Ingredients

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• colored crystal sugar, for decoration (optional)

Instructions

1. Pulse the granulated sugar and almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Cream the butter and sugar mixture until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to combine. Add the flour, confectioner's sugar and salt and mix just until a dough forms.

2. Divide the dough in half; wrap each piece in plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate the disks at least 4 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one disk at a time, roll the dough out between two 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper to the thickness of 1/8-inch. Using a 2 1/4-inch cookie cutter of any shape, cut out the cookies, rerolling the scraps to make a total of 60 cookies. Place on cookie sheets, one inch apart; sprinkling with colored sugar if using.

4. Bake 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are light on top but golden on the bottom, 10-11 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.