These crumbly shortbread cookies are infused with the buttery caramel flavor of almond praline.
You'll have much more praline than you need for this recipe, but it keeps for a long time and is perfect for sprinkling on puddings, ice creams and roasted or fresh fruit; folding into buttercream; or stirring into your morning yogurt.
The praline can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks or frozen for up to 1 year. The cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. It can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw before rolling out. The baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
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Ingredients
measuring cupServings: 36-40 cookies
For the praline
For the cookies
Directions
Step 1
For the praline: Grease a baking sheet generously with butter or line with a silicone liner.
Step 2
Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a medium saucepan, off the heat. Place the pan over medium-low heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Once the liquid is clear, increase the heat to medium-high. As the liquid bubbles, brush down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water. (This, along with the lemon juice, will help prevent the sugar from crystallizing.) Do not stir the mixture. After about 15 to 20 minutes, it will begin to turn golden; watch it carefully, because it will darken quickly.
Step 3
After another few minutes, when the mixture is golden brown, remove it from the heat and stir in the almonds. Return to the heat and cook just until the caramel liquefies again, then pour it onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into a thin layer. When cool, finely chop by hand or pulverize in a food processor. Reserve 3/4 cup for one batch of the cookie recipe.
Step 4
For the cookies: Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium-low; add the vanilla extract and salt, beating just until incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl. Add the flour and the reserved 3/4 cup of ground or chopped praline, and beat on low speed just until incorporated.
Step 5
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour (or overnight if desired).
Step 6
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Have two or three ungreased baking sheets at hand.
Step 7
Roll out the dough between layers of plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Use 2-inch cookie cutters to cut as many cookies as possible and arrange them on the baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Gather up the remaining dough, roll it out and cut more cookies, repeating until all the dough is used.
Step 8
Bake the cookies until lightly browned on the edges and firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking. Cool the cookies for 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to cooling racks.
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Nutritional Facts
Per cookie (based on 40)
Calories
90
Fat
5 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Carbohydrates
9 g
Sodium
30 mg
Cholesterol
10 mg
Sugar
4 g
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
Adapted from "Fields of Greens," by Annie Somerville (Bantam, 1993).
Tested by Joe Yonan.
Published December 2, 2014
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