Chai-Spiced Almond Cookies

It's that time of year again. Time to Eat Christmas Cookies! I made my first batch for a party this past weekend over my friend N's house. It was a really good time. We even played some reindeer games. And she made some of the best chicken salad I've ever tasted. But you want to hear about cookies.

I wanted to make some cookies that I've never tried before. Since I finally organized my stray recipes into nice binders, I was able to look and see more of the cookie recipes that I had collected over the past decade or so. The recipe needed to be quick, easy, and with very few ingredients. I had just done food shopping and would not be buying anything additional.

And these cookies would also be a part of Food Blogga's 2nd Annual Eat Christmas Cookie Event. I was trying to make something that I had not seen submitted by anyone else. That could change at any moment, but hopefully I was able to pick an original recipe. Chai-Spiced Almond Cookies were the ones I finally decided on. I found them on one of the pages of my notebook, then I also found the recipe online.

This recipe is from the January 2006 issue of Bon Appétit. The recipe is fairly straightforward.

My only additional hint relates to the use of cardamom. In the past, I've found it difficult using a mortar and pestle to grind the seeds. However, I was given a hint by Asha. She said that cardamom is often used in Indian cooking and that most Indians know to use a small amount of granulated sugar when grinding the seeds. I gave it a try and it did the trick.

I highly recommend these cookies. They were quick and tasted really good. Everyone seemed to like them. They have a bit of a crunch and are great for dunking into milk, eggnog, tea, coffee, whatever you like. I hope you give them a try.

Chai-Spiced Almond Cookies
Adapted from Jan. 2006 Bon Appétit
(makes 22 cookies)

1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
2/3 cups powdered sugar (set aside 1/3 cup in small bowl)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 T vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 finely chopped almonds

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, except for 1/3 cup of powdered sugar that you've set aside for later. With your hands, roll dough into small balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from stove and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Place cookies in bowl of remaining powdered sugar. Roll cookies in sugar and make sure they are all covered. Enjoy!

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