Almond Shortbread Cookies

Add the egg and sugar to a bowl and beat together using a stand or hand mixer. Add in the butter, almond paste and vanilla and continue beating until incorporated. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl sift together the flour and salt then add it into the egg mixture. Note that, if you’re using a hand mixer, you may find it easier to incorporate the flour by hand with a spoon since the dough will be thick. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

If you’re just making round cookies, scoop out scoops of the dough (I used a 1-ounce scoop) and place each on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Then flatten out each scoop with the palm of your hand. I used a 1 ounce scoop and got 2 dozen cookies.

If you’d like to make cut out cookies, roll the dough out on the parchment paper-lined baking tray, cut with your favorite cutter but leave the cookie in place and simply peel the dough scraps away from the sides. You can re-roll the scraps to make additional cookies.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes. When done, the cookie edges will only be barely browned and the cookie itself will still be soft. Remove from the oven and let cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes until the cookies harden a bit. Then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.