Recipe - Almond Cookies

One half cup Blanched Whole or Slivered
Almonds
2 One half cup Allpurpose Flour
1 teaspoon Lemon Rind; Grated fresh;
(the "Zest")
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
One fourth teaspoon Salt
One fourth teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
2 Whole Eggs
1 cup Granulated Sugar
One fourth cup Canola Oil
One fourth cup Marsala or Sweet Dessert
Wine
One half teaspoon Vanilla Extract
One fourth teaspoon Almond Extract
One fourth cup Currants; (May substitute
Raisins)
1 Egg White with 1 Tbs. Water
for Glaze

The Cook & Kitchen Staff are offering you 31days of Recipea
Day~Light. That's right, we're lightening up the fare without
lightening up the flavor of some of your favorite recipes.

Today's recipe is for a dessert or afterschool snack. If you savor
the flavor of almonds, you're going to thoroughly enjoy today's
recipe. Each cookie contains about 65 calories, with only 0.3 grams
of saturated fat, so prepare them today and enjoy a sweet treat
that's almost good for you!

Spread the almonds on a pie plate or baking pan and roast at 350F
degrees for about 10 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Let cool.
Finely chop the toasted almonds in a food processor and reserve.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sifted flour, lemon zest,
baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and chopped almonds.

In a mediumsized mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until
creamy and well blended. Add oil, Marsala, vanilla and almond
extracts, and whisk the mixture again. Add the wet ingredients to the
dry and stir to thoroughly combine. Add the currants and stir with a
wooden spoon until just combined.

Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to
baking (overnight refrigeration is recommended).

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and lightly spray 2 cookie sheets with
nonstick oil.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and, working on a lightly
floured surface, roll each portion into a thick log, about 8 inches
long. With a sharp knife, cut each log into 12 equal pieces. Roll
each piece into a rope about 5 inches long. Cross the ends of each
rope to form a ring and place the cookie rings about a half inch
apart on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat the rolling and shaping
process with the remaining cookie dough.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white with the water to blend. Brush the
glaze lightly over the top of each cookie. Bake the cookies, one
sheet at a time, for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool
on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Posted to dailyrecipe@recipeaday.com by RecipeaDay
recipeaday@bignetwork.com on Januday,, ary 07, 1999, converted by
MM_Buster v2.0l.