Those of you who are familiar with my recipes know I am really not a big dessert baker, but I oh-so-love the flavor of these cookies - especially during the holidays! You can use just about any other type of nut your heart desires, but if you choose to try peanuts make sure no one you might serve them to is allergic.
My next personal favorite choice for these crescents are almonds and now that I've finally learned the secret of how to easily crack Brazil nuts, they will be the nut of choice in the next batch ;-)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until completely blended. Gradually add flour and salt and then stir in the hazelnuts.
Shape dough into about 2 1/2 to 3 inch logs and bend into crescent shapes. Place the crescents 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until set and bottoms are just barely golden.
Meanwhile place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl to prepared for dusting.
Remove cookies from oven and let stand for only 1 minute and then gently roll each cookie in confectioners' sugar. For a white fluffy coating, roll each cookie twice.
Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
By Deeli from Richland, WA
This page contains the following solutions.
Instead of individually shaping each crescent cookie when baking, roll into a long log and cut whatever size is needed. Then bend each one into the crescent shape. You can do this right on the cookie sheet.
Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well. Add almond extract and chopped almonds to dough. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Almond flavor enlivens this basic sugar cookie recipe, making it not only a good choice for entertaining, but also a nice treat for the family. This is a page about making almond crescent cookies.
