by Michelle Jones, founder of BetterBudgeting.com
These delicate butter cookies are formed in a crescent shape and are dusted with confectioners' (powdered) sugar. They have been one of our family favorites for many years. Almond Crescent Cookies are very similar to Swedish Heirloom Cookies, and Mexican Wedding Cookies, so I've included my recipe variations for both of those along with a fourth variation for Walnut Crescent Cookies. Whichever cookies you decide to bake, ENJOY!
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Almond Crescent Cookies (recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies below)
Ingredients:
1 c. butter
1/4 c. confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. almonds, finely chopped in food processor
Additional confectioners' sugar
Directions:
Cream butter with the 1/4 cup of sugar and blend well. Add extract and flour (a bit at a time) and mix well. Stir in nuts. Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into crescent shapes and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes and then coat well with powdered sugar.
Note: I usually place the cookies on a sheet of foil or wax paper for easy cleanup and use a sifter to sprinkle the confectioners' sugar on both sides of the cookies, but you can also GENTLY roll them in the sugar for even better coverage. And if you prefer, for all of these cookies, you can just add a light dusting of confectioners' sugar instead of coating them completely. They are all delicious!
Variations:
Swedish Heirloom Cookies
Use 1 c. butter, 1 T. vanilla extract, 1 c. confectioners' sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 and 1/4 c. ground almonds, and 2 c. of flour. After cookies are shaped into crescents, baked (same temperature, same amount of time) and cooled, GENTLY roll in a mixture of 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar and 2 tsp. of cinnamon.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Add 1/2 c. pecans (chopped fine in food processor) along with the almonds, and instead of using almond extract add 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1 tsp. of anise seeds. Then, instead of forming the dough into crescents roll dough into 1-inch balls and bake (same as above). When cookies are cool, GENTLY roll in confectioners' sugar until coated well. These are SO GOOD!
Walnut Crescents
Use walnuts instead of almonds and replace almond extract with vanilla extract and a 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon. This is the cookie version to make if you prefer walnuts!
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Copyright © 2005 by Michelle Jones. All rights reserved.
