Chocolate Almond Horseshoe Cookies
These Chocolate Almond Horseshoe Cookies are a fun and a delicious treat for the holidays!
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It’s hard to beat a classic butter cookie…especially during the holidays. But dip that cookie in chocolate and then sprinkle it with toasted almonds? Ok, maybe that wins!
I was in the mood to bake some cookies the other day, and I wanted to create some butter cookies similar to those Danish butter cookies that show up in huge tins about this time every year. On a side note, the ring-shaped cookies with the ridges are my favorite. Whenever a mixed tin of Danish butter cookies shows up, you can pretty much count on those ring cookies to be the first ones to disappear. (Apparently, they are called ‘vanille kranse’ or ‘vanilla wreaths’ in Denmark.)
So I’m sure the companies that make these Danish butter cookies have a big machine that extrudes the dough into rings or wreaths. I don’t have such a machine. My wife is a scientist, and she plays with machines that extrude metal. I asked her if I could borrow one of those machines to make cookies. She just looked at me and walked away. Ok, so my backup plan? Pull out the pastry bag and stick a large French star tip on the end. Wouldn’t you know it, but that method worked pretty well!
As you guys know, we live in upstate New York near Saratoga Springs. Saratoga is a quaint town, and the it’s even been included on the list of America’s Best Main Streets. Saratoga is a horse racing town. Track season runs from late July through Labor Day, and the town is literally buzzing with horse racing excitement. (In case you missed it, American Pharoah raced in Saratoga this year…and lost. The whole town was stunned.)
A couple months ago, my sister and niece came up to visit for a long weekend. We took little Blakely apple picking one morning, but I think the highlight of the trip was her visit to the track in Saratoga. We didn’t realize it, but apparently she has a serious love of horses. She’d hang on to the fence and watch the horses parade by, and then we’d head over and watch the race. She’d literally go from crying to overjoyed when she saw the horses come around the bend onto the backstretch.
In honor of Blakely’s love for horses, I decided not to close the ring for these Chocolate Almond Horseshoe Cookies. Instead, I just left the ends open in the shape of a horseshoe. And since we all know that chocolate makes everything better, I spread a bit of melted chocolate on the ends of the horseshoe. A sprinkling of chopped almonds finished off these cookies.
Have you ever been to Saratoga?
More importantly, can you build me a machine that extrudes cookie dough?
Chocolate Almond Horseshoe Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
For the Chocolate
- 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes on medium speed).
- Add the remaining ingredients (powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolk and flour). Mix on low speed until a stiff dough forms.
- Transfer dough into a large pastry bag fitted with a large French star tip. (I used an Ateco #827 tip.)
- Pipe 6” strips of dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. (Note: Leave enough room to “bend” cookies into horseshoes in the next step.)
- Carefully bend each cookie to create a horseshoe shape.
- Place sheet pan in the refrigerator for ~30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Bake at 325°F for 26-28 minutes, or until edges of cookies turn light brown. Let cookies cool fully before dipping.
For the Chocolate
- Place the semi-sweet chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has fully melted.
- Meanwhile, place the sliced almonds in a clean skillet. Place over medium-low heat and toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent almonds from burning.
- Once cookies have cooled, use an offset spatula to spread melted chocolate onto ends of the cookies.
- Coarsely chop toasted almonds and sprinkle on top of melted chocolate. Let chocolate set before serving (~20 minutes).
I had to stop by and tell you that I love butter cookies…and I love how you used the decorating tip to make these! My family is a huge fan of horses and I have some members who jump compete. We’ve been to the track often because I love to watch the horses too. They NYS Fair is a great place to go watch the horse shows too!
Wow, that’s so awesome that you have family members who jump compete! Going to the track is one of our favorite summer outings. 🙂 Good tip on the NYS fair…I saw signs for this one last year, but we never looked up the dates or location. Next year! Thanks for stopping by, Shelby!
Love this story and the cookie!
Thanks so much, Phronsie! 🙂
David! love that you took a already delicious cookie and make it even better! You niece is so cute! Happy thanksgiving for you and your loved ones!
