Almond Crescents

by Heather on December 16, 2011

in Recipes

My Gramma’s kitchen went into overdrive at the holidays. My hands-down favorite cookies were almond crescents. Gramma would make them several times before Christmas and hand them out as gifts. She also kept plenty for all of us. They are SO GOOD – literally melt-in-your-mouth good. And I don’t even like nuts, but because you grind them up in a food processor, you can’t really taste them.

Almond Crescents

you need:

almond crescents
1 cup soft shortening or butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup ground blanched almonds
1 2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

grind 'em

I think the reason I like these cookies lies in the fact that the almonds are ground up into tiny pieces.

mix shortening, sugar, and ground almonds

Mix the shortening, granulated sugar, and ground almonds together until well-mixed.

sift together flour and salt

Sift together the flour and salt.

mix flour into wet ingredients

Slowly fold the flour/salt into the wet ingredients.

wrap up the dough

Once the dough is well-mixed, wrap it in plastic wrap.

hey, nice dough

I gotta lotta dough!

chill the dough

You chill the dough for at least two to three hours. My Gramma would often chill it overnight. This is so the dough holds together when you roll it into cookies.

roll the dough in your hands

Once the dough is chilled, take pieces and roll them into pencil-thin 2 1/2 inch long cookies.

ready to bake

Form them into crescent shapes on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 14-16 minutes.

mix sugar and cinnamon

While the cookies bake, mix together the powdered sugar and cinnamon in a large dish.

all baked

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.

cover cookies with sugar

Once the cookies have cooled a bit (so they are warm, not hot) put them in the platter with the sugar and cinnamon. The cookies are super-delicate and likely to break. It happens. Eat the broken pieces, they taste delicious. Cover the cookies in sugar, then carefully remove them and place them on a platter.

almond crescents

The few cookies that didn’t break!

tasting the cookies

Mike tastes them…I warned him not to breathe in when he took a bite – but he still did, and choked on the powdered sugar. Whoops!

he likes them

He loved them! After I took this picture, Mike, my mom, and I wolfed down the entire batch. Merry Christmas to US!

Enjoy!!

Almond Crescents
4.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Recipe type: Cookie
Author: Heather from The Spohrs Are Multiplying
Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 3 hours 15 mins
Serves: 3 – 5 dozen cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 cup soft shortening or butter
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup ground blanched almonds
  • 1 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
  1. ground up almonds in a food processor
  2. thoroughly mix together shortening, granulated sugar, and ground almonds
  3. sift together salt and flour, then work it into the wet mixture
  4. wrap dough in plastic wrap, chill at least two-three hours
  5. roll pieces of dough until they are pencil-thick and 2 – 3 inches long
  6. form rolled dough into crescent shapes on ungreased baking sheet
  7. bake at 325 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes, until cookies are soft, not brown
  8. let cookies cool on pan
  9. mix together powdered sugar and cinnamon in a large dish
  10. while still slightly warm, carefully cover cookies with the powdered sugar/cinnamon mix
Notes

Cookies are delicate and often break. It’s OK!

 

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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Mya Maternity December 16, 2011 at 1:27 pm

Those look very good.

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2 Meyli December 16, 2011 at 1:56 pm

Those look delicious… damn, I’m hungry now

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3 Michelle in MO December 16, 2011 at 2:18 pm

I’ve made similar ones over the years, as does our neighbor. We don’t shape them like that though, we just roll into a ball. They are delicious though and it’s impossible not to eat an entire batch in one sitting. If the neighbor brings a plate of assorted cookies, we fight over these first. :)

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4 Kristi December 16, 2011 at 4:10 pm

Those are my favorite holiday cookies!!! Yum!

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5 Kristin December 16, 2011 at 7:43 pm

They sounds yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Kristin´s last [type] ..My Turn To Give Back

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6 Lanie December 16, 2011 at 8:51 pm

This recipe might just save me from being the person that brings slice and bake cookies to the neighborhood cookie exchange :-) !
Lanie´s last [type] ..Dancing Dreidels

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7 B in Oz December 17, 2011 at 3:14 am

Yummy, they look good.

Not sure I trust Mikes thumbs up anymore after his approval of Rigbys dog biscuits!

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8 Shan December 17, 2011 at 7:02 am

Oooh we used to have these at my Grandparent’s church get togethers.! Thank You!!!!
Shan´s last [type] ..Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree

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9 G December 17, 2011 at 7:19 am

Where’s Annie? :-(
(I’m guessing, take a nap)

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10 janeen December 18, 2011 at 1:42 pm

Thanks for this! I made them for a Christmas party and people loved them. Next time i think i will just use a cookie cut out due to almost all of them breaking on me. I tried to sugar some warm and some cool to see if that was the trick. The end result was the same, the majority broke. Still yummy though!

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11 gayatri.life.unordinary December 18, 2011 at 7:45 pm

so festive! lovely apron too!
gayatri.life.unordinary´s last [type] ..Best Infomercial Yet

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12 Kristy H December 18, 2011 at 11:01 pm

My Grandma makes these cookies, and I just LOVE them! She stopped making them for awhile, but just the past few family parties she’s been bringing them, and I sneak as many as I can home with me!!

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