italian dessert recipes

Almond Butter Cookies

"A melt in your mouth Italian cookie recipe"


almond butter cookies
These taste nothing like those fake almond butter cookies that come in a blue can. Look at the imposter's can and you will find ingredients listed that haven't even made it into the dictionary.

These are the real deal Lucille. Why? I'll tell ya. Almond flour. No little almond flavoring bottle used in these almond butter cookies. And that my friends is a big key in making authentic Italian dessert recipes, using almonds! Real almonds.

You're gonna grind your own ground almond flour in this cookie recipe. No need to panic. Do you have:

  • a blender?


  • blanched almonds?


    • Then let's get busy!


    Almond Butter Cookies

    A melt in your mouth Italian cookie recipe


    YIELD - Makes 3 dozen almond butter cookies

    Ingredients:

    1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

    1 cup sugar

    1 large egg

    2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

    1 tablespoon vanilla (see substitutions)

    2 cups all-purpose flour

    1/2 cup ground blanched almonds (see how below)

    1 tsp baking powder

    1/4 teaspoon salt



    Procedure

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

    Cream butter and sugar in large bowl.

    Beat in egg, orange juice, and vanilla.

    Add flour, baking powder, and salt just until thoroughly combined.

    Divide dough and roll into logs. ( I stick it in the 'fridge for a bit, rolled in saran )

    Slice and place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

    Bake in batches for 6-8 minutes or just until set and edges are lightly golden.



    Can I substitute margarine in place of the butter?

    Excuse me? May I kindly suggest you glance at the name of this recipe again? Hence, the noun "butter". Almond Butter Cookies.

    What happens if substitute shortening in place of the butter?

    You get sick and your hair falls out. Oh, did that get your attention? Good. Now that I have your attention let me wear a hole in my soap box.

    Shortening is a fake fat product full of crap that will melt your veins. You won't find ONE Italian dessert recipe on this site that uses it (at least as of today)

    Jesting aside, the composition and flavor of shortening would not do this cookie justice ( nor much of anything ever). This Italian cookie recipe has it's foundation in two things:

  • almonds


  • butter




    • almond butter cookies 02

    What are blanched almonds?

    Naked almonds. They have been boiled and had their skins peeled off.

    Seriously, what are blanched almonds?

    Same answer. Blanched almonds is a ten dollar phrase meaning "almonds with no skin." Easy as pie to do yourself - don't go spending 'yer hard earned penny on 'em. I've blanched almonds a jillion times. Here's how to blanch almonds.

    And now that you know how to skin an almond. Here's more recipes that use 'em:





    Can I substitute almond flavoring for the vanilla?

    You can. And I have. I prefer the vanilla orange combination much better. The almond flavoring is almost almond overkill.


    Italian Cookie Recipes



    lisa gianotti I love sugar and I eat dessert EVERYDAY! Ok, not MASSIVE amounts. But I do have to finish off the evening meal with a little sweet something.

    When I was a kid my health conscience mother would ration my Halloween candy. Her mantra was, "white sugar will kill you". But my Italian grandma always told me, "Everybody needs a little bit of sugar." :-) So, to get my October Halloween sugar fix I will make the traditional Italian cookie recipe, Venetian Bones of the Dead. Italians make these for the Day of the Dead on November 2nd. So - hey, our holiday in America - Halloween is the closest.

    So - while the neighborhood is slamming down a bunch of gross mass produced candy on October 31st, I'll have a real goodie. Oh yeah, I'll have to post it too! (Eventually!) You know how it is. Work. Kids. Clean. Cook.



    I'll see if Bones Of The Dead is in my grandma's first recipe file she started when she married in 1932. Most of the recipes on my site came from her influence. If they aren't in her file - then I got them from her friends. And the remainder I experimented with adapting her style.

    I hope she looks down and smiles this Halloween.

    Lisa


    Would you like to share this page? You know how to do it! Thanks for sharing the sugar love!




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    Recipes on this site are from family cookbooks, family traditions, or intentional adaptations from traditional recipes to add an Italian flair. If a recipe was adapted or used from another cook - it is mentioned on the recipe page and the recipe author is given credit.