Greek Almond Cookies

I used to watch my grandmother make these for all holidays as well as for the local Greek churches for their Greek Festivals.

Ingredients:

5 Cups AP Flour

1½ Cup of Blanched Almonds

2 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 TSP Vanilla Extract

2 TBSP Brandy (optional)

2 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar (divided)

Directions:

Place the toasted almonds in a food processor and grind until finely chopped.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, chopped almonds, one cup confectioner's sugar and stir.

Sprinkle the vanilla extract and brandy over the dry ingredients.

Add the olive oil and knead into a dough.

The dough should stick together when pressed but have a slight crumbly feeling, which is characteristic of a shortbread dough. If too crumbly, add olive oil one tablespoon at a time until the right consistency is achieved.

These traditional cookies are often shaped into crescents, buttons or balls. An easy trick is to shape them into buttons using a tablespoon measure.

If you want to do the same, fill a tablespoon measure with some dough, pressing the dough to give it the rounded shape of the measure. Once shaped, place the cookies on a baking tray covered with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.

While shaping the cookies, preheat the oven to 325°F.

Bake the cookies in the oven at 325°F for 20 minutes or until they begin to turn a very slight sandy color.

Once cooled, place the cookies in a pan with the remaining confectioner's sugar and coat.