Vanilla Almond Shortbread Cookies
These crisp and buttery vanilla almond shortbread cookies are so adorable, and so delicious!
My kids lucked out with a full week off school for Thanksgiving this year, and we are celebrating by heading to the coast for a much needed vacation! We don't have any family in town to celebrate the holiday with, so I'm opting for the laziest route possible and picking up a pre-made Thanksgiving dinner for us at the grocery store. I'm looking forward to a full week of lazy reading, playing board games as a family, and sitting on the beach watching the waves roll in. It has been quite a busy fall for my family, and I can't wait to just do nothing!
With Thanksgiving so late this year, it feels a little like Christmas is sneaking up on us, so I've been trying to get a head start on my holiday posts this year. I have some really fun cookies to share with you this week, and on Sunday I'll share a roundup of all of my favorite cookies to use for those holiday cookie plates! These vanilla almond shortbread cookies are an old favorite at my house, but since my original recipe for them has vampire fangs, I decided they needed a little facelift in time for Christmas. I pulled out my trusty cookie stamp and got baking!
My cookie stamp was a gift, but I'm pretty sure it was from Crate & Barrel. I've also seen cookie stamps at World Market. You could easily press these cookies using the bottom of a glass instead, but I love that the cookie stamp adds a cute and festive touch! To make the impressions stand out a little more, sprinkle the baked and cooled cookies with powdered sugar, then lightly brush them off so the sugar stays only in the depressed areas. These cookies are so adorable!
Vanilla Almond Shortbread Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 375. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and almond, and mix until combined. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt, until just combined. Shape the dough into golf ball-sized balls, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Stamp with a cookie stamp dipped in powdered sugar (or flatten with the bottom of a glass). Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
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