Orange Almond Cookies

Orange Almond Cookies

This is one of my favorite cookies.  Orange and Almonds just seem to go hand in hand.

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter softened

1 cup sugar or splenda

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup almonds finely ground

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup Wheat flour

1 teaspoon No-Sodium baking powder

1 teaspoon No-Sodium baking soda

Juice of 1 orange and zest of half of orange

Cream together butter and sugar until it is smooth.  Add remaining wet ingredients and again blend well.  Sift together dry ingredient and slowly add to cream mixture, but be sure not to over work the dough.  

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and use a small ice cream scoop and drop onto the cooking tray.  Lightly flour your hands and flattened the cookies.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  The cookies will remain light in color but the bottoms should be golden brown.  As they cool, they will have a delicious crisp. This is optional but you slightly dust the cookies with powder sugar.