MARZIPAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES

By Cubby

Ingredients

• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon marzipan
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg yolk

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 300°F and have two ungreased baking sheets ready.
Whisk together the flour and salt; set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the butter, marzipan, sugar, extracts, and egg yolk at medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl as necessary.
Stir in the dry ingredients.
Scoop heaping tablespoon-sized balls of dough and space them about 3" apart on the ungreased baking sheets; a level tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
Dip a cookie stamp in flour, center it over a ball of dough, and press it down until the dough is 1/4" to 3/8" thick.
Remove the stamp, tapping the edge firmly against the pan if the dough happens to stick.
Remove any excess dough if necessary or desired; it’s easy enough to neaten up edges once the cookies have baked.
Bake the cookies until they're a light golden brown around the edges (their tops will still be pale), about 18 to 22 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the oven, cool them for a minute or two, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days; freeze for longer storage.