A traditional 19th century Belgian cookie with an old-fashioned flavor and a deceptively, yet delightfully, delicious taste. These beautiful, humble, and seemingly plain cookies are thin, delicate, and ultra-crispy with a unique buttery taste and texture, but are not overly sweet. A slow bake gives these cookies a toasty, nutty flavor, while the extracts create a pleasant fragrance. This recipe is the epitome of simple done extremely well. With just a few unpretentious ingredients, these utterly addicting cookies prove that less is more. Perfect to give as gifts or bring to a party or keep for yourself to enjoy with coffee or tea, a glass of milk, ice cream, or plain as is.
Makes about 10 - 11 dozen cookies
Ingredients
Belgian Almond Thin Cookies
2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
⅛ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes (use good quality butter)
1⅓ cups light brown sugar
⅓ cup water
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp pure almond extract
1 cup sliced almonds
Directions
Belgian Almond Thin Cookies
Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving about 2-inches overhanging on the sides and spray the paper with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Place the butter, sugar, and water into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until the butter just melts, and the sugar is semi dissolved. (Don’t let it boil!) Remove from the heat, stir in the extracts, and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir together until incorporated and a thick dough forms.
Gently fold in the almonds.
Firmly press the dough into the prepared loaf pan so the top is smooth.
Press a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325˚F.
Remove the chilled dough from the loaf pan and cut in half lengthwise so you have two even logs.
Using a very sharp knife, gently slice the dough as thin as possible (⅛-inch or thinner) from one of the logs and place the cookies onto two parchment lined baking sheets, about 1½-inches apart. (If you use a silicone baking mat, the cookies won’t get as crispy.)
Place the baking sheets with the cookies in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
Bake the cookies (one baking sheet at a time) for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Flip each cookie over and continue to bake for another 6-8 minutes, or until the cookies are a honey to deep golden-brown color and have crisped up (they will crisp up completely as they cool).
Remove the cookies from oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Repeat the slicing, chilling, and baking with the remaining log of cookie dough.
Once the cookies have cooled completely, serve or store in an airtight container for up to 10 days.
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