This, my mothers recipe makes quite a lot, but they do keep for a while in a airtight biscuit tin and are great to offer guest when they pop in for a quick cuppa.
You will need:
- 500g unsalted butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 5ml vanilla essence
- 1kg cake flour (more or less depending)
- 1 cup chopped roasted almonds (optional)
- icing sugar
Method:
1) Cream the butter very well till white, add egg yolk, vanilla and a tablespoon of icing sugar.
2) Sift in flour, little by little so eventually the mixture is a soft dough that is not to sticky to handle. You may use less or more flour to get it to this point, depending how long you beat the butter for, but the dough should not be too hard or too soft. You may add a cup of chopped almonds if you wish.
3) Take a handful of dough and create a ball, then roll on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Using a glass cut out the half moon shapes.
4) Bake at 180 degrees for 20 mins or until golden, then sprinkle with icing sugar the minute they come out the oven so they absorb most of it and later once they have cooled sift more icing sugar over them, enjoy with a cuppa or store in an airtight container for a rainy day.
