Italian Wedding Cookies

I changed the blog design around Thanksgiving. I know a lot of you commented and said you liked it (thank you!), but I just want to make sure. Is anything bothering you with the design? Does everything load quickly? Is the font okay? You guys are the ones reading this, so I want everything to be nice for you. One thing I especially need to know from you is:
Are you able to see the Foodbuzz ad, and is it located on the top half of the page? Has anything changed? I think I might have some ad issues.

All right, that was my official business for today. Now we can get to some fun.
Stephanie from Portland Truffle sent me a surprise last week. A chocolate and candy refill for my advent calendar!





Needless to say, this made me very, very happy. This chocolate is absolutely delicious. Look how pretty it is! Portland Truffle has all kinds of goodies for the holidays. Mmm. Chocolate Santa.





Thank you, Stephanie & Portland Truffle!



My grandma used to make Mexican wedding cookies, jam thumbprints and black walnut cookies, and bring them over on Christmas Eve. All of the cookies were delicious, but the Mexican wedding cookies were my favorite. You know the ones, right? Made with pecans and powdered sugar?



Wellll, I decided to make "Italian Wedding Cookies." I used almond butter(from Heab), toasted almonds, and almond extract (you could use amaretto) in the batter, rolled the batter into balls and baked them, then coated them in powdered sugar. These were just as good as the Mexican wedding cookies! They have a different flavor and a little bit different texture though.

Once again, perfect for a cookie exchange. I'm making up a list of my favorite cookie recipes for a cookie exchange and will post sometime this week.
Have a good day!

Italian Wedding Cookies (By Me)
Printable Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup very finely chopped toasted almonds
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus additional for rolling
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; whisk in almonds until combined. In a large bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together almond butter, butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar until creamy - about 1 minute; beat in egg and almond extract until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until combined.

Roll cookies into about 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet. You should get about 2 1/2 dozen. Bake for 15-20 minute or until light golden brown and crisp. Cool 1 minute before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. When cool, roll into additional confectioners' sugar.

Makes about 2 1/2-3 dozen cookies