I’ve had a copy of this tucked in with my many ‘hope-to-make-this-soon’ recipes for quite some time now. When I checked the fine print at the bottom of the page …it is from an old Hallmark Magazine dated December 2009! Guess you could say that I like to collect (and hold onto) recipes! This one gives credit to Tina Stamos of Kansas. I’m so glad I finally got around to trying this. Turns out Tina came up with a winner.
I started working on these on a day filled with commitments. I decided to forge ahead anyway and it worked out so well. Normally, this prepared dough needs to be refrigerated for one hour before proceeding to the next step. I got to that point and instead of refrigerating the discs of dough, I double wrapped them and stuck them in the freezer.
Several weeks later, it was finally time to finish these beauties. As the dough was thawing, I prepared the almond filling …so basic, just almond paste and a dab of heavy cream. Yum.
They really are quite easy to assemble. Next time I may need to try to get some assistance from my eight-year-old granddaughter, Sophia. She would totally enjoy the process.
These cookies are absolutely delicious and impressive. There’s not one thing I would want to change on this one, but never say never!
The original recipe includes a few suggestions to switch things up a bit. Here goes…
chocolate-flecked almontinas – add 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips to the almond filling.
lemon-glazed poppy almontinas – add 2 teaspoons poppy seeds to the filling. Omit the sliced almonds and sugar dusting and drizzle each cookie with a lemon glaze. Mix 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
the almontina
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature (1 stick / 8 ounces)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
FILLING & TOPPING
- 1/2 cup almond paste
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- confectioners' sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
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In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
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Sift together the flour and baking soda. Blend into the sugar mixture. Form the dough into two disks. The dough should resemble the texture of pie dough. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
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Meanwhile, make the filling. With a fork, blend the almond paste and heavy cream until smooth. Set aside.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Working with one disk at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll to a 1/8-inch thickness. With a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out an even number of rounds. Place half of them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place 1/4 teaspoon filling in center of each. Brush the rim with a small amount of milk, carefully top each cookie with another round and gently seal the edges with your fingertip.
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Top each cookie with two almond slices and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are golden. Cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar and enjoy!
