Almond Star Cookies South Beach Recipes

ALMOND STAR COOKIES - SOUTH BEACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 275. Spread almonds on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a plate, and cool completely.
• Pulse almonds, whole grain and all purpose flours, sugar substitute, and a pinch of salt in a food processor until nuts are finely ground. Add margarine and pulse until margarine is incorporated. Add zest and vanilla and almond extracts; pulse until dough just begins to come together.
• Remove dough from processor to a work surface. Knead once or twice, divide in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap disks and freeze for 1 hour or refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 325. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Roll out 1 disk of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper to 1/8-inch thick. Cut as many stars as possible, carefully transferring them to the baking sheets as you go. (Use a butter knife or small spatula to make transferring cut cookie dough from wax paper to baking sheet easier). Reroll and cut the scraps. (If the dough becomes too soft while cutting, wrap and chill again until firm). Repeat with the second disk.
• Bake cookies until lightly golden on edges and bottoms, rotating sheets once halfway through, 16-18 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 2-3 minutes before transferring with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.

ALMOND RASPBERRY STARS

Steps:

• Cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in extracts. Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture. Shape into a ball; refrigerate, covered, for 15 minutes. , Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. With floured cookie cutters, cut dough into equal numbers of 2-1/2-in. and 1-1/2-in. stars. Combine almonds, sugar and cinnamon. Brush small stars with egg white; immediately sprinkle with almond mixture. Leave large stars plain. , Place all stars 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets, using separate sheets for the small and the large stars. Bake just until tips begin to brown, about 10 minutes for small stars and 12 minutes for large. Cool completely on wire racks., To assemble, spread enough jam over large stars to cover centers. Top with small stars; press lightly (jam should show around edge of small stars). Let jam set before storing cookies in an airtight container.

ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream the shortening, 1/2 cup sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in remaining sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with the bottom of a glass. Press three almond slices into the center of each. , Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

CINNAMON-ALMOND STARS

Steps:

• Cookies: Pulse almonds with 1/4 cup brown sugar in a food processor until finely ground. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
• With a mixer on medium speed, beat butter with remaining 1 1/4 cups brown sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in egg and Marsala until combined. Reduce speed to low and add almond and flour mixtures, beating until just combined.
• Divide dough in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature until pliable. Roll out one dough disk on a lightly floured surface to just under 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out as many stars as possible, rerolling scraps once. Arrange stars 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Bake, rotating sheets once, until edges are golden, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool on sheets 1 minute, then transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
• Icing: With mixer on medium speed, beat confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons water, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a small writing tip, or a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off. Decorate cookies with icing and sprinkle with pearlized sugar; let set about 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container, between sheets of parchment or waxed paper, up to 1 week.