Almond Crescents

Recipe from Anna magazine.

Last week I started decorating for Christmas. My husband Andrew came home from work and started teasing me, saying it was crazy that I was already decorating for Christmas. Well, decorating led to me listening to Christmas music, which led to Christmas baking. So, Andrew's teasing didn't last long after he realized that it is actually quite awesome that Christmas came so early in our house this year. I decided to start this season off with some deliciously tasty almond crescents. When Andrew tried one he said, "mmm tastes like Christmas". I told him that was the best compliment he could have given me.

What you'll need

3/4 cup Blanched whole almonds, toasted

1 cup Unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup Icing sugar, sifted, plus more for dusting

1/2 tsp Vanilla 

1/2 tsp Almond extract

1 tbsp Water

1 3/4 cups All-purpose flour

1/2 tsp Coarse salt

How to

1.  In food processor, finely grind almonds; set aside.

2.  In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in vanilla, almond extract and water. 

3.  In separate bowl, combine flour, salt and ground almonds. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until just combined. Wrap and chill dough for 30 minutes.

4.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough by hand into small crescents; place on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until pale golden.

5.  Let cool; dust with icing sugar to serve. Makes 24.