Almond Cinnamon Cookies

These “Breakfast in a Cookie” delights remind me of coffee cake. The cookie is delicate and buttery and the cinnamon-sugar coating is like the best part of a cinnamon-covered doughnut. They are a cutout cookie but I roll them a little thicker than my traditional cutout cookies because that makes for a wonderful bite.

Recipe

Ingredients

3¾ cups (485g) unbleached, all-purpose flour

1¼ cups (120g) finely ground almonds or almond meal or almond flour

½ cup + 2 tablespoons (80g) confectioners’ sugar

125g granulated sugar, divided into 60g and 65g portions

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups (10 oz/2½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating

90g (6 tablespoons) salted butter, melted

2 tablespoons cinnamon (yes... tablespoons!)

½ cup granulated sugar

Yield: 36 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 14-16 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes (includes rolling in cinnamon-sugar)

Type of Recipe:
Cutout Cookies

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover cookie sheets with Silpat mats (or parchment paper) and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, 60g of granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Place the butter in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream butter on low speed about 10 seconds increase to medium for an additional 30 seconds. Scrape bowl and paddle. With stand mixer running on low add the remaining 65g sugar and then increase to medium, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Scrape bowl and paddle.
With stand mixer running on low, add egg and vanilla and increase to medium for about 15 seconds until incorporated. Scrape bowl and paddle.
With the stand mixer running on low, slowly pour the flour mixture over the top in two additions. After last addition has been added, increase to medium until just fully incorporated. Be careful not to over-beat.
Divide the dough in half and roll one portion out to ⅜ inch thick. Cut out 2" round shapes and place them on prepared baking sheets. Cookies will not spread during baking. Put the sheets in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking to help them hold their shape.
Bake cookies for 7 minutes, rotate sheets, and bake another 7-9 minutes, until edges are slightly brown.
Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating

While cookies are cooling, combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Dip tops of cooled cookies in the melted butter, then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until well coated.

Recipe Notes

This recipe can be cut in half without any problem. Sometimes a small batch is all I need to satisfy my craving.
These cookies do not spread during baking.
I usually bake the cookies one sheet at a time. To bake them two sheets at a time, adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions, and switch and rotate the sheets halfway through baking.