Ghost Turds?

Almond Crescent Cookies

When I was coming up a friend's grandmother sent me a batch of these cookies every year. I started affectionately calling this little delicious morsels ghost turds because for many years I had no clue as to their real identity .

It's amazing how our minds associate certain sensations with distant memories. Every time I eat one of these cookies I am immediately transported 35+ years into the past to a more innocent time and place. The grandmother is gone now but her memory will live on forever in the hearts and minds of her family and friends.

There are lots of recipes for this cookie online but the one I use is located at Sydney's Kitchen.

1.  Ingredients

  1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup finely ground blanched almonds

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Vanilla sugar, for rolling

To prepare the cookies

2.  In the bowl of your electric mixer add all the ingredients.

3.   Beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Let rest at room temperature for 2 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

4.  Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat. Bake until light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on trays for 10 minutes.

5.  Roll in vanilla sugar.

Note: To make vanilla sugar, split two vanilla beans and place in an airtight container with 2 cups sugar. Let stand overnight and up to 3 months.

Makes 24 crescent cookies