Almond Sugar Cookies

I had an urge to get all cutesy and decorate some sugar cookies. I got the candy corn originally so i could make the cookies look like these Pillsbury Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies but my cookies ended up being too small to fit the design, so I came up with this instead.

I got the cookie recipe from The Splendid Table, but substituted the vanilla extract for almond extract to add an alternative flavor. The chocolate frosting on top is Nutella, and as you can see for some cookies I used sliced almonds.

Grammy's Ginger Cookies

Food For Thought: "The purpose of flavor is to arouse a special kind of emotion, that flavor must emerge from genuine feelings about the materials you are handling. What you are, you cook."
~ Marcella Hazan

What better way to start out than to bake a classic family recipe? This recipe was passed down from our father's mother, Clarice Marie; or as we so affectionately called her, Grammy. These cookies are great for getting you in the mood for fall, and they smell delicious. Even if you think you don't like Ginger Cookies or Ginger Snaps, you ought to give these a try. As Julie pointed out to me today, people who stubbornly claim they do not like ginger cookies will often fall head over heels for these.


Grammy's Ginger Cookies
makes about 4 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. salt (if you are using salted butter, just use 1 tsp.)

Directions:
Melt butter and let cool for about 10 minutes. Add oil, sugar, molasses, eggs and beat until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Combine the two mixtures and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until the batter stiffens slightly.

Preheat oven to 375F. Form batter into balls about one inch in diameter, or the size of a donut hole. Roll each ball in a bowl of sugar to coat completely, and then place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until your preferred consistency is reached (you might want to experiment with this). When the cookies come out of the oven they will be puffy, but as they cool on the counter they will flatten. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk, yummy.