Greek Almond Crescents

Name: Greek Almond Crescents
Yield: Makes about 56 crescents
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon baking powder; ½ cup cake flour; 1¾ cups all-purpose flour; ⅜ teaspoon almond extract; 2 tablespoons orange juice, preferably squeezed fresh; ¼ cup brandy; 1 egg yolk; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 2 3-inch strips orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler; 2 3-inch strips orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler; 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; ¾ cup whole unblanched almonds (about 3¾ ounces)

(Kourambiedes)

Preparation info

Makes about
56
crescents

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Cookie Lover's Cookie Book

By Richard Sax

Published 1986

About

Slightly tricky to make, but the melt-in-your-mouth texture makes it worth it. Most classic Greek recipes call for blanched almonds; I prefer to use unblanched whole almonds (either is fine). With thanks to Barbara Livadas Fript.

Ingredients

¾ cup whole unblanched almonds (about 3¾ ounces)
1 cup confectioners’

Dessert
Vegetarian

Method

Grind the almonds with the confectioners’ sugar and orange zest in a food processor until powdery. (You can also grind the nuts with a Mouli grater, then mix the dough in an electric mixer, or by hand.)
Add the butter, egg yolk, brandy, orange juice, almond extract, all-purpose flour, cake flour, and baking powder. Pulse the processor on and off just until the