Almond Cookies

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup icing sugar
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (spooned into measuring cups and levelled off)
• 1 1/4 cups ground almonds
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Garnish:

• 15 slivered almonds
• 1/3 cup Seville orange marmalade

Method

Combine butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy. Add lemon rind and vanilla and beat to combine. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Add flour, ground almonds and salt, and beat just until incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about ¼-inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cutter to cut out cookies and place about one inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat, gathering and re-rolling scraps until you have used up all the dough. Press a slivered almond into half of the rounds. Chill cut-out cookies for 20 minutes or until they are firm.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

The one baking sheet at a time from fridge and bake cookies for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges. Transfer to a rack to cool fully.

Spreadone teaspoon marmalade onto rounds that do not have almonds and place an almond-topped cookie on top. Makes approximately 20 cookies.