When your neighbor gives you lemons

One of the things I love about where we live is having great neighbors . . . the kind that say "hi" to my kids and put up with their antics, the kind that stop while out walking their dog to chat, the kind that have your back.  I'm not sure what the residents of our quiet cul de sac thought originally when we moved in with the kids, but we love it and are here to stay!

Our next door neighbor has been giving us citrus from her trees and I made a third variation on the lemon crinkles I've been making recently.  This time, I found a recipe that uses almond paste which is one of my favorite things ever.  You really do have to crumble or grate it from the tube or else the dough will be pretty lumpy and the cookies will be uneven.  I made a double batch  in my stand mixer and baked half of them the first day and refrigerated the dough for 2 days and then baked the rest to give some to my book club friends.

The verdict:  These Almond crinkles are my favorite but the cardamom ones are a close second!  Even though there's no photo of the end result, here's the almond paste you're looking for:

Lemon Almond Crinkles (4 dozen)
recipe from Odense website

1 (7oz) box almond paste
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 T grated lemon rind (1 large lemon)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. Confectioner's sugar

Put the sugar, butter, egg, lemon rind and lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Crumble or grate the almond paste over the top.  Beat together until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix until well-combined.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  The original recipe said the dough would keep well in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Line  baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll dough into balls and roll in confectioner's sugar.  Place 2-3 inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes or until puffed up and lightly colored on the edges.  Cool on wire racks and store in an air-tight container.