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 | ingredients |
| | 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
¾ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
Grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 teaspoons)
¾ cup sliced almonds
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 | Almond-Orange Shortbread |
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Makes 40 | Prep time: 15 minutes | Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes |
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Keep the dough for this delicate, flavorful cookie in your freezer. Later, you can slice off just what you need from the frozen log of dough and bake.
- Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms.With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.
- Freeze the dough: On a piece of waxed paper, form dough into a rectangular log, 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick.Wrap log in the paper, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months. If freezing longer than 1 day, wrap log again, in plastic wrap.
- Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325°. Remove dough from freezer. (If dough has been in freezer a long time and is frozen solid, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes so it slices without crumbling.)
- With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.
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