secret recipe club: almond butter cookies

it must be this time of year: i am craving cookies like crazy. not fancy, fussy kind, but more of the slice and bake or drop variety. last month, jason and i were out somewhere, eating some kind of almond flavored dessert - a cake, maybe? - when he casually mentioned that it had been a long time since i made anything almond flavored. he was right and i've been on the lookout for an easy almond cookie ever since. when i spied these iced lemon butter cookies at cooking mimi for this month's secret recipe club, i knew with some simple swaps, i could have exactly what i wanted.

and oh my, these suckers are good, rich and buttery, like my favorite shortbread. slicing and baking them means you can make the dough today, store it in the fridge, and bake up fresh cookies all week. and just like shortbread, they're infinitely adaptable. not a fan of almonds? skip them all together, add some vanilla extract, and make classic butter cookies. love lemon like micha? swap almond extract and almonds for lemon juice and lemon zest - same for limes or oranges. or add mini chocolate chips and call it a day.

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website!

 

check out my previous secret recipe club posts: enfrijoladas, chocolate snack cake, bacon topped maple french toast cupcakes, cherry sorbet, slow cooker beans & mushrooms, mojito chicken tacos, maple glazed whole wheat spiced apple pizza, pig out cookies, pasta with blistered tomatoes & arugula and iced grapefruit cookies, mushroom barley soup, scalloped ham and potato bake & andes mint cake, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki, asian pork chops, lemon lime meltaways, blueberry peach crisp, minted lemon ice, white chocolate macadamia nut blondies, raspberry cream filled eclairs, jam swirled cheesecake, whole wheat grapefruit cake, chewy no bake granola bars & carrot cinnamon waffles, cannoli, gingerbread muffins, double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies, butterscotch peach cake, whole wheat honey pancakes, minted pineapple lime agua fresca, breakfast tacos, simple almond sandwich cookies, & roasted banana rum cake.

almond butter cookies
adapted from cooking mimi
10min prep, at least 1hr chill, 10 min bake; makes 18-24 cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
2 cups all purpose flour

for the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
almond extract
water

1. cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about five minutes. add the almond extract, salt, and almonds and mix until blended.
2. add the flour and mix just until the dough comes together.
3. using your hands, roll the dough into a log roughly 3 inches in diameter. roll the dough into a larger diameter for bigger cookies, smaller diameter for smaller cookies. wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for at least one hour. 
4. preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet. slice the refrigerated dough into 1/4" slices and place at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. bake for 10 minutes (less for smaller cookies, longer for larger cookies) and cool on the sheet a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.
5. to make the glaze, whisk in a couple drops of almond extract and about a tablespoon of water with the sugar. taste and add more almond extract to taste. add more water, a couple drops at a time, until it is spreading consistency. when the cookies are cool, spread or drizzle with icing. let the icing harden for a couple hours before storing the cookies. store loosely covered - storing in a tight container will make the icing soften and the cookies stick together.