Polvorones – A Traditional Spanish Christmas Cookie

1. Heat oven to 300 F. Put unbleached white flour in a bowl or pizza stone and toast it in the oven for 15 minutes. Do not let it brown.
2. Toast the almonds in the oven for 15 minutes and grind to a powder in a food processor or blender.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour. Make a hole and add the lard, powdered sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon and salt.
4. Incorporate with your hands until it forms a smooth dough that can be rolled. If the dough is too sticky, add some additional flour.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Roll out to a 1″ thickness.
6. You can either cut the dough into sliced squares or use a cookie cutter to cut out your cookies.
7. Place onto a pizza stone or baking pan.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
9. Once they are done baking, let them cool completely before moving them, as they will crumble especially when hot.
10. Finish by sprinkling powdered sugar on each cookie and wrapping individually in waxed paper.

Feliz Navidad!