Almond Crescent Cookies

I'm turning 35 next week.

My husband asked me what I want for my birthday and I didn't skip a beat: I want my car detailed. Yep, times have changed.

With each passing year, I notice that my thoughts turn less from what I want to what I want to give. {With the exception of coveting a glistening car interior, of course.} This year I've spent some time thinking about the people who make my life full by thanking them in a meaningful way. {More on that later.}

I know that some might approach a number like 35 with trepidation because, let's face it, most of the items in the "graceful aging" aisle are targeting women in that exact age group. Sigh. But I feel privileged to enter my mid-thirties because that means that I've been given health, support and experiences that have helped me thrive, and I know that is a gift.

When I received an opportunity from OXO to participate in their yearly "Cookies for Kids Cancer" campaign, I knew it was just the type of thing I want to do to celebrate my birthday. Because, first of all... cookies. But more importantly, because OXO is donating $100  for each blogger who takes part in this campaign. {Up to $100K} Sounds like a double win.

September is a special month not just because it's my birth month, but also because it is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Though you don't have to have a child in order to have an interest in this cause, becoming a parent most definitely heightens your sense of responsibility to support the research that assists the development of "less toxic, more effective treatments for children battling cancer." I cannot imagine the anguish that parents experience when their child becomes ill to this degree, let alone the fear and disappointment that comes from learning that less than 4% of the National Cancer Institute's funds go to childhood cancer research.

We can "Bake a Difference" together, starting right now!

And, if we're going to bake, we might as well use a recipe written by one of the best -- Dorie Greenspan. Dorie's newest book, Dorie's Cookies, is coming out next month and I couldn't be more thrilled. {Baking Chez Moi is already one of my favorite cookbooks.}

So, let's dive into the dough with these Almond Crescent Cookies. These remind me of the holidays with their airy, crunchy texture and the delicate dusting of powdered sugar that finishes them off -- ideal for a holiday cookie tray.

They're relatively simple to make, and you don't even need a heavy duty stand mixer for this type of cookie; they come together in a cinch with a hand mixer like OXO's Illuminating Digital Hand Mixer. {I love the intuitive controls!}  Little hands will be eager to help shape these cookies, and even more eager to "decorate" them with powdered sugar, but don't worry -- the sprinkling is under control when you use OXO's Baker's Dusting Wand. {Whew!}

So, get those cookies on a Non-Stick Pro Cookie Sheet {which happen to be my absolute favorite, even if I wasn't collaborating with OXO. They are THE BEST.}, and pop them in the oven. We've got lives to change and cookies to munch on, because these little angels deserve to see 35 one day, too. <3

Want to learn about other ways to help the cause? {Of course you do, because you're awesome!} Get the scoop on how to be a "good cookie" here.

Disclosure: This post was written in partnership with OXO. I received a cookie baking set to use in the creation of this post. As always, the opinions here are all my own!

Almond Crescent Cookies | OXO

The Kitchen Prep

One bite, and I’m a kid happy that I was at the door when my mother came home from the bakery. She shopped there every day, always for bread, often for cakes and at least once a week for cookies that came in a white box lined with tissue paper. Crescents, made in a much smaller size than these, were always a part of the weekly assortment and always a favorite. I don’t think I remembered their name until recently, but friends did — I served a plate of them and there was a chorus of “Kipfel! Vanilla kipfel!” and one lone Butterhornchen (“butter horns” in German). As soon as I heard “kipfel,” it came back to me that was what my mother and grandmother called these and that was what they were called in the Eastern European bakeries of my childhood.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 21 mins

Total Time 41 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 Cookies

Ingredients

  

• 2 sticks 8 ounces; 226 grams unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
• ½ cup 100 grams sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
• to taste optional
• 1¾ cups 238 grams all-purpose flour
• 1 ? cups 133 grams almond flour Granulated or confectioners’ sugar, for coating

Instructions

 

• Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and the almond extract, if you’re using it, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the machine off, add the all-purpose flour all at once and then pulse the mixer to start blending. Mix on low speed until the flour is almost incorporated, then add the almond flour and mix only until it disappears into the mixture and the dough comes together.
• Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out walnut-size nuggets of dough or use a tablespoon. Work each piece into a compact ball between your palms and then roll it on the counter into a rope about 4 inches long. Bend the rope into a crescent, pinch the ends lightly and place on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the crescents.
• Bake for 19 to 21 minutes, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back after 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden at their tips, pale everywhere else and set, but too fragile to lift without breaking. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies rest for 5 minutes before you give them the sugar treatment.
• Put the sugar in a small bowl and, one by one, dredge the cookies in sugar to coat and place on racks to cool.

Notes

Storing
The dough can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. If you decide to freeze the dough, I think you’ll find it more convenient to shape it first and freeze the crescents; let the crescents come to cool room temperature before baking them. If you omit the sugar coating, the baked cookies can be wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months. The baked cookies will keep for about 3 days; give them a fresh dusting of confectioners’ sugar before serving.