Holiday Challenge Day 21 - Almond Crescents

After yesterday's accidental overdose on Oreo Truffles, it's obvious that this girl can only handle so much sugar.  How much that is, I'm not really sure.  But let's just say it's a good deal less than what it was in my prime.  Although a teenager might be able to subsist on a diet of Oreo Truffles (supplemented with a few pieces of leftover peppermint bark), someone of my age, apparently, can not.  Or at the very least, should not.  So I guess it's a good thing that I chose today to be the day that I made Almond Crescents.  Because not only are these delicate and ever-so-slightly sweet cookies perfect with a cup of tea (if, hypothetically, you're nursing a bit of a tummy ache), they also can be made in 15 minutes if you use "cheater dough" like I did.

Yes, I know.  Many a day you've heard me rant and rave about store-bought "cheater dough".  Don't get me wrong - I mean no disrespect to the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  I just love him in all his charming chubbiness.  But I do think homemade cookies should be just that.  Homemade.  Not buy the dough, break it apart, bake it, and claim it as your own.  Homemade.  From start to finish.  So rest easy (or sorry to disappoint, depending on which side of the refrigerator case you fall) - as of yet, the doughy dude has not added Almond Crescents to his cookie kingdom.  Which means I was inspired to make "cheater dough" of my own.  From scratch. 

A few weeks ago when I had an abundance of time on my hands, I was perusing a stack of holiday cookie magazines, and saw this little note:

"Most cookie doughs can be stored in the freezer.  However, do not freeze dough containing sour cream or cream cheese.  For drop cookies, you can place individual cookie portions on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets and freeze.  Once frozen, transfer to labeled freezer bags.  Freeze for up to 6 months.  Remove as many portions as you need and bake, making sure to add additional baking time." (Taste of Home Best Loved Cookies & Bars 2009)

Was I reading this right?  Was it possible that if you took some time to make dough in advance, you could have fresh baked cookies in a matter of minutes any time you want?  Not pre-baked homemade cookies that you've frozen and then need to thaw, but real, fresh-from-the-oven homemade cookies?  Really?  Well, of course, I had to try it for myself.  And it worked!  Four weeks ago I made the crescents as I normally would, but instead of baking them, I bundled them up and put them in the freezer.  This morning I preheated the oven, lined the frozen crescents up on a cookie sheet, popped them in the oven, and 15 minutes later they emerged...fresh, warm, and fantastic.

Almond Crescents

Makes 5 dozen

http://www.ichef.com/ (Martha Stewart recipe)

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sifted confectioners sugar, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
2 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream together butter and 2/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Beat in extracts, then add almonds. Stir in flour and beat until well mixed.
2. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a log 1 inch in diameter. Cut each log into 3/4-inch pieces, and roll each piece into a cylinder 2 inches long. Place cylinders 1 to 2 inches apart on baking sheets, and form into crescents.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let crescents cool, then roll in additional confectioners sugar.