Mandel Kranser Almond Crowns

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons dried orange peel or zest from 1 orange
• 2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (7-ounce) package almond paste or home made (see Joy of Cooking)
• 1 egg white
• Water
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds`
• Egg wash

Directions

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and orange peel. Add flour, don't over mix. If the dough is too crumbly, add a little water. Chill the dough until firm enough to roll out. Make almond paste, or mix prepared almond paste (such as Odense brand) with egg white. If the paste is too hard to mix, grate it into the egg white and add enough water to achieve a spreadable consistency. After the dough is chilled, roll out dough nice and thin. Cut the dough into 3-inch strips. Gather extra dough, repeat until dough is used up. Spread almond paste mixture on dough, leaving 1/4-inch free at the top edge. Gently roll up the dough, and place on a cookie sheet, refrigerating until firm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Slice roll into 2-inch pieces, and arrange these on the cookie sheet, leaving a little room for spreading. Slice each 2-inch roll every 1/4-inch or so from the top down leaving about a 1/4-inch uncut at the bottom. Gently pull down the ends to form a crown shape. Brush each cookie with an egg wash, and sprinkle with almonds. If you prefer, use parl suukar, or pearl sugar, for a glittering effect. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until pale golden in color, remove and cool.

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