Amaretto Butter Cookies with Orange Zest and Almonds

By á-9003

If you're exchanging cookies around the holidays, your friends would love to receive these buttery almond flavored cookies with a hint of orange. These Amaretto Butter Cookies with Orange Zest and Almonds make great food gifts or a delicious additions to any bake sale. These are the perfect treats to feed a crowd and they go great with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, separated
• 3 tablespoons almond-flavored liqueur, such as Amaretto, or 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 2 about 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sliced almonds

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg yolk, liqueur or extract, and orange peel and beat until well blended.

In another bowl, mix 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture; stir to mix, then beat until well blended.

Gather dough into a ball, divide in half, and flatten each portion into a disk; wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until firm enough to roll without sticking, about 30 minutes.

Unwrap dough. On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll one disk at a time to about 1/4-inch thick. With a floured, 2-inch round cutter, cut out cookies. Place about 2-inches apart on buttered 12x15-inch baking sheets.

Gather excess dough into a ball, re-roll, and cut out remaining cookies.

In a small bowl, beat egg white with 1 teaspoon water to blend. Brush cookies with mixture and sprinkle or arrange about 1/2 teaspoon sliced almonds on each.

Bake cookies in a 325ºF regular or convection oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes; if baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through cooking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.