Adapted from Sweetness by Sarah Levy

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, warmed to room temperature
• 1/4 cup plus 1 cup to coat cookies with Confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almonds, slivered, finely chopped (use a food processor if you have one)

Preheat oven to 325F. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until it is light and fluffy on medium high speed. Turn the mixer down to medium and slowly add in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and the flour, mixing until well combined. Add in the vanilla extract. Turn of the mixer and add the almonds. Turn on the mixer on low speed and mix until the almonds are just combined, about 1 minute.

Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop to scoop out the balls of dough and place on a cookie sheet, lined with a Silpat or parchment at least 1 inch apart. Stick the cookie sheet in the freezer or fridge for at least 10 minutes.

Bake at 325F for about 30 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly brown. Cool the cookies fully on a wire rack. Pour the remaining 1 cup of confectioners sugar into a bowl and rolled the cookies around in the sugar until they are covered. Enjoy with a nice cup of tea or a tall glass of milk.

Blog post: http://whitneyinchicago.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/almondcookie/