My Mom, most years, makes an amazing assortment of Christmas cookies. After the tree and before the beef roast she cranks out all kinds of goodies. I however do not share in her fervor for baking, at any time of the year. I hate being exact and making something that is only to be eaten after dinner (supposedly). I don’t own a stand mixer, special flours, extracts (except vanilla) or cookie cutters. I did want to make some quick cookies with some almonds I got in a beautiful gift basket from a friend. I searched through the usual suspects- Food Network, Epicurous, Jamie Oliver and didn’t want to go out and buy confectioner’s sugar, almond slivers, or almond extract (= $$) among other “foreign” ingredients. I wanted to use what I had. So like most times I’m stuck with non-fancy, traditional pantry and kitchen items I turn to my Fannie Farmer cookbook. And what did I find? Humble, amazing Almond Spiced Cookies that I pretty much couldn’t mess up! Here’s the recipe - I didn’t have ground cloves, so I just left them out! It’s ok! No stand mixer, rolling pin, or special skills required! Leave out the almonds and spices for just a plain rich cookie.

1/4 lb (1 stick) butter, unsalted

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tblsp cream or milk

1 1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp salt (my almonds had salt on them so I left this out)

1/4 tsp baking powder

OPTIONAL Spiced Almond ingredients

1/3 cup finely chopped almonds ( I ground mine for a minute in a food processor)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Cream the butter (beat with a spoon or hand mixer until kinda fluffy). Gradually add the sugar, beating until light

3. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together, add to the first mixture and blend well. Fold in almonds, spices, and lemon

4. Arrange by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. (I did one sheet at a time b/c of my oven’s uneven temp). Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. Cool on a rack if you have one, and share with your co-workers - you’ll be super popular and invited to all the great New Years parties….

Don't you want one?