I will be the first one to say I have never made cookie dough in a food processor. My poor Kitchen aid mixer looked very sad, sitting in the corner and not being used for this week's cookies. But this was an eye-opening experience. I don't get to prepare my cookie dough in a food processor very often so this was a treat.
I wouldn't do it for all my cookies, but for this recipe, it is acceptable. My Breville food processor has a small inner bowl that is perfect for creating samll pieces of the blanched almonds . Since I had the food processor already out, I figured I would finish the dough in the processor.
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Ingredients
- Almonds blanched
- All-purpose flour
- Butter unsalted
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla Extract
- Sugar white
- Kosher Salt
- Powdered sugar for topping
Making Almond Lemon Cookies
The prep work is just weighing out the dry ingredients, processing the lemon and separating the egg yolks from the whites.
Prepping
Start by weighing or measuring the sugar into a small bowl. Next, weigh or measure the flour into another bowl.
Now, you want to zest and juice the lemon. You can pick up a cheap juicer at your local grocery store. Mine was in the spice and baking aisle.
Next separate the eggs so you have just the yolks. These are many types of egg separators and they are pretty cheap. Most grocery stores carry them.
Time to grab the food processor.
Mixing the Cookie Dough
I reserved enough blanched almond slivers to put one on top of every cookie before baking. If you decide to add almond extract instead of vanilla extract, remember that almond extract is potent. I recommend cutting the amount added at least in half.
Add the blanched almonds to a food processor and pulse the almonds until they are tiny pieces or it has the consistency of flour.
I pulsed my almonds until they were tiny pieces. I added them to a bowl so I could weigh or measure the almond mixture. Then added it back to the food processor bowl.
Add all the ingredients: flour, butter, egg yolks, vanilla extract, sugar, salt, lemon zest and juice. Save the powdered sugar for the topping. So, I only have ½ cup sugar in this cookie since I cover the top of the cookies after baking with powdered sugar.
I pulse all the ingredients for 7 to 9 pulses just to bring the ingredients together. You don't want to mix too long or it will activate the proteins and you could end up with tough cookies. This does not differ from mixing with a stand or hand mixer.
Add the cookie dough to a pastry mat. Knead the cookie dough to bring the dough together.
Flatten out the cookie dough. You will want to form the dough into a loose square shape.
Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and then into the refrigerator to chill for an hour. It can stay there longer if you get busy or have things to do and need to bake later.
Roll Cutout and Bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie pans with parchment paper. Also flour a pastry mat and your rolling pin.
Unwrap the cookie dough and I score and cut the dough into quarters. If the cookie dough is really cold, I let it warm up a bit before trying to roll it.
I have added rolling pin bands onto my rolling pin. I use the yellow band which is ¼" deep. This will give some strength to the cookie. I also used a 2 ¼" square cookie cutter and got 38 cookies. You can do a little smaller 1 ⅞" cookie cutter and you will get 48 cookies. Depends on how many you need.
These are a softer cookie so I would not do any larger size for the cookie cutter. They may break apart easier when being held.
I got 15 squares onto my prepared cookie sheet pan. These do not rise hardly at all and they do not spread, so you do not need much space between the cut out cookies. Then I add 1 almond slice onto the top of each cookie. I press lightly just so they stay in place.
Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 6-8 minutes. Don't let them brown or they will be over baked. Once they are out of the oven, I leave them on the sheet pan for a couple of minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
After the cookies have cooled, dust the tops of each cookie generously with powdered sugar.
Enjoy!
FAQ's
Yes, you can. I use the food processor and make my own simply because I know what is in it and it is not as dry as purchased almond flour.
I keep them in a sealed container and they should last for 7-10 days.
I only added a half cup of white sugar to the cookie dough. It needs a little more sweetness, so I add the powdered sugar. It also makes them look pretty.
More Cookies with Almonds
Recipe
Italian Almond with Lemon Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) Almonds blanched ground to flour consistency
- 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Lemon juice
- 2 (2) Egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup (100 g) Sugar white
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- ⅓ cup (40 g) Powdered sugar For topping
Instructions
- Weigh or measure the flour into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the white sugar. Weigh or measure the almonds (saving enough to put one on each cookie).
- In a food processor, add the almonds. Pulse until they are very small pieces, or like flour in consistency. If you measured make sure you still have a cup of the ground almonds. Add the ground almonds back to the food processor.
- Cube the butter and add it to the food processor bowl. Next, add the sugar, flour, salt, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolks, and put the lid on the processor. Using the pulse button, pulse about 7-9 times, just until the dough starts to come together.
- I took the cookie dough out of the food processor bowl and onto a pastry mat and kneaded it until it comes together. Flatten the dough and wrap with plastic wrap. I do a loose shaped square since it will be cut into quarters. Refrigerate for an hour. Taking the dough out of the fridge, cut the dough into quarters and place one quarter on a floured surface or pastry mat. Using ¼ inch rolling pin bands on my rolling pin, roll out the cookie dough. The bands will ensure an even ¼ inch thick cookie dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie pans with parchment paper.
- Using a square 2 ¼ inch cookie cutter, cut out as many squares as you can from the first rolled out dough. Continue rolling out the leftover dough until that quarter has been used. Then start a new quarter. I got 15 cutout cookies on a prepared pan. Taking a blanched almond slice, I press one lightly on the top of each cookie before putting them into the oven. Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 6-8 minutes. Just don't let them get brown or they are over baked.
- After taking them out of the oven, leave them on the pan for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. After they have completely cooled, heavily dust them with the powdered sugar.
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Notes
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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