Shelly's Recipe

PETITS FOURS DE NOEL

Category: Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the pastry sheet, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 ounces candied orange peel (optional)
8 ounces ground almonds
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 small eggs (if you dont have small eggs on hand, substitute 2 large eggs)
4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for flouring the work surface and dusting the pastry sheet
1 small egg beaten with a little cold water

In a bowl, with a wooden spoon, work the butter until it is a soft paste. Add sugar and work it in for a few minutes until smooth. Add cinnamon, candied orange peel, almonds, lemon zest and the 3 eggs, mix thoroughly with a spatula. Add flour and knead the mixture on a floured surface, or in the bowl, with your fingers, until you have a smooth paste. Form the dough into a roll and enclose it in plastic wrap. Let this rest in the refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter pastry sheet and dust it with flour.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to a sheet 1/4 inch thick. With cookie cutters, cut the dough into various shapes. Combine remaining dough into a ball, and roll it out again on the floured work surface to a sheet 1/4 inch thick. Cut again with cookie cutters. Repeat until all the dough is used. Arrange cookies on the baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.

Makes about 100 small cookies.