Almond Crescent Cookies

Almond crescent cookies are a buttery holiday classic. With a crumbly texture, delicate almond flavor, and sweet powdered sugar coating, they are an elegant cookie that the whole family will adore!

How do you feel about butter cookies?

I personally love them and all of their variations. From spritz cookies to thumbprint cookies to the traditional Danish butter cookies – heck, I even love the ones you buy in the blue tin!

I think they’re just about the best Christmas cookies around, too. They are so decadent with their rich, buttery flavor and delicate, short texture. A plate of butter cookies really does make any holiday feel more special.

If you’re like me, you have to give this recipe for almond crescent cookies from my great aunt Tudy a try!

MY AUNT TUDY’S ALMOND CRESCENT COOKIES

I discovered this recipe several years ago when I was doing some last-minute holiday baking. My mom suggested this recipe – she raved about the delicate flavor and crumbly texture of these cookies, so I had to give them a try.

This recipe comes from my great aunt Tudy. (Her real name is Laverne, but I much prefer her nickname, Tudy.) These are almond crescent cookies, although according to my cousin Ivy, they also go by the Greek name Kourabiedes. 

These almond crescent cookies are easy to make and contain an obscene amount of butter. But what better time to ingest obscene amounts of butter than during the holidays, right? Right.

Although I love to bake homemade treats, I have always been a sucker for the Keebler almond crescent cookies during the holiday. This recipe takes everything I love about those and takes it to the next level.

If you’re a self-proclaimed butter cookie lover or love almond desserts such as almond crunch cake, you have to give these a try!

HOW TO MAKE ALMOND CRESCENT COOKIES

I’ll admit it: these almond crescent cookies take a bit more time and effort than some of my other Christmas cookie recipes, such as eggnog cookies or peppermint cookies. But like clothespin cookies, they are an old-fashioned cookie that is well worth the effort! 

Ingredients you’ll need

The ingredient list for this recipe is pretty short. You’ll need:

• 1 pound (2 cups) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• 1 egg yolk
• ¾ cup powdered sugar, plus about 2 additional cups for dusting
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 5-6 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup almond flour or almond meal
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Because the ingredient list is so short, I recommend using good quality ingredients for the best flavor in these cookies. I suggest buying name-brand butter and using a good brand of almond extract, such as Nielsen-Massey. 

Almond flour or almond meal will work in these cookies. You can typically find them either in the baking aisle or with the specialty gluten-free ingredients.

Making this recipe

To make almond crescent cookies, you will need a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

I normally tell you that you can use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, or even mix by hand, but you really do need a stand mixer for this recipe. You’ll understand why in a minute!

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the melted butter, egg yolk, ¾ cup of the powdered sugar, and the salt.

Turn the mixer onto low and gradually add 5 cups of the flour. Once that is added, continue mixing on low speed for 15 minutes. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Yes, you read that correctly – 15 minutes! See why I recommend a stand mixer for this recipe?

After 15 minutes, add the almond meal (or almond flour) and the almond extract. Turn the mixer back to low and mix for another 15 minutes.

Aunt Tudy insisted that you had to mix this dough for 30 minutes to get just the right texture to the finished cookies, and I am not one to argue with her. 

In the last few minutes of mixing, check the consistency of the dough. If it’s too soft to form into a ball, add the last cup of flour, ½-cup at a time, until the dough can be shaped.

When the dough is shapeable, scoop out 1.5-tablespoon portions and shape them into crescents. Place the crescents onto lined baking sheets and bake for 13-14 minutes.

The cookies are done when the outsides are dry but still pale and the bottoms are set.

Let the almond crescents rest of the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then very carefully remove each cookie from the baking sheet and coat in powdered sugar.

These cookies are super delicate, especially when warm, so be very gentle! Odds are good you will break a few, but that’s ok.

Let the cookies finish cooling on a wire rack. Once they are completely cool, give them one more coating in the powdered sugar. They’ll be easier to work with this time, but they’re still pretty delicate so don’t be too rough with them.

STORAGE

Unlike chewy cookies, butter cookies have a longer shelf life since they are meant to have a crumbly texture (similar to shortbread). Store these almond crescent cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Freezing almond crescents

If you’d like to freeze these cookies, I recommend placing them on a lined baking sheet first. Place the sheet pan in the freezer until the cookies are frozen through, about 1-2 hours. 

Once the crescents are frozen, you can put them in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze them for 1-2 months.

After thawing at room temperature, you may want to touch up the powdered sugar coating, but that’s entirely up to you.

HELPFUL RESOURCES AND TIPS

Even if you’re a beginner baker, don’t be afraid to give these almond crescents a try. I’ve got some tips to help you along the way:

• Make sure you know how to measure flour correctly before you get started. This will help your cookies turn out great every time.
• If you run out of powdered sugar, don’t panic. Make a simple powdered sugar substitute and save yourself a trip to the store.
• Give yourself plenty of time to make these cookies. You need to mix the dough for 30 minutes and take your time when coating the cookies with powdered sugar after baking. Don’t rush on this recipe! 
• A stand mixer really is necessary for this recipe. If you don’t have one, I recommend seeing if you can borrow one from a friend or family member. Turn it into a fun baking day together!
• Splurge a bit on some name-brand butter and good almond extract for these almond crescent cookies. The flavor will be so much better – I promise it’ll be worth it!