Almond Shortbread Refrigerator Cookies

Ingredients

1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Put the almond meal, sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse several times to mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.

Add the butter and pulse until the butter is no longer distinguishable in the mixture. It should look grainy, but you shouldn’t see any pieces of butter.

Add the egg and vanilla, and pulse in 30-second bursts until the dough forms a ball. It won’t happen immediately, but it will form.

Remove the dough from the food processor and form it into a log about 9 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight , if you prefer.

When you want to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. With a sharp knife, slice the log into 1/4 inch pieces. Arrange them on the baking sheet, leaving a little space between them. You’ll need a second baking sheet if you bake all of them at once.

Bake until just barely browned along the edges, about 18 minutes.