The Perfect Bite: Almond Crescents
Almond crescents are the most classic of all of my family’s Christmas cookies. Delicate and buttery in texture yet rich in almond flavor, they’re the perfect melt in your mouth bite. Shaped into elegant crescents and coated in a generous dusting of powdered sugar, almond crescents bring a touch of classic charm to the season.
Family Lore
This is probably the most iconic family recipe from my Grandma Val.
My grandma was an amazing cook and baker. Growing up, my dad’s household was always filled with the smells of a home cooked meals, fresh bread, and countless sweet treats. She even made my parents wedding cake. Food was something her family took pride in and were therefore very particular about.
Around the holidays, one of my grandma’s biggest pet peeves occurred when her mother-in-law came to visit. Ma (my grandfather’s mother) would eat the almond crescents that my grandma had painstakingly spent hours shaping individually by hand… by the handful. Which my grandma found to be very upsetting. In her opinion, almond crescents should be savored and therefore eaten one-by-one.
Eating preferences aside, making almond crescents became quite the production each year. So much so that eventually my dad’s whole family had to be involved.
To give some context: The measurements I list below make about 100 crescents. The measurements written on the original recipe makes about 200. During the holidays, my grandma would double or triple the batch, shaping and baking at least 500 crescents each year
These would be distributed to friends, family, and neighbors and the rest were stored in cookie jars which may parents still have and use for their holiday cookie baking each year.
Original Recipe
The original almond crescent recipe is written on a scrap of paper in my grandmothers handwriting. Apparently, after my mom proved she was sticking around, she asked my grandmother to write down her favorite recipes so we have a few written on this card stock.
Some fun observations:
- This is the only classic Christmas cookie recipe that specifically calls for “sweet” or unsalted butter.
- There is no salt which I find a little odd for a cookie.
- I think you could probably make this in a food processor like you would pie dough but I haven’t yet tested that theory.
Check out all of my Family’s Christmas Cookies here.
Almond Crescents
Equipment
- 2 Sheet pans
Ingredients
- 2½ Cups Cake Flour sifted
- 1 Cups Unsalted butter cold
- ¾ Cup Ground almonds
- 3 Tbsp Sugar
- 1½ tsp Vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 1½ Cups Powdered Sugar for coating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut the cold butter into the sifter cake flour with a pastry cutter until it resembles bread crumbs.2½ Cups Cake Flour, 1 Cups Unsalted butter
- Mix in sugar, nuts, vanilla, and salt.¾ Cup Ground almonds, 3 Tbsp Sugar, 1½ tsp Vanilla, Pinch of salt
- Knead until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Scoop out a teaspoon (or less) of dough, roll into a ball, and then shape into a crescent. These will puff slightly but not spread so you can fit ~50 per sheet tray.
- Place on the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool. When they are slightly warm still (but *not* hot), coat in the powdered sugar and store in an airtight container.1½ Cups Powdered Sugar
