MEXICAN ALMOND COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
- 115 gr plain flour ( 1 cup )
- 175 gr  icing sugar (1¹/³ cups)
- Pinch of salt
- 50 gr almonds, finely chopped ( ½ cup )
- 2.5 ml vanilla essence ( ½ teaspoon )
- 115 gr unsalted butter ( ½ cup )
- Icing sugar for dusting

VARIATION:
Try using other nuts such as walnuts, or pecans.

METHOD:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350 °F/gas 4. sift the flour, icing sugar and salt into a bowl. Add the almonds and mix well. Stir in the vanilla essence.
2. Using your fingertips, work the butter into the mixture to make a dough. Form it into a ball.
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is 3mm thick. Using a round cutter, stamp out into about 24 biscuits, rerolling the trimmings as necessary.
4. Transfer the biscuits to non-stick baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes, until browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool, then dust thickly with icing sugar.


Source: Hilaire Walden