Almond Rolls

These almond rolls are about as simple as a cookie recipe gets. Four ingredients, no leavening, no eggs, no flavor extracts to argue over. What you get back is a tender shortbread log with the dense, buttery snap of a Scottish biscuit and the warm marzipan note of ground almonds running through every bite.

The dough comes together fast in a stand mixer, but the chill is the step you can’t skip. An hour in the fridge firms the butter and lets the flour fully hydrate, which is what gives these their fine, sandy crumb instead of a greasy spread.

Ground almonds (almond meal works) add tenderness as well as flavor. The fat in the nuts shorts the gluten development the way egg yolks would in a richer cookie, so the texture stays delicate even with a fairly high flour ratio.

Roll the dough into thin logs rather than balls. The shape gives more surface area for golden-edge browning, which is where most of the toasted-nut flavor lives.

Kitchen Tips

• Don’t skip the chill. Warm dough rolls into rough, lumpy logs that bake unevenly.
• Pulse whole almonds in a food processor with a spoonful of the flour to keep them from turning into almond butter. Stop while the texture is still gritty.
• Pull the cookies when the bottoms are pale gold and the tops still look matte. They firm up as they cool.
• These keep for two weeks in an airtight tin and freeze well for longer storage.

Variations

• Roll the warm baked logs in powdered sugar for a Mexican wedding cookie style finish.
• Add a teaspoon of orange zest to the dough for a brighter, more aromatic version.
• Use toasted almonds instead of raw for a deeper, more savory flavor.