Almond Cream Sandwich Cookies

This is my mother’s favorite cookie.  The story goes that when she was young, she used to feign illness to stay home from school, make and eat an entire batch of these cookies before anyone got home, and then truly be sick the following day as a result.  She doesn’t remember where the original recipe came from, but thinks it may have been French.  Indeed, it’s been one of those handwritten recipes that has been floating around her house for the last forty some years.  I’ve not seen or had them anywhere else, though they are slightly reminiscent of the the French macaron.

They are a sandwich cookie, the cookie portion is almost like a sugar dusted pie crust, and the filling is a sweet almond cream frosting.  The preparation of the cookie should be much like pie crust, making sure not to overwork the dough or they will get tough.  I like them baked until golden brown, so they are a bit more crispy.   If you have access to it, use Strauss unsalted butter because it will greatly improve the texture and make the dough easier to work with.  It is the closest thing to French butter that I’ve found, with a lower water content and higher perrcentage of butterfat.  I also read somewhere that it is one of two types of butter that Thomas Keller uses in his ridiculously amazing Bouchon Bakery.

Almond Cream Sandwich Cookies
My mother’s recipe from an unknown source
Makes about 2 dozen sandwich cookies, depending on size

Cookies:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 cups flour
5 tablespoons half & half
Granulated sugar for dipping

Filling:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons half & half
1 teaspoon almond extract

For the cookies:  Add flour and butter to a medium size bowl.  Cut the butter into the flour until pea size pieces form using a pastry blender or your hands.  Or this can optionally be done with four or five pulses in a food processor.  Sprinkle the mixture with the half & half. Then using a rubber spatula, make a folding motion to mix and press on the dough until it sticks together.  Form a ball, and flatten into a disk shape.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and lightly flour your rolling pin, the counter and the surface of the dough.  Roll out dough until 1/8 inch thick.  Another option is to roll it out between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Cut the dough into rounds using a two to three inch round cookie cutter or top of a glass.  I generally use the top of one of my little Turkish tea cups.  Prepare a small plate or bowl with granulated sugar and dip both sides of each cookie in the sugar.  Shake off a bit and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.  Once the cookie sheet is full, poke each with a fork in four parallel rows.  Bake for about 8 minutes or until golden brown.  Bake any additional batches the same way.  Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool.

For the frosting: Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the half & half and beat an additional minute or so until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Add the almond extract and beat for another thirty seconds.  Frost the pan side of one cookie and sandwich together with the pan side of another cookie.  Repeat until all the cookies are filled.