Cinnamon-Almond Stars

Name: Cinnamon-Almond Stars
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (5 ounces) almonds, toasted; 1.5 cups packed light-brown sugar; 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 0.75 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 0.5 teaspoon baking soda; 0.25 teaspoon coarse salt; 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature; 1 large egg, lightly beaten; 2 tablespoons Marsala; 2.25 cups confectioners' sugar; 0.5 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 0.5 teaspoon finely grated orange zest; Gold pearlized sugar (available at baking-supply stores)

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By

Martha Stewart Test Kitchen

Updated on November 23, 2017

Prep Time:

40 mins

Total Time:

1 hrs 30 mins

Yield:

30

Ingredients

Cookies

1 cup (5 ounces) almonds, toasted
1 ½ cups packed light-brown sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons Marsala

Icing

2 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Gold pearlized sugar (available at baking-supply stores)

Directions

Cookies: Pulse almonds with 1/4 cup brown sugar in a food processor until finely ground. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
With a mixer on medium speed, beat butter with remaining 1 1/4 cups brown sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in egg and Marsala until combined. Reduce speed to low and add almond and flour mixtures, beating until just combined.
Divide dough in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature until pliable. Roll out one dough disk on a lightly floured surface to just under 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out as many stars as possible, rerolling scraps once. Arrange stars 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake, rotating sheets once, until edges are golden, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool on sheets 1 minute, then transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
Icing: With mixer on medium speed, beat confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons water, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a small writing tip, or a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off. Decorate cookies with icing and sprinkle with pearlized sugar; let set about 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container, between sheets of parchment or waxed paper, up to 1 week.