Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered (icing) sugar (for dough)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 cup finely ground almonds (or almond flour)
  • 2 cups powdered (icing) sugar (for coating)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread almonds on a tray and toast for 8-10 minutes until fragrant. Cool completely, then finely grind in a food processor until sandy/flour-like consistency.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar together until light and fluffy—about 3 minutes.
  3. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts until just combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and ground almonds.
  5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until a soft dough just forms. Be careful not to overmix.
  6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
  7. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Roll the chilled dough into small balls (about 1 tablespoon each). Place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  8. Bake for 12–15 minutes. The bottoms should be very lightly golden; the tops should remain pale.
  9. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool almost completely.
  10. Place 1 cup of the coating sugar in a shallow bowl. Once the cookies are warm (not hot!), gently roll each one to coat evenly. Let these set for 10 minutes.
  11. Sift the remaining 1 cup of coating sugar onto a clean plate. Roll the semi-cooled, already-sugared cookies through this fresh batch of sugar until heavily coated.
  12. Allow the final coating to fully adhere before serving or storing in an airtight container.