Let me just disclaim right off the bat that I really hate these photos. But I love the cookies – or, I should say, loved the cookies. They’re long gone, and only these crappy photos remain. And is “disclaim” even a word? Never mind that. Cookies.
Forgive the horrible outdoor light and the messed-up exposure.
Forgive the composition. Forgive the fact that this normal, 6-ounce coffee glass looks like a gallon-sized urn next to these cookies, for some strange reason. I was on an almond-poppyseed-butter-sugar high. I really can’t come up with a better excuse than that.
I hope you can see that they’re actually rather pretty cookies, despite my best efforts to capture otherwise. They’re almond-flavored, poppyseed-speckled shortbread dough rolled in more poppyseeds. Then, after these bad boys are sliced, baked, and cooled, they’re dipped in an almond-vanilla glaze and sprinkled with crushed sliced almonds.
That sounds like a bit of work, but I promise these come together really quickly and are worth every minute. Sweet, nutty poppyseeds. Crunchy almondy goodness. Buttery shortbread.
Yeah, the photos suck, but these cookies? They rock.
Almond Poppyseed Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- Cookies
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons poppyseeds + 1/4 cup for rolling
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Topping
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- Small pinch salt
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- With an electric stand or hand mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth.
- Turn mixer to low and add the flour and 2 teaspoons poppyseeds, mixing just until the dough forms.
- Place the dough on a piece of waxed or parchment paper sprinkled with a little flour. Put a little flour on your hands and gently roll the dough into a 1 1/2 inch diameter log.
- Sprinkle the 1/4 cup poppyseeds on the paper and roll the log in the poppyseeds, pressing gently, until the log is well-coated with the seeds.
- Wrap the log tightly in the paper and twist the ends.
- Refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Unwrap the log, and slice with a serrated knife about 3/8 inch thick. If the dough is crumbly, wait a few minutes for it to soften slightly and try again.
- Place slices about 1 inch apart on your baking sheet and bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let sit for about five minutes, then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt until smooth.
- Carefully dip the tops of each cookie in the glaze, then set back on the wire rack.
- Grab a handful of almonds and, using your hands, crumble the sliced almonds directly over the tops of the cookies.
- Allow glaze and almonds to set, about 30 minutes. Gently shake any excess almonds off the cookies, and serve.
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