An almond-flavored shortbread cookie dusted with powdered sugar, Dorie Greenspan’s Almond Crescents are perfect for this holiday cookie season!
Last year, I participated in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap to help raise funds for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Unfortunately, the cookie swap will not be taking place this year. Instead, OXO has teamed up with a group of bloggers to recreate recipes from Dorie Greenspan’s upcoming book, Dorie’s Cookies, with over 200 hundred recipes, from traditional sweet to savory! For each post (limit of 1), OXO will be donating $100 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer (as part of their annual commitment of $100,000!). I am honored to be part of this select group of bloggers and to be able to make a small contribution so that one day we can live in a cancer-free world.
With the holidays coming up, I chose to make Dorie Greenspan’s Almond Crescents. With a heavy (or light, whichever you prefer) dusting of powdered sugar, reminiscent of snow, they’re perfect for the soon-to-come parties, potlucks, and cookie swaps! FYI, they’re just as delicious without the powdered sugar too!
The crescent shape of the cookies will distinguish them from all the other cookies on the table. The cookies are egg-free, essentially making them an almond-flavored shortbread cookie. I love working with shortbread cookie dough because the abundance of butter (2 sticks!!!) keeps the dough from being sticky and in turn, the dough is very easy to work with.
Dorie Greenspan’s Almond Crescents are lightly crisped on the outside, tender on the inside, and practically melt in your mouth. The cookie contains all-purpose flour and almond flour, which gives the cookie a light crunch, similar to adding in bits of nuts (if you like that).
Dorie’s Cookies is set to be released in October and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. You can pre-order it now on Amazon. With this book in tow, it’s going to be a wonderful holiday season for sure!
Ingredients for Almond Crescents
2 sticks (8 ounces; 226 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
½ cup (100 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ to ½ teaspoon pure almond extract,
to taste (optional)
1¾ cups (238 grams) all-purpose flour
1⅓ cups (133 grams) almond flour
Granulated or confectioners’ sugar, for coating
To Make Almond Crescents
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and the almond extract, if you’re using it, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the machine off, add the all-purpose flour all at once and then pulse the mixer to start blending. Mix on low speed until the flour is almost incorporated, then add the almond flour and mix only until it disappears into the mixture and the dough comes together.
To make these Almond Crescents, I used OXO’s Illuminating Digital Hand Mixer. The innovative hand mixer has made baking easier than ever! There is a light on the underside of the mixer that illuminates the bowl so you can see the consistency of the batter the entire time (see picture above)! No more pesky shadows!
I also love how the cord can be snapped into place for easy storage and how it comes with an attachment so that you can store the beaters to the body! It also comes with dough hooks for bread baking. OXO has thought of everything!
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out walnut-size nuggets of dough or use a tablespoon. Work each piece into a compact ball between your palms and then roll it on the counter into a rope about 4 inches long. Bend the rope into a crescent, pinch the ends lightly and place on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the crescents.
I baked the cookies on OXO’s Non-Stick Pro Cookie Sheet. The heavy-gauge aluminized steel in combination with the microtextured pattern makes for everything you’d want in a baking sheet – even heat distribution, even baking, and effortless release. Because I used this cookie sheet, parchment paper or silpat was not necessary.
Bake for 19 to 21 minutes** in an oven preheated at 350°F, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back after 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden at their tips, pale everywhere else and set, but too fragile to lift without breaking. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies rest for 5 minutes before you give them the sugar treatment.
Put the sugar in a small bowl and, one by one, dredge the cookies in sugar to coat and place on racks to cool.
In order control the amount of powdered sugar and where it ended up, I used OXO’s Baker’s Dusting Wand. Half of the globe is solid (for resting on a flat surface) and the other half is perforated (for even flouring, sugar dusting, and even tea steeping)! Simply fill the solid side, twist the handle to close, and flip over so that the perforated side is facing down.
Dorie Greenspan’s Almond Crescents
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8 ounces; 226 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 grams) sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon pure almond extract to taste (optional)
- 1¾ cups (238 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1⅓ cups (133 grams) almond flour
- Granulated or confectioners’ sugar for coating
Instructions
- Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and the almond extract, if you’re using it, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the machine off, add the all-purpose flour all at once and then pulse the mixer to start blending. Mix on low speed until the flour is almost incorporated, then add the almond flour and mix only until it disappears into the mixture and the dough comes together.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out walnut-size nuggets of dough or use a tablespoon. Work each piece into a compact ball between your palms and then roll it on the counter into a rope about 4 inches long. Bend the rope into a crescent, pinch the ends lightly and place on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the crescents.
- Bake for 19 to 21 minutes**, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back after 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden at their tips, pale everywhere else and set, but too fragile to lift without breaking. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies rest for 5 minutes before you give them the sugar treatment.
- Put the sugar in a small bowl and, one by one, dredge the cookies in sugar to coat and place on racks to cool.
Notes
Storage
The dough can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. If you decide to freeze the dough, I think you’ll find it more convenient to shape it first and freeze the crescents; let the crescents come to cool room temperature before baking them. If you omit the sugar coating, the baked cookies can be wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months. The baked cookies will keep for about 3 days; give them a fresh dusting of confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Excerpted from Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Reprinted with permission from the author and publishing company.
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