Pains D’Amande (Very Thin French Tea Cookies)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside.

In a medium heavy-bottomed non-stick saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, water, cinnamon and salt and heat until butter is completely melted without allowing the mixture to boil. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is not quite completely dissolved (not letting the sugar melt completely adds wonderful texture). Again, don’t let the mixture boil. Using a heat-proof silicone spatula, stir in the sliced almonds and remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir in flour/baking soda mixture and stir until combined. Pack dough into a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch silicone loaf pan (or a glass or metal cake pan lined with plastic wrap). Chill for at least 4-6 hours until very firm.

Place oven rack in lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare at least 2 sheet pans by lining them with parchment paper or silicone liners.

Remove the brick of cookie dough from the loaf pan and slice cookies as thinly as you can get them using a serrated knife, mandolin, or electric meat slicer (1/16-inch thick).

Place cookies on the cookie sheet pan leaving about 1/4-inch between each cookie. Bake them, one sheet at a time, for 8 minutes. Then remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn cookies over. Return pan to the oven and bake for another 4 minutes until they’re crisp and honey-colored. Remove sheet pan from oven and immediately transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely. Proceed with subsequent batches, always being sure to put unbaked cookies on completely cool sheet pans.

Stack cookies in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 10 days.

Recipe adapted from Flo Braker, via David Lebovitz. Makes 100-120 paper thin cookies.

**Note: Raw sugar is also known as “Sugar in the Raw”, but turbinado or demerara sugars may be substituted.