Almond Shortbread Shamrock Cookies Recipes

SHAMROCK SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. PREHEAT: Oven to 350 degrees F.
• 2. IN: A large bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, cream butter and sugar. ADD eggs and vanilla; beat 1 to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• 3. GRADUALLY: Add flour and beat 2 minutes, or until well blended. FORM dough into 2 balls; cover and chill at least 2 hours.
• 4. ON: A lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll 1 ball of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. USING cookie cutters or a knife, cut into St. Patrick's Day or other desired shapes. PLACE shapes 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. REPEAT with remaining ball of dough.
• 5. BAKE: 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden around edges. REMOVE to a wire rack to cool completely. ***ENJOY these plain or sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles before baking. You can also frost and decorate the cookies once they've cooled. Do your own thing!***

ALMOND-SHORTBREAD SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until noticeably darkened and fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Measure 1 1/2 cups almonds into a medium bowl; set remainder aside. Add flour and salt to bowl; whisk to combine.
• In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with confectioners' sugar until smooth and well combined. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually add almond-flour mixture, beating until dough just comes together (do not overmix). Turn dough out onto a work surface and divide in half. Shape each half into a 12-inch log (about 1 3/4 inches in diameter); wrap each log in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Measure 1/2 cup reserved almonds onto a sheet of parchment; roll each log in nuts to coat. Cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices, discarding ends. Transfer slices to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are slightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.
• Filling: Pulse remaining 3 cups reserved almonds and salt in a food processor on low speed, scraping down sides frequently. Mixture will look dry but continue pulsing until it reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency, 15 to 20 minutes.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 1 cup almond butter (reserve remaining 1/2 cup for another use), confectioners' sugar, and butter until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip.
• Pipe a small amount of filling onto bottoms of half the cookies, then sandwich with remaining cookies. Filled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

SHAMROCK COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, cream the shortening and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. Gradually add flour and salt. Tint with food coloring. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a lightly floured 2-in. shamrock cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with colored sugar. , Bake until edges are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD I

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter with 1/2 cup sugar and almond extract until light and fluffy. With a wooden spoon, stir in flour until smooth and well combined. Divide dough into 2 parts. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• On lightly sugared surface, roll out dough, one part at a time, about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out cookies with a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie with the end of a wooden spoon.
• Bake in preheated oven until cookies are light golden brown around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. While still warm, roll in sugar. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air-tight container.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the beaten egg and extract. Add the flour, ground almonds and lemon zest and mix until the dough comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead into a ball. Divide the dough in half and then roll each half into a log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (the dough can be frozen at this point for a later use).
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until golden brown at the edges, about 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 3 or 4 minutes before transferring to wire cooling racks to cool completely, or just eat warm from the oven.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD SHAMROCK COOKIES

Steps:

• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil. With a mixer, beat butter on high for 3 minutes or until very soft and light in color. Add grated almond paste and sugar, mix on low speed until combined. Turn mixer to high and beat a full 5 minutes or more, until just combined. Spoon 1/2 of dough onto a 15-inch long piece of wax paper. With hands, press dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Top with wax paper. Lightly smooth top with rolling pin, keeping wax paper in place, lay dough on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining half of dough. Chill for 1 hour to firm.
• Preheat oven to 325°F shortly before removing dough from chilling in the fridge. Work with 1 piece of dough at a time, keeping other half chilled. Cut out the cookie sheets, shamrocks or other shapes. Place on cookie sheets 2-inches apart, dipping cutters in flour if sticking. Repeat until dough is used. Keep unbaked cookies chilled till ready to bake.
• Bake plain or brush tops with milk and sprinkle with colored sugar. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are firm and bottoms are very light golden. Cool on wire racks. Store in air tight containers with parchment paper between layers.

ALMOND SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Blend and pulse the 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor with the sugar until mixture resembles coarse sand. (If there are a couple small chunks of nuts that is fine.) Add the butter, vanilla and almond extracts, and the salt, and pulse until creamy. Add the flour and continue to pulse to make a soft dough.
• Turn the dough out into a 9-inch tart pan and spread it out evenly with an off-set spatula. Dip the spatula in a little warm water to help smooth and even the surface of the shortbread. Cover and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and dock (prick) the dough all over with a fork. Generously sprinkle the top of the shortbread with sugar. Toss the remaining whole almonds in the egg white; evenly arrange and press the nuts into the dough around the edge of the pan. Bake until golden brown and set, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Cool the short bread in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the tart ring and cut the shortbread with a sharp knife into wedges, each with a nut. Cool shortbreads on a rack completely. (Alternatively present the shortbread as 1 large cookie. Cool the shortbread in the pan completely and remove the tart ring. Cut the shortbread into wedges as desired.) Serve. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Place 9-inch-diameter metal pie pan in freezer to chill. Combine butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in processor. Blend until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add flour and cornstarch. Using on/off turns, process until dough clumps together. Press dough evenly onto bottom of chilled pie pan. Sprinkle almonds over; press almonds lightly into dough to adhere. Freeze until chilled, about 5 minutes.
• Bake shortbread until edges are golden brown, about 22 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cut warm shortbread into 8 wedges; cool completely in pan. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.)