What’s in your cookie jar? Is it empty? Here’s what you do: You take a few minutes and stir up a batch of these Almond Shortbread Cookies. They’re so, so easy: just 4 ingredients and a slice-and-bake method that’s simple enough that you don’t even have to think about it.
I was inspired by a recent family visit to make these: Ellen had a batch on hand, and she told me the recipe came from the Junior League of Indianapolis’s “Winners” cookbook. (Junior League cookbooks for the win!!) I received my copy of “Winners” as a bridal shower gift [I won’t even tell you how long ago that was]. Sure enough: there it was.
I hacked the recipe slightly to make it simpler. You could, as the original suggests, top each cookie with a whole blanched almond before baking, but that seemed extraneous. I just wanted a very simple, essential, elegant shortbread cookie. It’s perfect when you want just a little something not-too-sweet for dessert, maybe with tea or coffee. Like all shortbread cookies, these are better a day or two after baking, when the flavor has developed a nice buttery tang.
Note that I’m calling for salted butter here. I’ve come to like baking cookies with salted butter — this Salty Chocolate Shortbread Cookie recipe is a good example — because I like that kick of salt in my cookies, especially shortbread. Sure, you can use unsalted butter and add table salt (use 1/4 tsp. here), but I think, whether I’m right or wrong, that salted butter is more consistently salty, and the salt flavor is more evenly infused in the finished product. If you want, feel free to scatter a few grains of Maldon sea salt on these cookies before baking.
4-Ingredient Almond Shortbread Cookie Recipe
makes about 2 1/2 dozen
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup (lightly packed) brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
For finishing: couple of tablespoons of raw (turbinado) sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), beat the butter until it's creamy. Add sugar and beat until very fluffy, about 4 minutes. Stir in flour and almond extract. Divide dough in half, and scrape each half onto a sheet of waxed paper. Use your hands to press each half into a log, then roll until evenly cylindrical and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Scatter a bit of raw sugar on the paper and roll each log of dough gently over the sugar to coat the circumference. Wrap in waxed paper and chill 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°; line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice each log of dough into 1/4 inch thick rounds (press any loose bits of dough into place and correct any wonky shapes). Arrange rounds on baking sheets. Bake about 12 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through cooking time, until cookies are the slightest bit golden on the edges. Cool slightly before removing to a wire rack. Store airtight at room temperature for a week; these cookies also freeze beautifully.
Yummy! Like Always! 🙂
Thanks for the friendly comment, Margaret!