Thank you so much, Gaila! We had an awesome Thanksgiving over here, and I hope you did, too! 🙂
Hi David! I’m still stuffed from yesterday, but these cookies are looking pretty darned good! Time to start thinking about Christmas goodies! 🙂
Haha…tell me about it, Dorothy! I think I’m still stuffed from Thursday. Just kidding. 🙂 I actually did a decent job of not going back to graze this year. I think it could be because I’m so darned tired from a certain little Robbie. Either way, let’s put our Christmas cookie baking hats on, shall we? Hope you guys had an awesome weekend!
These cookies look delicious and the photo of you and little Blakely is super sweet! Love her name!
Thank you so much, Johlene! That pic was from this past summer, but it feels like forever ago! And I love little Blakely’s name, too. 🙂
I love that you made these for your niece! These cookies are way better than those butter cookies you get in the tin! I really like that you dipped them in chocolate! Just makes a cookie that much better!
Heck yeah, Kathy! I’m all about baking some cookies in the holiday season, and I figured why not make some shaped like horseshoes? 🙂 Plus, we all know that chocolate makes everything better, right? Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving!
Awwww!! This is so sweet! …and these cookies look amazing! So festive and fun! …also, YES! I have been to Saratoga! I love that place and go there in the summers. It’s so beautiful and fun 🙂
Yay! Another Saratoga fan! We love going to the track in the summer, and we often head up there in the winter whenever we want to go out to eat. But for now, it’s all about staying home and baking up delicious Christmas cookies! 🙂
Awwwh, so sweet and your niece is adorable!
I had the most amazing butter cookie in Starbucks the other day (I know, baked goods are rarely amazing in Starbucks) and your post reminded me that I really want to make my own.
Thank you so much, Dannii! You totally need to go make some butter cookies. I mean the Christmas season is the perfect excuse, too. “I was just making these for the neighbors, and a few of them happened to fall into my mouth.” 🙂
I adore “quaint” towns and you are making me wanna visit Saratoga! Your sister’s daughter is adorable – wonder if Baby Spiced is gonna take after his cousin and love horses too! These horse shoe versions of those Danish butter cookie rings are fabulous David! Love the chocolate and almonds on the ends – and them being in a horseshoe shape makes them easier to share -right? By the way, I used to love those those Danish ring cookies when I was a child. Whenever a tin appeared in our house, I’d take out all those rings and hide them in a plastic bag so my sis couldn’t have any – I had huge issues with sharing!
I bet Robbie and his cousin are gonna get along great…I hope! 🙂 Saratoga is an awesome town, and you absolutely should visit. But come in the summer. It’s way too cold up here in the winter! I totally echo your love of the Danish ring cookies. Maybe you could make a beetified version? That would be awesome! And decorate it with green sprinkles and white chocolate! The rings were totally the best…they were always the ones that disappeared the quickest!
Christmas cookie mania here I come! Love all sorts of them, especially those dipped in chocolate and these are no exception. Nice job with the piping bag, these look great. #WolfPackBakery
Thanks so much, Kevin! I’m all about some Christmas cookies, too…in fact, I wish I had one left for my morning coffee!
I can never resist buttery cookies and dipping them in chocolate is the best idea ever! love these David!
Thanks, Manali! I’m with ya…chocolate dipped butter cookies are just too good to pass up! 🙂
To eat the favorite cookies first? You’re a weirdo, David! When I was a boy, I used to pick less favorite cookies or candy from the box first and then enjoy my favorites. Now I’m even smarter – I grab my favorite first and give the remaining to Andrew:) Buttery cookies dipped in chocolate always are a good Christmas idea (and a perfect gift which could be sent to Canada. Just saying).
Ah, you clearly were an only child, Ben. See, if you have a brother or sister, then you have to compete for the best cookies. Therefore, you eat the best ones first! But it sounds like you learned your lesson, and at least you are nice enough to save some cookies for Andrew. 🙂
Man, you brought back memories of those Danish butter cookies. Those wreaths were my favorite as well. Now I want a stack of cookies to eat! LOL!
I never thought of making my own version before though. These are too cute and I love that you dipped them in chocolate. How could this not be a good thing? 🙂
I’ve seriously been tempted to pick up a can of those cookies at the store! But I can’t actually bring myself to buy them. Haha! These cookies were super fun to make…and chocolate makes everything better, right? 🙂