Almond Meltaway Cookies Recipes

ALMOND MELTAWAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract, mixing until combined. Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until completely combined.
• Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into small circles and then press with hands (or with the bottom of a cup) into a disk shape. Place on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will not look browned or cooked, but they are! Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To Ice: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk and almond extract - until smooth.
• Using a spoon, smooth icing onto the top of each cookie and let set for 10 minutes, or until hardened. Store in the fridge, let come to room temperature when ready to serve.

EGGNOG MELTAWAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Put the almonds and 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until very finely ground, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and process until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape the dough off the inside of the bowl if needed. Add the bourbon and rum and vanilla extracts and pulse until smooth. Add the flour and salt and pulse until the dough forms a ball.
• Roll mounded teaspoons of the dough into balls about 1 inch wide and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until the cookies are firm when gently pressed, completely dry and just beginning to crack at the top, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes; they will firm as they cool.
• Meanwhile, put the nutmeg and remaining 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar in a pie plate or wide baking dish and mix well. Toss the warm cookies very gently in the sugar mixture until evenly coated; the cookies need to be warm for the first coating of sugar to stick. Cool the cookies on a wire rack completely, about 30 minutes, then toss again in the sugar mixture so they are very white. Sprinkle with additional grated nutmeg.
• Store the cookies in a little bit of extra confectioners' sugar in an airtight container for up to a week.

MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Cream butter with an electric mixer until light. Gradually add the fructose and beat thoroughly. Beat in the almond extract, vanilla extract and water.
• Combine the flour, salt and pecans. Add to the creamed mixture, a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Roll doll into date-sized balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 13 to 14 minutes. Roll in confectioners' sugar while warm and then again once cool.