Spiced Almond Sticks

Total Time: 22 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup finely ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350°.
• 2 grease a sheet pan well and set aside.
• 3 place the cream cheese, butter, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• 4 with the mixer on low speed, add the eggs and beat well.
• 5 add the almond extract, flour, spices, and salt, and mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
• 6 increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth.
• 7 place the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (make sure it is wide enough that the almonds won't get stuck in the tip).
• 8 on the prepared pan, pipe the dough into 3-4 inch sticks.
• 9 bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.
• 10 let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a rack or paper towels and let cool completely.
• 11 dust with powdered sugar if desired.