These Almond Cookies with Powdered Sugar, also known as almond snowball cookies are made with raw and toasted almonds. They're a delicate, not overly sweet classic cookie often served during the holidays.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the ground almonds, flour, finely chopped almonds and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1/2 cup of the icing sugar until well blended and fluffy.
With the mixer on low speed, add the ground almond mixture, almond and vanilla extracts. Mix until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough. Shape each cookie by rolling the dough between your hands. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart onto lined baking sheets.
Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for about 14-16 minutes or until bottoms are golden and tops are slightly coloured and firm to the touch.
Let the cookies cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes and then roll each one into the sifted icing sugar.
Let the cookies cool completely and roll them in the icing sugar a second time.
Notes
To toast almonds, preheat oven to 325°F. Spread almonds on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Make sure to stir every few minutes. Almonds are toasted when they are fragrant and lightly browned, it should take between 8 to 10 minutes.
To store these almond cookies in the freezer, place them in an airtight container with wax paper in between the layers of cookies. Remove from the freezer a few hours before serving. To get them looking like they were freshly baked, sift a touch of powdered sugar onto them before plating.