Lacy Almond Cookies
April 18, 2011 § 4 Comments
I have a secret. One of my favorite cooking mags is Everyday Food. That small-sized Martha Stewart pub is packed with some simple, easily put together recipes. We’ve been getting it for a few years now and it’s one of those things that if I don’t read one or two or three issues in a row, I don’t really miss out on much. There’ll be something I can get out of it the next time.
For it being The Year of Ellen Baking, I haven’t really been baking all that much. Yes, I bake bread a LOT more than I mention here. And I am working my way through the Flour cookbook, although not that steadily. So when I saw the recipe for Lacy Almond-Orange Cookies in the April issue of Everyday Food, I decided to put that apron back on and give it a go. In fact, the cookies were in the oven by 7am today.
Lacy Almond-OrangeLemon Cookies
Lacy Almond Lemon Cookies
- 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
- 3/4 tsp anise or fennel seed (I used fennel)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tbs honey
- 1/2 tsp course salt (like I use any other kind!)
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tbs grated orange zest. Um, where’d that orange go? It was here yesterday. Hence the lemon substitution in the header.
-Preheat oven to 375F with racks in middle. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
-It says to put almonds and fennel in food processor and pulse until coursely ground. I used my coffee grinder instead.
-Put mixture in small saucepan, add butter, sugar, honey and salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. You may want to keep an eye on it or turn it down slightly. Mine started to burn a bit sooner than I expected it would. Stir to combine ingredients.
-Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add flour and zest. This stuff is going to seize up on you fast, so work quickly to spoon teaspoonfuls of batter onto the parchment about 2.5 inches apart. It says the recipe makes 24 but I only got 18, so if you want 24, make the spoonfuls on the smaller side.
-Put in the oven for 4 minutes, take out and turn the sheet pans around and put back in for another 3-4 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the trays on wire racks.
I must never have had a lacy cookie like this before. Otherwise I would not have made these. They aren’t as crisp as I thought. Wait, that’s not true. I just ate another bit of a cookie. Maybe as they continue to sit they become more crisp. Okay, let me put it this way: As a cookie all by itself, I would never eat these. The lemon substitution was okay, but that’s not the problem. They are just too buttery. My face swells with fat just looking at them. Now, I could eat these as an accompaniment to ice cream. Oooh, yeah, that sounds good. But, these are not cookies I’d keep around and just munch on, which means I probably don’t need two dozen of them anyway. And, that also means I’m giving them to Jennifer to distribute to her work colleagues. I wonder if they freeze well … I’ll keep a couple in the freezer for the next time I have some ice cream. I’ll let you know.
The Dainty Dot 
I wonder about the cookies’ texture in a few hours from now. And no worries about the Martha Stewart recipe booklet. I’ve grown to really adore the Everyday Food cooking show on PBS. It’s a good thing. 🙂
I’ll try another one later tonight, and maybe I’ll have it with some ice cream : )
Gosh. Those cookies look incredible! 😀
I love your blog! 😀
Thanks Kat! And kudos to your ‘pizzerts!’
Not sure how ice cream fits into your life, but I do think these cookies’ll be tons better with it.