And we have reached December! A month that I love so much for what Christmas represents! I like it because it is nice to finally be able to reunite with family, and in the same way, I love decorating the house with trinkets, angels of all kinds, and ribbons; I can’t wait to decorate the tree, trying every year to vary it based on my inspiration; oh yes, also doing obsessive-compulsive shopping, but without waiting for the last moment, to not ruin that unique pleasure of wandering through the shops, among the sparkling city lights and fully experiencing that atmosphere! But above all, for me, Christmas means baking cookies, I don’t know why, but for me, it’s a symbol, something reassuring! My favorites, the ones I prepare every year out of tradition, are gingerbread cookies, which I love to glaze with royal icing, but in the end, it’s enough to create the shortcrust pastry to relax and create what I desire with the molds! These that I propose today mark the beginning of the holidays. They are cookies made with almond flour and Sicilian lemon zest, kindly offered by my friend Vincenzo and coming from his farm! An intoxicating aroma filled my kitchen, and just out of the oven, still too hot to really enjoy them, I couldn’t resist and ate 5!!! A unique temptation! Beautifully rough on the outside thanks to my magic rolling pin, these cookies are perfect to give as gifts during the holidays because they contain roses and hearts for those we love! Only one flaw: they disappear quickly!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 50
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for about 50 cookies:
- 1 3/4 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 3/4 cups Almond Flour
- 1/4 cup Cold Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Lemon Zest (untreated)
- 1 pinch Salt
Preparation
In a large bowl, sift the two flours, add the sugar and the grated lemon zest (fig. 1).
Mix with a wooden spoon and add the cold cubed butter and the eggs previously beaten with a pinch of salt (fig. 2).
Continue mixing, then knead with your hands without warming the dough too much (fig. 3).
You will get a smooth and homogeneous ball (fig. 4).
Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. After this time, roll out the dough with the help of a rolling pin on a lightly powdered surface with powdered sugar or flour, obtaining a thickness of 3/8 inch (fig. 5).
Now use your decorative rolling pin, applying some pressure. If you do not have one, skip this step (fig. 6).
Cut the cookies with your desired molds until the dough is used up (fig. 7).
Place the cookies well-spaced on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or as I did with recyclable teflon paper and bake on the middle shelf of a preheated oven at 350°F for 10 minutes no more. Pay attention to the baking, which is the most important phase. If you bake them too much, they will harden. (fig. 8).
The cookies should appear slightly golden at the edges. Once out of the oven, let them cool completely on a rack (fig. 9).
And voilà…your lemon and almond flour cookies are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from Fefe's kitchen!
