Almond Paste Cookies - So Good, People Will Steal Them From Santa's Plate
Ingredients
- 2 Cups of Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons of Soft Almond Paste
- 1 Egg
- 2 Cups of Pure Lard
- 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon of Almond Extract
- 5 Cups of Sifted Brodie Self Raising Flour
Instructions
- Move your oven rack into the center slot.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- In a large mixing bowl blend the sugar, almond paste & the egg until the almond paste is well blended.
- Add the lard, vanilla, & almond extract then beat until light.
- Add flour in a little bit at a time mixing well after each addition.
- Shape dough into 1-1/2" balls.
- Place them onto a tinfoil covered cookie sheet.
- Flatten the centers with your finger tip.
- Place an almond slice onto the center of each cookie.
- Put the cookie sheet onto the center rack in the oven.
- Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
- Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until golden.
This is the mixer I recommend for making the Almond Cookies. I am not sure why but the almond paste does not break down into the mixture easily. When I tried using my hand mixer it took a long time for it to blend in. I found my hand would get sore mixing it, plus I ended up splattering some on my wall.
My sister owns one of these and it is perfect for making the almond cookies, no splattering, and it mixes the dough itself. So now I go over to her house and we make two batches of cookies that we can share.
Almond Cookie Recipe
This is the almond cookie recipe that we used every year at Christmas time. These were the cookies that we would leave out on a plate for Santa Clause. One Christmas we made the mistake of putting them out before our grandparents had left.
When my sister got up to use the bathroom she caught my grandfather eating Santa's cookies! She refused to go back to bed until our parents replaced the cookies and she was quite upset with grandpa. Stealing from Santa, on Christmas Eve, she thought he was better than that. Plus how would it look when Santa showed up and thinks we didn't leave him any cookies.
When I found out in the morning what had happened, I was mad as well. We could both understand why he would want them, as they are delicious, which makes them very hard to resist. That didn't prevent us from being mad at our grandfather.
To avoid ruining Christmas, please be sure not to leave these out for Santa until all of your guests have gone home for the evening.
Almond Cookies
Have You Ever Caught Someone Stealing Santa's Cookies?
I'm an almond desert fan!
I have to make these.
Yum. They look really good!
Looks delicious! I will give it a try.. and i love almonds ..
Looks delicious!
Looks realy yummy :)
Yes my husband steal Santa's cookies all the time :)
I've never made almond cookies before but thanks to you I'll be trying them this year. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Yes - the reindeer's carrot. Bad Dad! The interesting ingredient here is Lard. I am glad that the scientists are now starting to say that margarine is not good for you and to return to other oils. I like using lard in cooking, and if you aren't eating it all day every day, it is not a bad thing to eat. Looks good!
Love almonds! I am sure your cookies taste delicious..
I'd definitely sneak one or two of these!
My brother-in-law has been known to steal Santa's cookies. Shame on him! Oh, wait, he is Santa. I guess that makes it okay. Right?
Of Course! Thanks for sharing looks yummy
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