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Amaretto Butter Cookies
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated
3 tablespoons almond-flavor liqueur, such as amaretto, or 1 tablespoon almond
extract
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
About 2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4?teaspoon salt
1 1/4?cups sliced almonds
1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 cup butter
and sugar until smooth. Add egg yolk, liqueur, and orange peel and
beat until well blended.
2. In another bowl, mix 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to
butter mixture; stir to mix, then beat until well blended. Gather dough
into a ball, divide in half, and flatten each portion into a disk;
wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until firm enough to roll
without sticking, about 30 minutes.
3. Unwrap dough. On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling
pin, roll one disk at a time to about 1/4 inch thick. With a floured,
2-inch round cutter, cut out cookies. Place about 2 inches apart on
buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. Gather excess dough into a ball,
reroll, and cut out remaining cookies.
4. In a small bowl, beat egg white with 1 teaspoon water to blend.
Brush cookies with mixture and sprinkle or arrange about 1/2
teaspoon sliced almonds on each.
5. Bake cookies in a 325° until lightly
browned, about 15 minutes; if baking two sheets at once in one oven,
switch their positions halfway through cooking. Let cookies cool on
sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks
to cool completely.
  
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