Makes 16 large cookies or 32 medium ones
Cookies:
1/2 cup + 2 1/2 Tbsp softened butter
1 large egg
2 tsp orange zest
2 cups ground almonds
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Topping:
1 egg yolk
5 Mandarin oranges (I used 3 medium lemons)
White sugar, for sprinkling
Powdered (icing) sugar, for garnish
Wash the oranges thoroughly under hot water and wipe with a towel. Cut into very thin slices (as thin as you can slice them and keep them in one piece and place on a doubled-up paper towel. Before placing on cookies, flip them over on to fresh paper towel to dry the other side a bit.
In a bowl with an electric mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat softened butter with the egg until light and fluffy.
Add ground almonds, sugar, flour and orange zest/juice and mix until dough comes together. Shape dough into two rolls, about 2-inches each in diameter and put into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
Heat oven to 350° (180 C).
Slice each log into cookies about 1/4-inch and place on a baking sheet. Using the bottom of a drinking cup with a bottom about 1 1/2-inches, dip bottom of glass in to a bowl of sugar and press in to cookies, making a small indentation. Brush the top of each cookie gently with the beaten egg yolk.
Put one slice of mandarin orange in the indentation that you made on the top of each cookie. Sprinkle with more sugar and bake for 14-15 minutes. If you'd like to brown up the cookies a bit, sprinkle with a bit more sugar over the oranges and place under the broiler for a few minutes.
Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Cook's Notes These cookies are best on the day they are baked. They are still delicious as they sit longer, but the moisture from the orange will start to move in to the cookie and soften it up a bit. You can forestall that a bit by not keeping these cookies in an airtight container, but instead loosely cover them, to allow some of the moisture to escape. As the dough will keep well in the fridge, if you don't need them all at once, you can cook them off in two (or more) batches to enjoy them at their freshest.
Recipe comes from Seasons and Suppers from Canada
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