Vanilla Almond Crescents Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Beat butter and confectioners' sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt; mix briefly to incorporate. Gradually stir 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour into the creamed butter, add almonds, and mix until dough is just combined.
• Shape dough into tiny crescents; place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake cookies in preheated oven until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Roll cookies in sifted confectioners' sugar when cooled.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, granulated sugar, vanilla sugar or extract, (which ever one you used).
• Add cut up butter with a pastry cutter, fork or clean hands.
• Mix to form a dough, if dough is too soft, chill for about 20 or 30 minutes.
• In a 9 X13 casserole dish, Sift together the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar for coating. Spread it out covering the entire bottom of casserole dish. Set this aside.
• Pinch the dough and roll to make small crescents (or balls). Crescents should end up to be about 1-2 inches long when placed on pan, or balls about 1-1 1/2 inches in diameter. you can place these pretty close together as they do not rise or grow like most cookies.
• Place your formed dough on an UNGREASED cookie sheet.
• Place in oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until they become a light golden brown on the bottom. Their color doesn't change alot unless they get burnt.
• Cool pan on a rack for about 1 or 2 minutes then CAREFULLY place them in the powdered sugar in the casserole dish with the spatula. coat them well, but be extremely careful, as these cookies are very fragile.
• Place them on a plate or platter after coating to let them cool completely, then place in an air tight container.
• To Make Vanilla Sugar with a vanilla bean: 1 Vanilla Bean,1 Quart Mason Jar, Granulated Sugar.
• Fill Jar with granulated sugar, Crack vanilla bean, scraping the seeds into the sugar, then place the bean in the sugar. Place the lid on the jar and store for about 2 weeks.
• To Make Vanilla Sugar with Pure vanilla extract: 1 TBSP Pure vanilla extract, 1 c granulated sugar.
• Spread granualted sugar on a small flat surface (waxed paper beneath it) pour vanilla extract over top, and mix well. Spread it out once you have it well blended to let it dry out, then, mix with enough sugar to fill the Mason jar and place the lid on, shake it up, and its ready to use.

Steps:

• In a food processor, process the almonds and sugar until the almonds are ground very finely. Cut the butter into a few pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy.
• Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and sprinkle the salt on top. Pulse it just until the flour is incorporated.
• Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a thick disk and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 2 hours.
• For the topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon until uniform in color.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Divide the dough into 8 portions. Work with 1 section at a time, keeping the remainder of the dough refrigerated. Knead the dough between floured hands until malleable. Pinch off a portion of the dough and roll it into a 1-inch-round ball.
• On a lightly floured counter, roll each ball into a cylinder with tapered ends, about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch thick. Form each cylinder into a crescent shape and place on an ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. The cookies will require two cookie sheets, one for the middle rack in the oven and one for the lower one.
• Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until set but not brown. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.
• Cool the cookies on the sheets for 10 minutes. While they are still warm, use a small angled metal spatula or pancake turner to lift them from the sheets and dip them, one at a time, in the cinnamon sugar, turning gently to coat all over. Finish cooling the cookies on wire racks.
• To store, place the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month or freeze for as many as several months.