The plate I have chosen to serve these tender, snowy-white, crumbly cookies, was a wedding gift given to my great grandmother in 1904. (It seemed appropriate).
The cookies are very popular and make their appearance at many other occasions, especially during the Christmas holidays.
These cookies exist in other cultures as well and you may know them as Mexican wedding cookies, Russian teacakes or snowballs. They may use walnuts or pecans and are often rolled into balls. The Italian wedding cookie calls for almonds and is shaped into a crescent. The common denominator in these nutty, buttery, melt-in-your mouth, morsels of goodness, is that they are covered in a snow storm of sugar.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (plus more for coating)
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups flour
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, gradually add the sugar.
- Beat until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the almond flour, vanilla and salt.
- Gradually blend in the flour, mix well.
- Using about 1 teaspoon, shape the dough into crescents. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake in a 350* oven for 15 minutes. (Do not brown).
- Remove pan from oven, dust cookies with confectioner’s sugar while they are still in the pan. Let cool.
- Shower the cookies thoroughly with snow (confectioner’s sugar) on both sides. Makes 60 cookies.
