Almondina (Almond Cookies)

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (or as needed for the dough)
• 1 egg
• A pinch of vanilla powder or a few drops of liquid vanilla, depending on availability
• Grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioners'), sifted
• 200 g melted butter
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped almonds
• You will obtain a smooth, medium-soft dough
• Almondina can be shaped and cut by any method or kitchen tool available; it does not have to be crescent-shaped
• Remove the Almondina from the oven and garnish with powdered sugar and ground pistachios
• For the marzipan (marzaban/marsaban) recipe and an easy homemade video method, watch: "Easy homemade marzipan preparation"
• To make maamoul marsaban filled with dates, see this link: "Maamoul Marsaban filled with dates"

Method

1. In a deep bowl, place the powdered sugar then add the softened or melted butter and mix with a fork or fingertips.
2. Add the egg (or just the egg yolk if you prefer), a little lemon zest and the vanilla, and mix.
3. Add the remaining ingredients: flour, ground almonds and chopped toasted almonds.
4. Add the baking powder and continue to mix well using your fingertips, a fork or a hand whisk.
5. You should get a smooth dough of medium softness.
6. Place the dough between two pieces of baking paper and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is flat — not too thin (to avoid over-browning) and not too thick.
7. Use a crescent or moon-shaped cutter, or if you don’t have one cut the dough into circles and then halve them.
8. You can shape Almondina any way you like with available kitchen tools; a crescent shape is not required.
9. Place the shaped cookies on a preheated oven at 170°C for about 15 minutes or until they turn light golden — remove them before they brown too much.
   Timers: 15 min
10. Remove the Almondina from the oven and dust with powdered sugar and ground pistachios for garnish.
11. To see how to make Marzipan-style sweets at home, watch the simple video: Easy homemade marzipan sweets
12. To make date-filled marzipan cookies, see: Date-filled marzipan cookies