Christmas

The Almontina

by:
December 14, 2017
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The Almontina
Photo by ahintofrosemary
  • Makes 3 dozen filled cookies
Author Notes

This is my take on a recipe from an old Hallmark Magazine dated December 2009. One of those classics that have withstood the test of time. This one gives credit to Tina Stamos of Kansas. I was so glad when I finally got around to trying this. Turned out Tina came up with a winner.

The last time I made these beauties, I started working on them 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, I was a happy camper to have that cookie dough ready and waiting. As the dough was thawing, I prepared the almond filling …so basic, just almond paste and a dab of heavy cream. Yum. And they are really easy to assemble. These cookies are absolutely delicious and impressive.
—rosemary | a hint of rosemary

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Dough
  • 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • Filling & Topping
  • 1/2 cup almond paste
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
  2. 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.
  3. Meanwhile, make the filling. With a fork, blend the almond paste and heavy cream until smooth. Set aside.
  4. 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.
  5. 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!
  6. FOR CHOCOLATE-FLECKED ALMONTINAS - add 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips to the almond filling.
  7. FOR 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.
  8. FOR GLUTEN-FREE ALMONTINAS - Replace all-purpose flour with Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour.
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