for 14-16 minutes until the edges are slightly golden but the middles of the cookies are still soft to the tough. Allow to cool before either rolling in powdered sugar (more traditional) or dusting with sugar(prettier).


leaves and flours vegan Almond Crescent Cookies

Is there a Christmas movie you watch repeatedly every year? Love Actually is the only one I consistently stick with, but let's be honest, it's the only one I truly need. I adore all of the story lines, but Natalie & the Prime Minister are my favorites. Natalie's got a foul mouth, big thighs, & a sweet disposition. A lady after my own heart. If I was really being true to the movie, I wouldn't have let the snow steer me towards crescent cookies, but would have instead made chocolate biscuits. Good thing there's two more weeks before Christmas, so I can probably watch the movie at least four or five more times by then.

3 comments:

  1. Honestly, I have yet to find any Christmas movie worth suffering through even once, but I'd sure love some good options. I always feel like such a grinch every time the holidays roll around, no matter how I try to get into the spirit. Cookies would definitely help though! I just picked up a bag of cashew meal from Trader Joe's so I'd love to see how these turn out with a little nut meal swap.

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  2. Love Actually is one of my favorites too. This year they were showing it locally in the theatre, and so I was able to go and see it on the big screen again. I have loads of Christmas movies that I like to watch every year. Tonight we watched The Muppet Christmas Carol, which is way up there. I still need to watch A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott and Mickey's Christmas Carol. (Yes, there's a theme here.) I also have a soft spot for the Garfield Christmas special. Glad that you made the best of a cold, snowy day!

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  3. I love these cookies and the pictures are gorgeous as well. I like how moody they look.
    Have a nice week :D

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