Almond Thin Cookies (aka Pain d’amonde)


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Around Christmas time, our office was overflowing with succulent treats from our vendors, which is how I discovered (and fell in love) with small crisp almond thin cookies from Jules Destrooper. I think I might have actually eaten half of the box. At that point, I was on a mad hunt to find these, and had planned on ordering some (okay, a dozen) when I found them. Thankfully, I came to my senses and resisted my urge as I knew the majority of them would remain in my house (and then consumed). Just recently, I started thinking (dreaming) of those delicious thins, and decided to see if I could find the recipe online. I came across two, and after reading the ingredients and directions, I chose to go with this one on David Lebovitz‘s site, which came from Flo Braker. I highly recommend checking them out if you’re not familiar with David or Flo!

Ingredients

  • 8 tbsp.  butter, salted or unsalted, cubed
  • 1 1/3 cups coarse crystal golden sugar*
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 1/3 cups  flour
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 cup sliced almonds, blanched or unblanched

* You should be able to find course crystal golden sugar in your local grocery store. I used Sugar in the Raw Natural Cane Turbinado Sugar.

Directions

  1. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat with the sugar, cinnamon, and water. Stir until the butter just melts but don’t allow to boil: most of the sugar should not be dissolved.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the flour, baking soda, and almonds until well mixed.
  3. Line a 9-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap and press the dough into the pan so the top is smooth. Chill until firm.
  4. To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325°F.
  5. Using a very sharp chef’s knife, slice the dough crosswise, as thin as possible, into rectangles (I cut my rectangles in half). If you can get them as thin as a coin, all the better. The thinner they are, the more delicate and crisp they’ll be.
  6. Space the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies feel slightly firm and the undersides are golden brown. Flip the cookies over and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until the cookies are crisp and deep golden-brown on top. The baking times depend on how thin you cut the cookies.
  7. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

For storage: Once baked, the cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to three days. The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days, or frozen for up to two months, if well-wrapped.

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Mini Reese’s Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies


I decided to do a little experimenting in the kitchen yesterday with two of my favorite treats…  Reese’s peanut butter cups and chocolate chip cookies. The results were mind-blowing!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth with electric mixer on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
  4. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips.
  5. Measure out about a tablespoon of cookie dough. Roll into a ball and then flatten in the palm of your hands.
  6. Place a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup in the centers of the flattened dough balls and form dough back into a ball around the Reese’s.
  7. Place Reese’s stuffed dough balls into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking.
  8. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  9. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft).
  10. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

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